The notion that the process should be a last resort is thankfully not a mistake the airline’s directors madeJust eight months ago Comair released its results for the financial year to end-June 2019. The highlight was that earnings had increased by over 175% and headline earnings per share by 184%. For any company operating in a country with weak economic fundamentals, such performances were remarkably impressive.
The 2019 results reflecting a profit of R897m were presented in the aftermath of the conclusion of a 14-year conflict over competition involving SAA. Comair won the case and was awarded R1.1bn plus R168m in interest. Without this settlement Comair’s profits had in fact declined by 82% in the 12-month period. In addition, the airline had to deal with the grounding of the Boeing Max 787 fleet, which was being subjected to an international lockdown after two...