JOHANNESBURG – The South African Airways Pilots’ Association (SAAPA) said on Wednesday it welcomed the first step towards a revitalised national carrier after creditors voted in favour of a business rescue plan for the airline. Tuesday’s vote saw 86% of creditors support the plan for loss-making South African Airways (SAA), which the government placed under business rescue last December. “We believe that it is in the best interests of SAA, its employees and all affected persons, for the airline to successfully exit business rescue,” SAAPA chairman Captain Grant Back said.

“The adoption of the business rescue plan … is the first step in this direction.”

On Tuesday the department of public enterprises said the favourable vote was a much better outcome for creditors and SAA employees than liquidation, and that the government was confident the implementation of the plan “will balance the rights and interests of all parties”.

The process will see the retrenchment of some 2,700 SAA staff, with severance packages for employees set to cost R2.2 billion (US$131.8 million).

Last week the department said it was concerned that SAAPA was seeking benefits for its members which were much higher than those of other employees at SAA and signalled it was not prepared to grant them.

Wednesday’s statement from the pilots association made no mention of this impasse. Back did say that the approval of the rescue plan must usher in a new era of transparency and accountability at the airline if it was to succeed, adding that the appointment of Philip Saunders as theairline’s interim CEO was encouraging given his experience in the airline industry. “We hope that the new interim board to be appointed soon will be made up of diverse and experienced individuals, with business acumen and airline experience, who are determined to put SAA on a path to profitability, prosperity and growth, free from political interference and meddling,” he said.
–Nampa/ANA