SAA is going down the Drain!
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Oh do wind your neck in Rider..We are talking quality of service not politics, I am more than aware of the politics of the time, although from your rant, you appear to have problems making the difference 
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Editorial in a recent issue of the Kept Arms. (WUESA's will know what that means!) For the others, it's the Cape Times.
A cunning plan to promote fear of flying the national airline
SA Airways don’t really want us as passengers. I think they would prefer it if we boycotted them and used other airlines instead.
This would enable them to shut down entirely, stop paying departing chief executives huge golden handshakes, and put an end to their annual losses.
Naturally they will deny this is their intention, but why scrap the direct Cape Town-to-London flight if not to chase all those travellers with an aversion to changing planes in Johannesburg into the arms of BA?
Now SAA have thought of a new stratagem to get rid of everyone with the faintest fear of flying. They want to reduce the number of flying hours necessary for a new second-level officer to sit in the cockpit from 1 500 to 250. The idea is that this will make it easier for black men and women to become pilots.
At present some 90 percent of SAA pilots are white which airline director Andile Khumalo called “a congress of white boys”. Personally I don’t mind whether they’re a congress of white, black or blue boys, or even green girls for that matter, so long as they’ve got a lot more flying hours under their belts than a mere 10 overseas return trips.
SAA’s present chief, Monwabisi Kalawe, said the 250-hour guys and gals would sit in the cockpit “to gain the necessary experience”.
Not while I’m in the passenger cabin, they won’t. I demand that everyone controlling my plane is fully experienced, and not in the process of becoming thereof. The last thing I want to do is put my life in the hands of someone doing a crash course.
What about painting a big L for learner on the fuselage of those aircraft with rookies who are still learning the difference between a joystick and a jackstaff? Watching them land and take off at the airport could provide a good Sunday afternoon’s entertainment for those viewers who are fortunate enough not to have family or friends on board.
Travel agents should also be able to warn clients whether the plane they are booking has any 250-hour pilots within reach of harm.
Like Chris Zweigenthal, head of the Airways Association of Southern Africa, we passengers need to know what these so-called second officers’ duties and responsibilities would be.
Would they just sit decoratively in the cockpit and draw a nice salary, or would they fiddle around with the instruments panel and press various knobs to see what then happened?
Worse, would they occasionally be given the controls and told to “take over”?
The good news for nervous travellers is that Cape Town International Airport has once again been voted the best in Africa, so they are pretty safe on the ground as long as they don’t take off above it.
And now if they want to fly to Sydney, they may no longer do so via SAA because the Australian airline Qantas has terminated its code-share agreement with SAA. This will save them having to worry about the flying hours of the cockpit crew. SAA-booked flights to Perth will however continue, for those still keen to reach the most isolated large city in the world, whatever the risks.
But with luck SAA will fly fewer and fewer routes, until there are none left and even the most dare-devil patriots will be forced to travel on other countries’ airlines.
SA Airways don’t really want us as passengers. I think they would prefer it if we boycotted them and used other airlines instead.
This would enable them to shut down entirely, stop paying departing chief executives huge golden handshakes, and put an end to their annual losses.
Naturally they will deny this is their intention, but why scrap the direct Cape Town-to-London flight if not to chase all those travellers with an aversion to changing planes in Johannesburg into the arms of BA?
Now SAA have thought of a new stratagem to get rid of everyone with the faintest fear of flying. They want to reduce the number of flying hours necessary for a new second-level officer to sit in the cockpit from 1 500 to 250. The idea is that this will make it easier for black men and women to become pilots.
At present some 90 percent of SAA pilots are white which airline director Andile Khumalo called “a congress of white boys”. Personally I don’t mind whether they’re a congress of white, black or blue boys, or even green girls for that matter, so long as they’ve got a lot more flying hours under their belts than a mere 10 overseas return trips.
SAA’s present chief, Monwabisi Kalawe, said the 250-hour guys and gals would sit in the cockpit “to gain the necessary experience”.
Not while I’m in the passenger cabin, they won’t. I demand that everyone controlling my plane is fully experienced, and not in the process of becoming thereof. The last thing I want to do is put my life in the hands of someone doing a crash course.
What about painting a big L for learner on the fuselage of those aircraft with rookies who are still learning the difference between a joystick and a jackstaff? Watching them land and take off at the airport could provide a good Sunday afternoon’s entertainment for those viewers who are fortunate enough not to have family or friends on board.
Travel agents should also be able to warn clients whether the plane they are booking has any 250-hour pilots within reach of harm.
Like Chris Zweigenthal, head of the Airways Association of Southern Africa, we passengers need to know what these so-called second officers’ duties and responsibilities would be.
Would they just sit decoratively in the cockpit and draw a nice salary, or would they fiddle around with the instruments panel and press various knobs to see what then happened?
Worse, would they occasionally be given the controls and told to “take over”?
The good news for nervous travellers is that Cape Town International Airport has once again been voted the best in Africa, so they are pretty safe on the ground as long as they don’t take off above it.
