SAA may sell Heathrow slots to raise cash

South African Airways may sell its two prized nighttime operating slots at London’s Heathrow as the state-owned carrier battles to stave off financial collapse, according to people familiar with the situation. The national airline is currently using only one of the two takeoff and landing slots and could shift London-Johannesburg flights to a cheaper daytime schedule, said the people. That would reduce costs as the turnaround time would be shorter and free up the more valuable night time slots for potential sale. “SAA continues to operate to London and this has been confirmed by network changes recently announced by the business rescue practitioners,” a spokesman said Thursday. “This means the current Heathrow slots remain within SAA’s overall portfolio.” The slots do not have to be used to fly between the UK and South Africa as they are merely time slots for Heathrow. Nevertheless, overnight flights to and from Johannesburg are convenient for the 11-hour journey and are likely to attract customers. <br/>