This according to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), with the organisation saying the previously state-owned enterprise has been worse off because of government’s involvement in its affairs.

The embattled airline came out of business rescue in April followed by an announcement of a new strategic partner Takatso Consortium.

Under the close-to-finalised deal, Takatso Consortium will take a 51% stake while government drops to 49%. 

But it’s unclear if the airline will take to the skies in September under new ownership. 

“There’s so many other questions. We’ve always been concerned that SAA has been and will continue to be bailed out by the public, as much as they’ve indicated that there’s a private equity shareholder which has still got a lot of questions around that and we need answers to those,” says Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage. 

SAA is expected to resume national and regional flights next month, with tickets set to go on sale on Thursday. 

Mango, a subsidiary of SAA, continues to face turbulence.

The low-cost airline was placed under voluntary business rescue earlier this month. 

Duvenage says the pending deal could have far-reaching implications for Mango, SAA Technical and Air Chefs.

“We’ve always said it should be privatised. Government has got an atrocious track record at running airlines and running businesses, they don’t know how to do it properly. 

“It will be interesting to see how it unfolds but the public is sick and tired of bailing them out.”

He believes the aviation industry needs some reforms to level the playing field and make it competitive. 

Jacaranda News