It is not news that the national carrier is struggling. In attempts to fight off economic collapse, those close to the situation claim the airline might sell two of its coveted slots at Heathrow International Airport in London.
The airline has announced other cost-saving measures recently, including cutting eight international routes and ending all domestic flights except for those between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
South African Airways currently has two takeoff and landing slots, one of which is currently in use. These night-time slots are valuable as they offer favourable arrival times for passengers.
They could shift the London-Johannesburg flights to a cheaper daytime schedule, according to MyBroadband.
This shift would free up the valuable night-time slots for sale and would reduce costs because the day-time slots have a faster turnaround.
Those who supplied this information asked not to be identified until an official announcement was made.
When asked about a possible sale, SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali told BussinessTech,’SAA continues to operate to London and this has been confirmed by network changes recently announced by the business rescue practitioners,
‘This means the current Heathrow slots remain within SAA’s overall portfolio.’
These slots can fetch a significant sum, with Oman Air setting a record in 2016 by buying a landing slot in Heathrow for $75 million from Air France-KLM.
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