South African Airways outlook brightens as recovery plan and partnership strategy roll out

South African Airways (SAA) is finally starting to make progress on a strategic plan that was initially prepared in early 2013. SAA has been highly unprofitable in recent years as it has struggled to secure the government approvals needed for a meaningful restructuring.

The ailing flag carrier is cutting its Beijing and Mumbai routes at the end of Mar-2015 but launching Abu Dhabi as part of an expanded partnership with Etihad. Trimming the long-haul network and relying more on partnerships are crucial components of a new business plan that SAA until now has been stymied in implementing due to continued resistance and meddling from its government shareholder.

But SAA still has a several challenges to overcome, including increasing competition from LCCs on domestic and regional international routes.