Lufthansa marks Sarajevo anniversary

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

SAA sold

South Africa agreed to sell a majority stake in the country’s grounded national carrier to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm, ridding the government of an entity that has long been a drain on state finances. A consortium comprised of Johannesburg-based Global Airways, which owns recently launched domestic airline Lift, and private-equity firm Harith General Partners will take a 51% shareholding in South African Airways (SAA), Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said. The government will retain a minority stake. The grouping named Takatso will invest as much as 3.5 billion rand ($258 million) over the next three years, Lift co-founder, Gidon Novick, and Harith Chief Executive Officer, Tshepo Mahloele, said in an interview. “Government will have no further financial obligations to the company, outside of the existing liabilities that they will settle”, Novick said. He added, “Route networks we are still working on, and it will be a phased roll-out based on demand re-emerging post Covid”. The sale of SAA comes about six weeks after the airline emerged from lengthy bankruptcy proceedings, having reduced its workforce by almost 80% and cut liabilities to about 2.6 billion rand. The next challenge is to resume international flights, though South Africa remains cut off from much of the world due to pandemic travel restrictions. A longer-term goal is to list the carrier on a stock exchange, Gordhan said. In the meantime, the government will retain special voting rights to ensure the airline remains in the country, among other national priorities. The deal represents a triumph of sorts for Gordhan, who has argued for the revival of SAA with the help of private investors while others were calling for it to be liquidated. While SAA is now “solvent and liquid,” business-rescue practitioners said when handing over the aircraft, subsidiaries including low cost arm Mango and maintenance firm SAA Technical remain under financial strain and are in the process of being recapitalized. The Department of Public Enterprises and the new consortium will together assess the future of the divisions as part of the due diliegence process, Gordhan said.
Source: Bloomberg

Lufthansa marks Sarajevo anniversary

NEWS FLASH

Lufthansa has celebrated twenty years since launching operations between Munich and Sarajevo. The anniversary was marked at Sarajevo Airport by General Manager, Armin Kajmaković, the German Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christiane Hohmann, the Lufthansa Group Country Manager for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, Berhard Wodl, as well as Lufthansa's Head of Sales for Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Peter Pullem. Mr Kajmaković said, “Lufthansa was one of the first carriers that started operating from our airport after the end of the war, which marked a significant step towards reconnecting Sarajevo with the rest of Europe and the world, normalising life in Sarajevo, and strengthening the economy”. He added, "Since Lufthansa's arrival, over ten million passengers have passed through Sarajevo Airport, and we recorded significant growth in the past two years. This year we expect to handle one million passengers". Ms Hohmann noted, “Lufthansa has been expanding services from Sarajevo to Germany and the European Union by introducing new flights together with Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Eurowings, and now accounts for 25% of all traffic at Sarajevo Airport”. Mr Pullem from Lufthansa added, "Our success would not be possible without our partners and customers. We look forward to continuing to provide services and a flexible network to travellers in the region".

From left to right; Mr Pullem, Ms Hohmann, Mr Wodl and Mr Kajmaković

Comments

Anonymous15:19
Is the Airbus a regular there or did they send it just for the anniversary?
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Anonymous15:41
Why don't they start FRA-SJJ?
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Anonymous16:24
I wish LH, LX and OS would fly to LJU, would provide for better and more reliable service than JP.
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Anonymous16:44
Congrats SJJ! SKP is jealous :D
poz.
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Anonymous17:10
Somebody named SJJ, the worst airport in East Europe. I hope you learn some history and respect SJJ. Long live Lufti.
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TheBosnian22:53
News, come out! Stop hiding behind that big, fat commercial ad and come out!
:-) :-) :-)
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