SAA pilots have threatened to go on strike to force management to save the embattled airline.
The pilots say their intention is not to add to the SAA’s problems.
“On the contrary, our goal is to put an end to the continual pressure on the fiscus in the form of bailouts and guarantees and, ultimately, to help put the airline on the road to recovery,” SAA Pilots Association (Saapa) chair Grant Back said, on Thursday.
There have been growing calls for the government to sell the debt-laden airline.
The national carrier has amassed just more than R18bn of losses since the 2015 financial year and is seeking about R22bn in government bailouts over the next three years.
Ratings agencies have cited state-owned entities, including power utility Eskom and SAA, which collectively carry debts approaching R700bn, among the major risks to the sustainability of the nation’s finances.
As part of efforts to turn the national carrier around, the government is proposing to consolidate the three state-owned airlines — SAA, SA Express and Mango.
In June, Saapa began the process of canvassing its members on their perception of management at SAA.
The survey, carried out by an independent service provider, also asked each pilot their view on the appropriate action necessary to ensure a proper turnaround of SAA and to return it to sustainability.
A total of 516 of 635 (81%) of the SAA pilots responded to the survey.
The findings showed that 91% of pilots said operations management was “poor” to “extremely poor”, 96% were in favour of taking a “proactive stand” to force change at the airline and 90% backed protected industrial action to enforce a higher standard within SAA.
“It needs to be understood that the decision to embark on industrial action is not one that the pilots of SAA will take lightly. Indeed, if such a strike is embarked upon, it would be for the first time in SAA’s 80-year history,” said Back.
He said the pilots and Saapa leadership cannot allow the airline to continue as if it is business as usual.
“Our numerous engagements with the company have not yielded outcomes that give us confidence in the future of the airline. Above all, the skills deficit must be addressed with urgency.”
The vast majority of recent appointments are in an acting capacity “reminiscent of the Dudu Myeni era, where appointments were made based on allegiances instead of skills and experience”.
Myeni was the former chair of the airline.
In the last 18 months, two expensive organisational designs were carried out and yet nothing had been implemented, Back said.
In June, Vuyani Jarana stepped down as CEO of the airline. According to his resignation letter to the board, the demand to constantly have decisions run past the department of public enterprises and the Treasury “systematically undermined” his efforts to pursue a turnaround strategy and to “nimbly respond to the challenges facing the airline”.
In August, the pilots association sent a letter of demand to SAA calling for the appointment of a CEO within 90 days. That person should have previous CEO experience, specialised skills and experience in the turnaround of an airline similar in size to SAA, the association said.
The association also called for the appointment of a retired or active pilot to the SAA board to ensure that someone with the required skills, knowledge and experience pertaining to large, jet-powered aircraft operations can provide the necessary guidance and input. Furthermore, Saapa wants flights operations to be restructured and a skills audit to be conducted within sixty days.
“The bottom line is that SAA will not recover unless critical operational and technical deficiencies are immediately addressed by a strong leadership team,” Back said.
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan recently said there was still an investment case for SAA. He said the airline was required to appoint appropriate local and global commercial and aviation skills.
“It must change the culture of entitlement, embed accountability, streamline approval processes, secure funding and ensure an accelerated implementation plan. But ultimately, we need to create an airline that is fit for purpose and able to compete effectively in a dynamic market and ready to negotiate with a strategic equity partner,” Gordhan said.
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