South African Airways plans to add 64% new destination from its hub in Johannesburg by the end of April as it rebuilds its business to focus on regional and international routes after a deal with an investor collapsed.
“We are cash positive as a company, and we are able to survive in the next 12 to 18 months on our own,” Lamola said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Johannesburg. The airline, founded in 1934, has had rely on taxpayers for years until its bankruptcy following the pandemic. A plan by the government to sell a 51% stake in the carrier was abandoned in March, forcing the company to scale back its expansion plans. While South African Airways won’t seek bailouts, it would ask for sovereign guarantees to expand over the next three years, Lamola said.
The carrier also plans to open routes to Frankfurt, Munich, London and to cities in the east coast of the US, Lamola said, though those destinations would only be considered in the year ending March, 2028.