TRAVEL agents, who have for the
most part been vocal about their
support of SAA, are taking a
cautious approach to booking the
airline following mixed messages
about route cuts.
SAA’s Business Rescue Practitioners
sent shockwaves through the industry
when they announced that the airline
would scrap an unprecedented 11
flights, most of which were domestic.
“My understanding of the business
rescue process is that a plan needs
to be submitted to the shareholders
and creditors for discussion before
it is implemented,” says gm of Travel
Counsellors SA, Mladen Lukic.
“We were initially advised that this
plan would be presented at the end of
the month. It is therefore concerning
to see notifications about major route
cancellations coming through in the
middle of this process, together with
reports from government voicing its
displeasure about the cuts. We need
clarity on whether this decision is final
or still subject to approval. As such, we
continue to proceed with caution when
booking SAA,” he said.
Karen Foley, manager of Harvey
World Highway, told TNW that although
the agency wanted to support SAA, it
was uncertain on how to proceed as
the cancelled domestic routes were still
reflecting in the system after the cut-off
date of February 29.
“We are in a Catch 22 situation. We
want to support SAA but until such
time as the network stabilises and we
can assure clients that their flights will
not be cancelled, we are nervous to
book the airline,” she said.
Ceo of Tourvest Travel Services,
Morné du Preez, said they would
continue to support SAA through its
business rescue process but that
they had found the communications
from the airline and its stakeholders
disjointed. “We understand that the
airline needs to take action and we
want to know about the changes
sooner rather than later.”
XL Travel ceo, Marco Ciocchetti, has
expressed concern about government’s
potential interference with the business
rescue progress at SAA. “We were
requested to support SAA because
they are not getting any business at
the moment as nobody knows what
is happening with the airline. So
when they announced they would be
eliminating certain routes, we at least
knew how to guide clients. Now that
the government is unhappy with the
route cuts, we have no idea how to
guide our clients. My concern is that
there is interference again with what
the business practitioners are doing.”
Another concern is financial protection
for agents. “While Iata confirms that
there are sufficient guarantees in
place to protect the monies in the
BSP, there is still uncertainty as to the
extent of the financial protection once
the monies are paid over to SAA and
whether customers would receive 100%
of their money back should the
airline cease to exist. Asata
hopes to receive more clarity
at a meeting that has been
arranged with the BRPs next
week. In the interim, we are
proceeding with caution,” says
ceo of Asata, Otto de Vries.
Customers should continue
to buy SAA tickets with
confidence. This is because the
proceeds from all future sales
are protected by the Business
Rescue Practitioners, says
HOD of media relations for SAA
Tlali Tlali. “This guarantee is
provided for in terms of the
Companies Act.”
Meanwhile, SAA should be
applauded for how it is handling
the business rescue process,
says ceo of Travelstart,
Stephan Ekbergh. “We see
airlines around the world that
are in financial difficulty closing
doors and leaving thousands
of passengers stranded. SAA
remains 100% committed to
re-accommodating passenger
affected by flight cancellations.
As such, we continue to
support the airline in its efforts
to rebuild.”
South Africa needs a good
local carrier to promote travel,
the industry feels. SAA was
a brand that promoted the
country and a brand South
Africans could identify with
and be proud of, says md
of MSC Cruises in SA, Ross
Volk. “SAA has a good
product but I think they have
just been mismanaged and
that’s unfortunate. I think it’s
imperative that we have a
national carrier, whether it is
owned privately or by the state
is up for debate, but I think we
need to see that SA brand.”
