SAA's financial woes
Feb 8, 2017, 7:26 am
#46
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: fwp blood diamond, dykwia uranium
Posts: 7,251
if you think sa is not a mismanaged money pit, wow. yes, a lot of that comes down to national policy (like increasing taxes then giving all politicians higher travel allowances so they are shielded from this), but sa is in fact a parastatal. and it's an obnoxious one to deal with, like telkom, eskom. and it's an airline that has made numerous blunders that are a deeper disservice to africans. like handing its cptlhr milk run slots to ba.
Feb 8, 2017, 8:24 am
#47
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: N/A
Programs: UA 1K, BA Gold, LH/SN/LX Senator
Posts: 449
if you think sa is not a mismanaged money pit, wow. yes, a lot of that comes down to national policy (like increasing taxes then giving all politicians higher travel allowances so they are shielded from this), but sa is in fact a parastatal. and it's an obnoxious one to deal with, like telkom, eskom. and it's an airline that has made numerous blunders that are a deeper disservice to africans. like handing its cptlhr milk run slots to ba.
Aug 3, 2017, 5:11 am
#48
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,663
Aug 3, 2017, 2:44 pm
#49
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: CPT
Programs: BA BD SA
Posts: 4,467
.
Aug 4, 2017, 2:27 am
#50
Ambassador, Emirates
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: LGW / AMS / CPT
Programs: SA KL BA EK
Posts: 4,273
And it will continue again and again. I have - for a number of reasons - given up on SAA a few years ago. Very happy with EK for international- and with BA for local and intra European travel.
As an RSA tax payer I object to the continued pouring of funds on this and other SOEs, but what can you do? Bunch of incompetent 'grabbers '.
As an RSA tax payer I object to the continued pouring of funds on this and other SOEs, but what can you do? Bunch of incompetent 'grabbers '.
Except I would use a different word...
Aug 7, 2017, 5:25 am
#52
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,663
Aug 15, 2017, 8:53 am
#53
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,431
UA has a lot of SA award business class availability for next summer. Lay flats from US to JNB. I'm guessing this would be a bad idea! I wouldn't want the last minute scramble trying to replace 3 seats....
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Aug 15, 2017, 4:59 pm
#54
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: N/A
Programs: UA 1K, BA Gold, LH/SN/LX Senator
Posts: 449
The South African government have signal their intent to keep SA flying. Also, if the ticket is issued on UA stock they would have no rebook you, no?
Aug 16, 2017, 3:45 am
#55
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,431
My concern is if SA were to start shutting down certain services or routes, I would have to find 3 business class ticket replacements....UA would help...but can only give me what's available. It could be very stressful if it came to that.
Aug 16, 2017, 4:04 pm
#56
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
Aug 16, 2017, 5:33 pm
#57
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,431
Aug 17, 2017, 9:26 am
#58
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: CPT
Programs: BA BD SA
Posts: 4,467
The public Investment Corporation has been listed by SAA as a possible source of the approximately R13,2bn (€833 million) they will need over a five-year period, as well as for R6bn (€379 million) in 2018.
Aug 27, 2017, 3:33 am
#59
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
To me the most alarming part of that report is this:
Tapping the PIC as a source of captive funding would be a huge leap onto the slippery slope of using retirement fund monies to shore up wasteful, corrupt public enterprises. It would indicate that nothing is safe in ZA investments and would likely be followed by the re-introduction of prescribed investments etc. And bang goes any chance of recovering our credit rating.
Tapping the PIC as a source of captive funding would be a huge leap onto the slippery slope of using retirement fund monies to shore up wasteful, corrupt public enterprises. It would indicate that nothing is safe in ZA investments and would likely be followed by the re-introduction of prescribed investments etc. And bang goes any chance of recovering our credit rating.
PIC may buy into Telkom to save SAA
http://www.fin24.com/Economy/South-Africa/pic-may-buy-into-telkom-to-save-saa-20170825?
So not really misappropriation of retirement fund money and in fact a good deal for PIC as government seems to be selling at a discount.
Sep 13, 2017, 12:07 pm
#60
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,077
More Money for SAA
http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/artic...-appropriation
National Treasury has agreed to give SAA a special appropriation of R10bn by the end of September, Director General, Dondo Mogajane, told MPs on Wednesday (September 13).
“It will be for R10bn, we have decided, because that will cover everything,” he said during a briefing on the ailing airline’s latest quarterly results to Parliament’s standing committee on finance.
The bill is due to be tabled in a special sitting and Mogajane said he hoped that the legislature would agree to the measure, adding that Treasury would be forced to look at a “Plan B” if MPs refused to support it.
He said nine lenders had agreed to roll over debt that would become due at the end of the month, while Citibank has agreed to roll over a portion of the R1,761bn the loss-making airline is due to repay by September 30.
SAA relies on government guarantees of R20bn and needed government help in July to cover its debt. Treasury paid R2,2bn to Standard Chartered earlier this year, with money taken from government’s emergency fund.
Treasury’s announcement follows much speculation about the form of further financial aid to the airline, following a leak of a proposal to sell Telkom’s shares to recapitalise SAA.
Mogajane said the bill would not be linked to the proposed sale, which would raise an estimated R14bn.
The briefing saw SAA confirm that none of the five assumptions on which it has based its turnaround strategy had materialised.
These were SAA being a going concern, debtors extending terms for a minimum of three years, government giving a capital injection of at least R13 billion over three years, as well as the retiring of five excess wide-body aircraft and the retention of all the narrow-body aircraft in its fleet.
One of its narrow-body aircraft has been retired and five more would follow by the end of the month.
This will lead to a reduction of 37% of its share of the local market and four percent of the international market.
There's an old-ish quote in the USA. "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money."
National Treasury has agreed to give SAA a special appropriation of R10bn by the end of September, Director General, Dondo Mogajane, told MPs on Wednesday (September 13).
“It will be for R10bn, we have decided, because that will cover everything,” he said during a briefing on the ailing airline’s latest quarterly results to Parliament’s standing committee on finance.
The bill is due to be tabled in a special sitting and Mogajane said he hoped that the legislature would agree to the measure, adding that Treasury would be forced to look at a “Plan B” if MPs refused to support it.
He said nine lenders had agreed to roll over debt that would become due at the end of the month, while Citibank has agreed to roll over a portion of the R1,761bn the loss-making airline is due to repay by September 30.
SAA relies on government guarantees of R20bn and needed government help in July to cover its debt. Treasury paid R2,2bn to Standard Chartered earlier this year, with money taken from government’s emergency fund.
Treasury’s announcement follows much speculation about the form of further financial aid to the airline, following a leak of a proposal to sell Telkom’s shares to recapitalise SAA.
Mogajane said the bill would not be linked to the proposed sale, which would raise an estimated R14bn.
The briefing saw SAA confirm that none of the five assumptions on which it has based its turnaround strategy had materialised.
These were SAA being a going concern, debtors extending terms for a minimum of three years, government giving a capital injection of at least R13 billion over three years, as well as the retiring of five excess wide-body aircraft and the retention of all the narrow-body aircraft in its fleet.
One of its narrow-body aircraft has been retired and five more would follow by the end of the month.
This will lead to a reduction of 37% of its share of the local market and four percent of the international market.
There's an old-ish quote in the USA. "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money."