The Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, announced on Friday morning that Takatso Consortium will own 51% of South African Airways.
Harith General Partners, a leading Pan-African investor in African infrastructure, together with aviation group Global Aviation, have partnered with the South African Government, who aims to build a national and sustainable Pan-African airline.
“The partnership represents a robust, exciting South African-bred solution. Harith, as owners of Lanseria International Airport, has significant experience in the transport infrastructure and aviation sectors. We have deployed more than a billion dollars into a portfolio of critical infrastructure assets across the African continent that support regional economies,” said Tshepo Mahloele, co-founder and chairperson of the consortium.
Takatso CEO, former Comair Co-CEO and recently co-founder of Global’s airline Lift, Gidon Novick, said he was confident that SAA could be built into an efficient, customer obsessed and innovative airline that serves as a catalyst for growth in the South African economy, particularly in tourism.
“Covid-19 has created a unique set of circumstances for the industry. There are incredible skills and talent available right here in South Africa as well as an abundance of low-priced aircraft available globally – both critical ingredients for a successful airline. Transformation will be core to SAA, including accelerated training and promotion of qualified black pilots and a broad-based employee incentive scheme,” he said.
A due diligence exercise will now get under way. Once completed, further details will be outlined on key issues such as the route network rollout, fleet selection, leadership team, transformation, brand relaunch, technology, SAA’s subsidiaries, global partnerships and Voyager.
Compiled by Justine Fortuin
