SAA warns against website scam

South African Airways (SAA) has sent out a warning about unofficial websites that purport to be SAA official websites. “They contain false and/or misleading information about SAA’s Cadet Pilot Development Programme and cabin crew recruitment process,” an airline spokesman said. 

“SAA would like to clarify that it does not have any relationship whatsoever with those channels (websites), nor individuals behind them. Members of the public are advised to take caution and are encouraged to contact SAA telephonically in case they need to verify the official SAA electronic platforms they can use.

“A quick way of identifying these bogus sites is that they ask for a fee to be paid to “secure an application, or to ensure that an applicant gets shortlisted’’. SAA never charges any fee during recruitment drives.

On 14 September this year SAA invited young South Africans aspiring to become pilots to send their applications for the 2014/2015 intake of SAA’s Cadet Pilot Programme. The advert was placed in some of the national weekend newspapers. In addition, the following official SAA electronic communication channels carried the advert: SAA website (flysaa.com), SAA’s Facebook page (FlySAA) and SAA’s Twitter account (@flysaa). The closing date for applications was 27 September 2014.

Due to the high demand, SAA decided to extend the closing date to 3 October 2014. That date has since passed and no further extensions have been granted.