SAA names possible strategic partners

SOUTH AFRICAN Airways needs 'a big, solid airline that straddles the globe' as its eventual strategic partner, says Mafika Mkwanazi, Transnet's deputy m.d. who has the airline as part of his portfolio.
But Mkwanazi has warned that the SAA privatisation may now not be completed before March next year. By then he is confident it will be showing a profit, despite a loss scenario displayed in March this year at the end of the last financial year.
A major airline as a partner would ensure SAA's future as a global competitor, he said, and would enable it to enjoy economies of scale through joint purchasing arrangements, joint use of aircraft and of codesharing.
SAA, he said, would show a prospective partner its fleet plans during the next 10 months, stating that there was nothing wrong with SAA being absorbed into the culture of the successful bidder, which would help it lift its standards and reduce costs.
It is not possible for SAA to stand alone in today's aviation environment. Overseas airlines are expanding into Africa and we cannot allow ourselves to fall behind.
Potentials in the line-up as a strategic partner are the alliance of British Airways and American Airlines; Swiss Air, Delta and others such as KLM and its Asian partners and North West.