Will SAA's plans really fly?

Consultants at the airline have completed as many as nine turnaround strategies‚ studies and reports in the past six years.

The department is co-ordinating a task team comprising internal aviation specialists‚ the chief executives of SAA‚ South African Express and Mango and the respective' boards of directors to draft a turnaround strategy for the troubled airline before the end of March.

SAA has been asking for billions of rand from the government to help it stay afloat. The turnaround strategy is one of the conditions the Treasury imposed before the latest R5bn guarantee was extended to the airline late last year.

"Everyone acknowledges that the fundamental problem with SAA is its weak capital base‚" Matona said. It was likely that SAA would require a substantial cash injection to stabilise the business and allow it to acquire the new aircraft needed for its short- and long-haul routes.

"When I convened the first meeting of the group I was struck by the depth of knowledge and the understanding of what the problems are with the airline‚" Matona said in an interview last week.

Two important themes emerged from the work done by the task team and the most important was the leadership stability.

"A view that has emerged very strongly is that while there have been strategies and plans, the implementation of these plans has been a problem‚" Matona said.

The leadership instability dated back to when former chief executive Khaya Ngqula headed the airline between 2004 and 2009. Since then the airline has had three chief executives‚ including the current acting CEO‚ Vuyisile Kona.

Matona said the department had placed adverts for applicants for the job in a bid to attract a highly qualified leader to run the airline.

"The sooner we can get someone working with the team‚ the better," Matona added.

He said said the second important thing was the need for an integrated approach to aviation by the state.

Matona will, over the next two weeks, meet the directors-general of departments needed to create an environment that will help SAA succeed. These departments include home affairs‚ trade and industry‚ tourism‚ the Treasury and transport.