THE travel industry has
called on SAA’s new
ceo, Vuyani Jarana, to
urgently engage with the top
leaders in the trade to help
turn the airline around.
“We would like to have
a much more strategic
relationship with SAA,” says
Asata president, Vanya
Lessing.
“SAA needs to respect
that the trade generates
more than 80% of its
business. In terms of our
support and the future of
SAA, we believe the airline
should strategically engage
with the leaders of the
travel industry, because we
could provide some valuable
insight.”
She suggests regular
top leadership forums.
“We hope the new ceo
and cfo will appreciate the
contribution made by the
trade and that they develop
a positive relationship
with us.”
TAG founder, Jonathan
Gerber, agrees. “SAA
needs to make use of
travel agents again as
the industry can help to
turn the airline around,
but we need a committed
airline with decent sales
reps and managers who
are empowered to make
decisions.
“It appears leadership has
been too scared to make
tough decisions. One hopes
the new ceo will make a
difference as SAA has been
lunging from one crisis to
the next.”
Vanya says it has been
“extremely difficult and very
frustrating” dealing with SAA
in the past few years as
leadership problems racked
the airline. SAA has had five
ceos between 2013 and
2017.
She says this has
resulted in late
negotiations of preferred
partner agreements and
no consultation when
commercial decisions, such
as route cuts, are made.
SAA is to axe a number
of as yet unnamed routes
to save R900m a year
after posting a R1,4bn
loss for the first quarter of
2017/18 due to a drop in
passenger revenues caused
by declining passenger
demand and lower fares,
mainly in the domestic and
regional markets; problems
with revenue and contract
management; lack of
internal controls; and Exco
skills shortages (the coo
post is still not filled).
This emerged at a briefing
on SAA’s liquidity crisis
at Parliament’s Standing
Committee on Finance.
Abuja is the first route that
remains suspended since
February after costing the
airline “millions of rands
each month”, Finance
Minister, Malusi Gigaba, told
MPs.
SAA spokesman, Tlali
Tlali, has dismissed as
“speculation” that São
Paulo, Hong Kong and
Washington DC would get
the chop. “We evaluate every
route based on profitability
and its worth or contribution
towards the airline’s route
network.” Asked if the trade
would be consulted, he says:
“We are in constant dialogue
with our various travel trade
partners who comprise
travel agents, tour operators,
tourism bodies, trade and
industry bodies, amongst
others. Their input is always
taken into consideration, but
the decisions are made by
the airline, because we are
best placed to consolidate
all the input and therefore
able to make best possible
decisions.”
It has also emerged that
forensic reports on SAA
losses reveal “revenue
leakage” and wrongdoers will
be prosecuted.
Club Travel ceo, Wally
Gaynor, says route cuts
will make it difficult for the
trade to meet its preferred
partnership targets.
He confirms that Club
Travel results show SAA
passenger revenue is
declining, while Club Travel
is experiencing double-digit
business growth on other
airlines.
“I’m disappointed the
new ceo has no aviation
background. With the
amount of problems they
have at SAA, I don’t believe
that somebody without
aviation experience will be
able to fix it, but we live in
hope! We’d like to see our
national carrier succeed!”
