South African Airways to scale back in 3-year break-even bid

South African Airways is striving to return to profit in 3 years by reducing the size of the network and transferring planes to its low-cost carrier as CE Vuyani Jarana embarks on a recovery plan. A turnaround of the airline is among the more urgent priorities of newly appointed Finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, who is seeking to avoid a repeat of the govt bailout approved by his predecessor Malusi Gigaba last year. The carrier’s net loss widened more than three-fold to ZAR5.6b (US$473m) in fiscal 2017 and the company may not be able to operate as a going concern, South Africa’s Auditor General said last week. “We now have a clear strategy and clear path to profitability defined by the board,” said Jarana, who became SAA’s first permanent CE in 3 years when he started work in November. <br/>