Ditch flowers, meals, cut cabin crew, South African airline told

Apr 8, 2007, 10:27 GMT

Johannesburg - Cutting back on cabin crew, axeing meals on domestic flights and scrapping flower arrangements in company offices are some of the cost-cutting measures proposed to turn around ailing South African Airways (SAA), reports said Sunday.

An international consulting group specialized in aviation has proposed a 2.7-billion-rand cost-cutting plan at national carrier SAA, which is due to be reviewed at a board meeting next month, the Sunday Times reported.

Eliminating meals in economy class on domestic routes and rationalizing meal options in business class could alone save the airline 171 million rand, according to Seabury Airline Planning Group.

A further 287 million rand could be saved on marketing and sponsorship of sporting and cultural events such as Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Women's World Cup of Golf, the rescue plan outlined.

Other proposals include cutting the number of cabin crew on flights, suspending unprofitable routes and closing offices in several countries.

The government is under pressure to find an answer to SAA's woes after reportedly being forced this week to give the airline a 1.3- billion-rand guarantee as part of a recapitalization programme.

SAA is expected to post losses of over 650 million, attributed to rising fuel costs, competition from low-cost airlines and poor management, for 2006.