South African Airways: From Financial Crisis to the Return Under State Control

A decade-long crisis

SAA entered business rescue in 2019 after years in the red, emerging in 2021 with a drastically reduced structure compared with the past. The government had planned to sell 51% of the airline to the Takatso consortium, a deal negotiated over three years and finally cancelled in March 2024 by minister Pravin Gordhan over the failure to agree on the value of the transaction: SAA thus remained 100% in public hands, with the executive committing not to grant further direct bailouts.

The fleet and network today

The current fleet is based on the Airbus A320 for regional African and domestic routes, with a more limited presence of widebody aircraft than in the pre-crisis era, when SAA operated a far broader intercontinental network across several continents. Star Alliance membership remains a central element of the offering, allowing codeshare connections with the alliance's partners on many of the long-haul destinations the airline no longer operates with its own aircraft.

What passengers say

• Most appreciated aspects: onboard service on regional routes judged friendly, the Voyager program still considered worthwhile for frequent flyers in southern Africa.
• Most critical aspects: a much smaller direct international network than in the past, with many passengers forced onto longer routings via the alliance's partners.

SAA remains a solid choice if you travel between Johannesburg and the main cities of southern Africa and want to stay within the benefits of Star Alliance. It is less suitable if you are looking for a direct flight to Europe or North America, since most of these connections now go through the alliance's partners rather than on the airline's own aircraft.

If your itinerary combines an SAA flight with a leg operated by another Star Alliance member, always check the baggage rules that apply to each segment: they may differ from those of the South African airline.