Johannesburg - SAA was seeking to upgrade the engines of its ageing Airbus A340 wide-body fleet to cut fuel costs while it decided between new long-haul models from the European manufacturer and Boeing, the national carrier said last week.
Chief executive Monwabisi Kalawe held talks last week on making the jets more efficient as he sought to end the state-owned airline’s losses, he said.
SAA has a mix of A340 variants, with the upgrade focused on nine of the newest A340-600s which can seat as many as 317 people and are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines.
“The engine manufacturers I met with will be coming to do a pilot on our fleet at the end of October,” Kalawe said. “If this pilot works, we could save between 1 percent and 5 percent” of the aircraft’s fuel use.
SAA had yet to decide between Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and the rival A350 from Airbus as it moved towards a less fuel hungry long-haul fleet, he said.
Chief financial officer Wolf Meyer said in July that the carrier had asked manufacturers to tender for an order for 23 wide-body aircraft for delivery from 2017, and upgrading the A340s will help limit costs in the interim.
Exactly how many long-range jets the airline would buy had not been decided, Kalawe said, adding that “the figure will be finalised as part of the network and fleet plan”.
SAA is renewing its fleet as part of a turnaround strategy aimed at returning to profitability by 2017, after suffering a R1.36 billion loss for the year to March 2012.
The government gave the carrier a R5bn debt guarantee in October 2012 to ensure it can borrow from financial markets to support a recovery.
Kalawe is the airline’s third chief executive in a year after Siza Mzimela resigned in the wake of a dispute between board members and the government in October last year. Mzimela’s successor, Vuyisile Kona, was suspended in February over unspecified allegations.
Kalawe said he expected better financial results for the 2012/13 financial year.
At the same time, the company was looking to establish a hub in either east or west Africa and would reach a decision by mid-2014, he said.
SAA is facing competition from Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways, the second- and third-biggest carriers in sub-Saharan Africa, as it seeks to extend the national carrier’s regional clout.
SAA flies to 26 countries in Africa, together with 11 destinations outside the continent, according to the carrier’s spokesman, Tlali Tlali.
Mergers within the group, which includes discount unit Mango and regional feeder SA Express, remained a concept that was being explored amid the drive to cut costs, Kalawe added. – Bloomberg