At the Thursday night launch function of SAA’s reintroduced flights (thrice weekly) between Johannesburg and Perth, Chairperson of the interim board of SAA, Derek Hanekom, used the opportunity to dispel notions that the carrier was still in a position of precarious financial instability.

Speaking at the function, held at the Four Seasons Westcliff Hotel, Hanekom said the board had been forced to shelve certain plans tabled for a more expansive and ambitious re-emergence, but those plans had been premised on the R3 billion (€148.8m) cash injection, which was no longer going to come. He was referring to the collapse of the Takatso Consortium deal in which Takatso was to buy 51% of the national carrier.

Deal or no deal, SAA has in the meanwhile gone ahead with the reinstatement of a second intercontinental flight after last October’s restart of flights to São Paulo. Hanekom said this had been achieved after careful consideration by the board.

“We are confident that we are going to stay the course. We are going to grow sustainably.”

Sustainable growth is a topic that SAA returns to often. Referring to an earlier remark by the carrier’s CEO, Professor John Lamola, that SAA was harbouring “no illusions of a return to the glory days of yore”, Hanekom said there was no room for self-deception.

“We are not going to get back to that glorious past. But it was also to some extent artificial. Let’s be honest. That glorious past cost the taxpayer a lot of money.

“We are positive. We are not in trouble. We are not in a crisis. Some of the uncertainty has gone away. We know where we are and where we stand. We know we need to attract investors and that we need additional finance to do all the things we want to do, but we are proceeding anyway, with or without it.”

Hanekom said had it not been for Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, the carrier would probably not be around.

“Other ministers wanted to dispose of SAA, but Gordhan was adamant.

“If it hadn’t been for that dedication and determination, SAA would have been liquidated, but now it’s growing sustainably, without any dependence on the fiscus whatsoever.”

At the same event, the Deputy High Commissioner for Australia to South Africa, David Geyer, mentioned the strong business relations between the two countries.

“Australia is the sixth-largest non-SADC visitor to South Africa. Together we spend R40 billion (€1.9bn) in goods and services every year, and have R150 billion (€7.4bn) invested in each other.

“Last year, about 100 000 Australians visited South Africa.”

Geyer recalled the history of the Perth route, first implemented as ‘The Wallaby Route’ in 1957 when it took about 24 hours to fly from Johannesburg to Mauritius, the Cocos Islands and onward to Perth.

Adding her voice in agreement about the importance of the Jo’burg-Perth route for the sake of fostering trade and tourism ties between South Africa and Australia, Judy Nwokedi, Chairperson of the Gauteng Tourism Authority, said it was important for Brand South Africa.

She said the flight between the two cities could be used to tap into symbiotic business potential, including tourism growth.

Lamola said while the launch of the São Paulo to Cape Town route last year had been about resilient survival and growth, the launch of Perth was about strategy and plan.

“What we are celebrating tonight is that when flight SA280 lands in Perth on Monday, it will be the roll-out of that strategy.”

SAA will operate its first flight from OR Tambo International Airport to Perth Airport on Sunday, April 28.

The flight departs JNB at 20h55 on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and will land at PER at 12h20 the following day. 

Following an adjustment to its schedule, return flights to South Africa will be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, departing PER at 23h50 and arriving in JNB at 04h45.

Carla Da Silva, SAA’s General Manager Sales, Marketing, eCommerce & Distribution, told Tourism Update that SAA had interline agreements in place with Virgin Australia, Qantas and Air New Zealand. “Seamless connections await our travellers to and from all corners of Australia and New Zealand. Plus, they will enjoy the convenience of through-fares for a hassle-free journey. Adventure awaits,” she said.

Perth is a popular travel destination for South Africans, many of whom have family in the city. As the capital of Western Australia, it is also one of the country’s economic hotspots with a massive focus on mining and minerals.