THE board of SA Express
(SAX) appointed Siza
Mzimela as the airline’s
acting ceo on August 1, with
approval from the Minister
of Public Enterprises, Pravin
Gordhan.
Siza has more than 20 years’
aviation experience. She was
the executive vp of global
passenger services at SAA
from 2001 to 2002, and then
executive vp of global sales
and Voyager from 2001-2002,
before being promoted to ceo
of SAX, a position she held
until 2010. She then took up
the position of ceo of SAA until
2012, before launching Blue
Crane Aviation as an executive
chairperson in December
2012, and becoming the ceo
in March 2015.
In the months preceding her
return as acting ceo of SAX,
Siza was part of the ministerial
intervention team that was
appointed in May to stabilise
the operations and finances of
SAX, and to identify options to
recapitalise the airline.
The trade has welcomed her
appointment. Mary Shilleto,
ceo of Thompsons Travel,
called it “good news for SAX”.
“I believe she will make every
effort to engage positively with
TMCs and reassure corporates
that they are able to travel with
peace of mind and reliability.”
Jonathan Gerber from Travel
Assignment Group agrees,
adding that her background
with SAA makes her well
positioned to assist with the
proposed SAA, SAX, Mango
merger.
“Siza’s main focus initially
will have to be on ensuring that
the rest of the fleet receives
its airworthiness certification
and that the airline plans a
sustainable re-launch and
growth path. She will also need
to instil a clear sense of SAX’s
role in the market. You cannot
have an airline operating with
schedules that are never
on time and aircraft that
either don’t work or present
with safety concerns,” said
Jonathan.
Marco Cristofoli, ceo
of BidTravel, believes the
appointment bodes well
for SAX. “Siza has industry
experience and is a capable
ceo. I would like to see her
show strong leadership and
good business acumen. I hope
that she has the political will of
the ANC backing her, otherwise
the challenge that lies ahead
of her will be all the more
difficult.”
He said, to restore industry
faith in SAX, Siza must deliver
on the promises she makes.
“She should be careful to only
promise things that she knows
she will deliver on. Grand
promises will fall on deaf ears.
She will also need to ‘hit the
ground running’ and ensure
that she personally engages
SAX trade partners to provide
clarity on the way forward for
the airline.”
