Takatso, SAA merger approved by Competition Tribunal
Takatso Aviation has hailed the Competition Tribunal's approval of its proposed merger with South African Airways as a historic moment.
The company is on its way to acquiring, from the government, a 51% stake in the struggling national carrier.
The tribunal's decision came with conditions including a halt on retrenchments.
"Competition Tribunal approval of the transaction reaffirms our belief that the airline industry in this country can do with more seat capacity and related price and service competition, especially in light of the current mismatch between demand and supply, that has been created by the significantly reduced scale of SAA operations in recent years, as well as the demise and discontinuation of operations of several other airlines," said the group's Thulasizwe Simelane.
"The Tribunal's approval is also an affirmation of our conviction that such competition can only come from a strong, competitive, financially-sustainable, and agile SAA, backed by a committed equity partner supporting it to grow and seize opportunities presented by the market at the moment."
