Johannesburg – The road to establishing a new national carrier moved closer to fruition on Tuesday after creditors overwhelmingly approved SAA’s business rescue plan and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) names veteran executive Philip Saunders as the airline’s interim chief.
The department said 86% of creditors backed the plan – 11% more than required – paving the way for the restructuring of the national carrier and the retention of more jobs despite a last minute attempt by SAA Pilot’s Association (Saapa) to scupper the process.
Saunders has his work cut out for him as he is required to implement the airline’s reconfiguration into a new and viable carrier with fewer employees.
Acting director-general at the DPE, Kgothatso Tlhakudi, said the DPE backed Saunders to take SAA out of its current turbulence, as he was an experienced airline executive with a strong commercial background.
“The interim chief executive for the airline will be Phillip Saunders, who has a credible track record of leading airlines around the world, and his last position before joining SAA was at the International Air Transport Association,” said Tlhakudi.
Tlhakudi added that Saunders would be working closely with a new interim board and management team appointed to implement a fundamental restructuring of SAA .
“In the coming days, the DPE will be announcing an interim board of the new SAA,” Tlhakudi said.
