CONTROVERSY surrounding
SAA is starting to impact
on consumer and trade
confidence.
eTravel has received
queries from travellers who
are concerned about paying
for their tickets on SAA. “In
their words: ‘SAA may not
be around for much longer’,”
says Tammy Hunt, operations
director.
“The disruptions seem to be
further reaching than in the
past,” says Janet Aldworth,
md of Sure Voyager Travel. She
adds that clients have started
enquiring about fares on
“more reliable” carriers. She
believes the reason for this is
that all the airline’s problems
seem to be building, with no
effective ceo to come to the
rescue.
While clients are concerned,
they have not yet indicated
that they’d rather book another
carrier, disagrees David Pegg,
md Sure Viva Travels.
“Corporate consumers are
committed to SAA. They enjoy
the benefits of the Voyager
programme and many are very
loyal as SAA is the national
carrier,” agrees Geraldine
Boshoff, marketing manager of
Sure Travel.
It is unlikely that the public
will stop flying SAA as a
result of media reports, says
Rod Rutter, coo of XL Travel.
“The product has a sound
reputation and also has a
large Voyager support base.”
But Voyager members
are becoming increasingly
unsettled about their
investment in SAA, says
Janet. “People who generate
a lot of miles are concerned
about the airline’s ability to
redeem them. This worries me
because the big members are
the ones the airline is relying
on to keep them going.”
SAA is losing market
share, says a retail industry
authority. “With the airline’s
new override structure,
targets are unattainable. SAA
expects growth but is cutting
routes and frequencies. In
our business we’ve seen
a significant shift to other
airlines that offer us more
support. In general, BSP
numbers for SAA are down. If
it doesn’t sort its leadership
issues out, it will continue to
bleed market share.”
Minister of Finance, Cyril
Ramaphosa, said in a
press statement that senior
management movements
at the airline were a cause
for concern, as leadership
stability was crucial for the
airline to return to financial
sustainability.
Minister of Finance,
Phumeza Nhantsi – previously
director of accounting firm
SizweNtsalubaGobodo – has
replaced Wolf Meyer as
interim cfo, while head of
commercial operations, Sylvain
Bosc, is still on ‘special leave’.
While in the past top-level
changes to management have
had little impact on the travel
trade, this has started to
filter through to general staff,
affecting operations.
SAA has redeployed its
Durban salesperson to
Johannesburg, leaving KZN
travel agents without any
local point of contact for the
airline, says Dinesh Naidoo,
group operations director of
Serendipity Worldwide Group.
“Their reshuffling is affecting
us. They need to get their act
together now,” he told TNW.
Uncertainty around SAA’s
route offering has also left the
trade concerned. Earlier this
month, SAA announced that
it had cut back frequencies
on the Johannesburg-Abu
Dhabi route, from daily to four
flights a week. The decision
not only affects capacity to
the Middle East; it also sends
mixed signals to the trade as
the airline had only recently
promoted this route as a game
changer, says Dinesh.
“The travel industry needs
consistency and open lines of
communication that ultimately
support our various agencies
and head office,” says Rod. He
believes the public are rightly
concerned with the political
infighting at the national
carrier and says SAA should
become more proactive in its
PR campaign to counter any
incorrect or hostile publicity.
