It is an aphorism to say that aviation safety is a matter of life or death and thus safety must be non-negotiable. Using this justification, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) gets away with being quick to ground airlines for breaches of safety requirements. GROUNDING AN AIRLINE is theRead More →
(Part 1)- SA Air Force claims less than 25% availability Less than a quarter of the South African Air Force’s (SAAF’s) inventory of aircraft is operable as budget cuts, COVID-19 and Denel’s capabilities are being eroded. Only 46 of the SAAF’s 217 aircraft are now operable, according to an ArmscorRead More →
THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT is pushing ahead with its part privatisation of SAA to “a Strategic Equity Partner”. The Takatso Consortium will own 51% of the airline and the Department of Public Enterprises 49%. The intention is to list the airline on the stock market as, “one way of addressingRead More →
ONE OF THE FEW CONSOLATIONS that we have had under the onslaught of Covid is that the disease will gradually become less virulent, even if only because, in the big scheme of things, it does a virus no good if it kills its host. The good news is that weRead More →
CemAir is an airline that epitomises the resilience of the private sector under the immense pressures of the Covid-19 crisis. Guy Leitch spoke to Laura Van der Molen about how their airline survived Covid-19, and its growth plans for the recovery. A FEATURE OF THE AIRLINE that is probably uniqueRead More →
As the impact of Covid-19 is limited through vaccination and the development of herd immunity, and perhaps also an acceptance of the new normal, I get a sense that the entire airline industry is moving into a new phase. Most notable is the retirement of key industry stalwarts: Willie Walsh,Read More →
Despite the controversial arrival of a strategic equity partner for SAA, Mr Thomas Kgokolo is still the CEO, albeit only an interim one. Guy Leitch asks him how he is managing a job many consider impossible. SAA HAS HAD 20 ACTING or supposedly permanent Chief Executives in the past 10Read More →
The struggle over the remains of SAA has taken an appalling twist. Up to now I have held a grudging respect for the CAA’s commitment to uphold standards, whether ICAO SARPs, or its own regulations. I may have often disagreed with the methods and the lack of engagement with its subjects, yet the CAA has by and large maintained itsRead More →
Boeing has agreed to pay US$2.5 billion to settle criminal charges that it hid information from the FAA and airline customers about the MCAS in its 737 Max. About US$500m of this will go to families of the 346 people killed in the tragedies. This US$500m is an indication of how much African life is worth. Notable is this it is half the estimate from Bloomberg thatRead More →
(Series: Part 1. IATA: Alexandre de Juniac on African Aviation Crisis) IATA’s Director general Alexandre de Juniac provided an online address to the AFRAA 52 annual assembly. His address provides a concise assessment of the challenges facing the African air transport industry – and the way forward. This summary of the key points of his presentation providesRead More →
