SAA will not give up its domestic services. The airline has refuted a speculative report in Times Live that suggested SAA had “hinted that it may drop all local and short-haul, ‘full-service’ flights, making way for its low-cost carrier, Mango, to fill the gap”.

Tlali Tlali, Spokesperson for SAA, told Tourism Update: “This is not the case at all. The SAA Group, which comprises SAA and Mango as well as airlines like SAX and Airlink that carry the SAA code, will continue to service all South African network points optimally and efficiently.”

SAA hosted a media lunch last week with Nico Bezuidenhout, SAA acting CEO, who updated attendees on SAA’s 90 Day Action Plan. At the lunch, at which Tourism Update was present, Bezuidenhout said the airline was looking at rebalancing its domestic capacity versus its African capacity.

He said SAA had generated losses in the domestic market, while Mango had seen a profit and – like airlines such as British Airways, Air France and Lufthansa, which were changing their short haul stable to develop their LCC subsidiaries – SAA would need to adjust its output in the domestic market.

“Currently, SAA has 60% of its aircraft assigned to the domestic market, whereas it has less than 30% assigned to its African routes. Yet it is clear that there is greater demand and higher margins in the African market, where SAA is seeing the highest growth from a low base,” he said.