Let’s face it, SAA is nothing short of a national embarrassment.
But from a practical marketing point of view, in this modern day and age of privatisation and blue skies policies, the need to have a state-owned national airline “carrying” a country’s flag has all but dissipated. The rapid advance of globalisation is completely obscuring national ownership of anything. Consumers do not care whether BMWs are built in South Africa or America rather than Germany. Or whether Sony cameras are made in Japan or Malaysia.
Ask any tourist or foreign investor to any country whether such-and-such an airline displaying whatever national flag, is state or privately owned and they will probably be stuck for an answer. Because to tourists and foreign investors these days it really doesn’t matter who owns the airline as long as it works.
In fact, the only possible reason I can think of for any government to insist on owning an airline is to keep getting free tickets. Or, in the case of Zimbabwe, allowing the president to commandeer a big Boeing to jet between one international conference and the next.
But, that is certainly no reason to keep expecting the taxpayer to dig deeper and deeper to bail ailing national airlines out of debt.
South African Airways has been a disaster for years now. Not only because it is losing money hand over fist but because of its steadfast refusal to empower its people. All of which has resulted in no SAA personnel being able to make on the spot decisions and provide a halfway decent level of customer service.
Now that the decision has been taken to cut staff and hack back on everything from inflight services and sponsorships, this in itself has neutralised the very thing that has had trade unions vociferously arguing against privatisation. Surely, instead of continually ploughing money into this bottomless pit, the time is ripe to present the trades union with strong enough arguments for privatisation.
It does not take a rocket scientist to see that a private SAA will mean more job security than the present situation.
South Africa now has a wonderful track record of profitable aviation ventures. One just has to look at Comair or Nationwide to see how things should get done and how profits can be made even when things are incredibly tight.
As a paranoid national airline, SAA has for some time done nothing more than try and kill off competition rather than market itself into a position of strength. Like a schoolyard bully it has petulantly blocked foreign carriers from getting more flights to this country and in so doing actually kept tourists away from our shores.
Government needs to take a leap of faith and cut the apron strings that tie it to SAA. Right now it is not doing the image of this country any good at all.
And the cost-cutting measures SAA is taking look far more like desperation than workable strategy. All it is going to do is make things worse. And increase the number of people - loyal, patriotic South Africans - who simply refuse point blank to travel on their national airline because of the pathetic standard of service.
If we can allow and seemingly be quite happy to allow British Airways to proudly proclaim itself official carrier to the national rugby team without any real negative reaction, then why not get someone who knows how to run airlines to take over SAA?
