CHICAGO - WHERE will SAA get the aircraft it needs to start its new African and Argentine services? For some time the airline has been trying to lease three narrow-body aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800 which it would consider as its ideal interim solution, Jason Krause, head of network development, told TNW at the Star Alliance conference yesterday. We need these three aircraft desperately, he said. But while finding them may now be easier as other airlines prune services, he said that with the restructuring complete, SAA is anyway about to reactivate their long term aircraft aquisition programme. Starting early next year, SAA wants to plan the renewal of its fleet as well as add to it. The plan to take the airline to 2020 should should be in place by mid year. "We want to rationalise our fleet. Ideally we would like not more than one supplier for the narrow body aircraft and one for the wide bodies," he told TravelHub. SAA now has 21 wide body aircraft and 29 narrow body. SAA ceo, Khaya Ngqula, says: “At a time when many other airlines are consolidating or reducing their flights, the success of SAA’s restructuring programme has left the airline well placed to explore growth plans for the future”.