South African Airways finally secured the funding it needs to keep flying for the time being, yet there’s still a long way to go before the carrier can claim to be stable. SAA probably has enough cash to keep operating for as long as 8 months after the Development Bank of Southern Africa stepped in with a ZAR.5b (US$240m) injection, according to Joachim Vermooten, an independent aviation consultant. The carrier is running at a loss of about ZAR500m a month and the situation may deteriorate as it scraps flights and reduces ticket prices to attract wary customers, he said. The loss-making airline was put into a local form of bankruptcy protection late last year and administrators at Matuson & Associates have little more than a month left to come up with a workable plan to turn it around. <br/>
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South African Airways has scrutinized flight demand and will cancel and consolidate selected scheduled flights where there is low demand based on current forward bookings for the month of February, it said. “We are committed to accommodating all affected customers on alternative flights, operated by the airline and its Star Alliance partners,” CCO Philip Saunders said Thursday. Any inconvenience or delays are intended to be minimal, he said. The airline has notified travel agents and alliance partners of the operational changes. The airline’s business rescue practitioners will continue to review all third party contracts with the intention to cancel any onerous contracts or renegotiate others into commercially accepted terms, the airline said. <br/>
Turkish Airlines announced Friday that it is suspending flights to 4 Chinese destinations until Feb 9 amid the coronavirus outbreak. "In order to evaluate the situation and recent developments regarding the coronavirus with national and international authorities, we are suspending our flights to the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xian until Feb 9," Yahya Ustun, Turkish Airlines’ senior VP for media relations, said. The novel coronavirus which originated in Wuhan city, is said to have been transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats. The virus has raised alarm globally with cases reported across Asia, Europe, the US and Canada. Travellers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide. Several airlines have suspended flights to Wuhan. <br/>
Indian officials met with as many as 9 companies during roadshows to gauge interest in a stake sale in the nation’s loss-making carrier, people with knowledge of the matter said. Officials met executives of companies including IAG, IndiGo, SpiceJet as well as Tata Sons, the people said. A successful sale of Air India after a failed attempt in 2018 is crucial for prime minister Narendra Modi to help bridge a widening fiscal deficit exacerbated by dismal tax collections and a US$20b corporate tax cut. Air India hasn’t made money since 2007. The airline posted a loss of $1.2b last year -- its highest ever -- and has $8.4b in total debt. The airline will have to shut down if it can’t find a buyer, aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri old the Indian parliament in November. <br/>