The troubled African carrier has been working on a network and route rationalization program since November as part of a turnaround strategy, which SAA said is making “steady progress.”
Over the past six months, SAA has met with major codeshare partners and potential commercial partners, including Air Mauritius, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Chicago-based United Airlines.
SAA said the meetings were aimed at revitalizing commercial delivery under existing agreements and exploring opportunities to expand the network.
“These discussions have been purely about commercial agreements such as interline, codeshare, cargo, as well as possibilities of these airlines taking some of our excess flight deck and cabin crew staff,” SAA said in a statement.
When the government announced the turnaround push, it indicated SAA could seek an equity partner. However, in this latest communication, SAA said: “We have not discussed any possibility of them investing in SAA.”
Johannesburg-based Star Alliance member SAA and its local affiliates—SA Express, Airlink and LCC Mango—serve 57 regional destinations and nine intercontinental routes.
ATW
