Russell Loubser on SAA take-off: Like it or not, SA may get back loss-making airline

South African Airways has flown the national flag proudly around the world. Behind the good cabin service and the smart uniforms worn by attendants, SAA has been sucking up billions of rands in taxpayers’ funds. Its financial problems have been linked to graft and incompetence, with former chair Dudu Myeni declared a delinquent director earlier this month. Eight years ago, former JSE president Russell Loubser stepped down as a director of South African Airways, leading half the board in a very public walkout in protest against the incompetence of the Public Enterprises department. In this interview with BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg, Loubser explains what it will take to make SAA profitable. For now, he doesn’t appear optimistic that SAA will be anything other than loss-making. - Jackie Cameron