And now if they want to fly to Sydney, they may no longer do so via SAA because the Australian airline Qantas has terminated its code-share agreement with SAA. This will save them having to worry about the flying hours of the cockpit crew. SAA-booked flights to Perth will however continue, for those still keen to reach the most isolated large city in the world, whatever the risks.
But with luck SAA will fly fewer and fewer routes, until there are none left and even the most dare-devil patriots will be forced to travel on other countries’ airlines.
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This editorial shows me that the editor of the Cape Times is as stupid as that racist director (the 'finance guy') at SAA. One would not expect the 'finance guy' on their board to know anything about flying qualifications and clearly the editor of the Cape Times doesn't either!! Both of them should have resisted the temptation to advertise their stupidity like this.
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Either way, SAA is too rich a vein of gravy for the in favour comrades to leave untapped. As long as the taxpayer is coughing up the shekels the airline will be more than happy to absorb their share.
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Its not a well written piece. Considering the massive amount of material that SAA supply on a daily basis to fuel public loathing of the bankrupt little state run mess you would think the Cape Times could have made a more persuading argument.
Luckily in the race to the bottom they have SA Express as competition so it is entirely possible that they are currently only the world second worst airline. Knowing how this may annoy them I suspect they are working on ways to reclaim the bottom spot.
Luckily in the race to the bottom they have SA Express as competition so it is entirely possible that they are currently only the world second worst airline. Knowing how this may annoy them I suspect they are working on ways to reclaim the bottom spot.
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Our company policy is to avoid SAA at all costs for the exact reasons mentioned by Vlamgat.
I'm not sure why people criticise him for reacting the way he did regarding the 'tone' of the posting. If someone steals that amount of money from you, you entitled to be angry in my opinion. I would be thats for sure. Pretending not to be angry is the downfall of our modern 'civilised' society, it only allows those not playing by the rule book to gain an upper hand. It's why we westerners are doomed to fail as a society in the long run.
I'm not sure why people criticise him for reacting the way he did regarding the 'tone' of the posting. If someone steals that amount of money from you, you entitled to be angry in my opinion. I would be thats for sure. Pretending not to be angry is the downfall of our modern 'civilised' society, it only allows those not playing by the rule book to gain an upper hand. It's why we westerners are doomed to fail as a society in the long run.
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Well then don't fly BA,Emirates,Cathay,Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific.
All the above airlines put their cadets (with less than 300 hours) direct onto A320s,B777s and A340s....as co pilots
Don't comment on subjects you don't understand...
SAAs cadet training programme is JAR and FAA approved. These systems have been in use in Europe and the East for over a decade.
All the above airlines put their cadets (with less than 300 hours) direct onto A320s,B777s and A340s....as co pilots
Don't comment on subjects you don't understand...
SAAs cadet training programme is JAR and FAA approved. These systems have been in use in Europe and the East for over a decade.
Está servira para distraerle.
Perhaps one fundamental difference is that BA, Emirates, Cathay and Lufthansa might select their cadets on the basis of a structured and proven capability profile. Some might be concerned that SAA, the state airline of a country where advancement within the state employee market is already determined almost entirely by the colour of one's skin, is using racial bias as its employment criteria. Were that true, aviation safety might be compromised as candidates were advanced within the state airline to positions based not upon their ability but rather upon the accident and privilege of their birth.
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Ghost,
BA, Emirates and Cathay do not put their 300 hour cadet pilots into the 777 or A340's as Co-pilots, they put them in as SO's which means they are not allowed in the seat below 10 000 feet!!
Furthermore, our cadet program is NOT FAA or EASA approved!!!
Where do you come up with this cr@p!!
BA, Emirates and Cathay do not put their 300 hour cadet pilots into the 777 or A340's as Co-pilots, they put them in as SO's which means they are not allowed in the seat below 10 000 feet!!
Furthermore, our cadet program is NOT FAA or EASA approved!!!
Where do you come up with this cr@p!!
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Indeed, don't comment on things you know absolutely nothing about Ghost Rider
Firstly, don't compare SAA to BA, Lufthansa, Cathay or any other real airline, you are not in the same movie. SAA is more in the league of Air Zim.
JAR was a set of regulations which has been replaced by EU-Ops. Only a regulator can approve something not regulations, they are an inanimate object. Nonetheless, FAA and EASA do not approve SAA training.
And some respect please, as a tax payer I am an unwilling contributor to your palace of sulks. We expect some appreciation.
I hope you voted ANC, a sane Government will put an end to this idiocy once and for all.
Firstly, don't compare SAA to BA, Lufthansa, Cathay or any other real airline, you are not in the same movie. SAA is more in the league of Air Zim.
JAR was a set of regulations which has been replaced by EU-Ops. Only a regulator can approve something not regulations, they are an inanimate object. Nonetheless, FAA and EASA do not approve SAA training.
And some respect please, as a tax payer I am an unwilling contributor to your palace of sulks. We expect some appreciation.
I hope you voted ANC, a sane Government will put an end to this idiocy once and for all.
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@B200Drvr
A little precision. As far as BA is concerned, they put their 300-hour cadets on A320 and B737 on short-haul routes as FO's - meaning that they do take-offs and landings.
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Cavorting cheetah, are you saying SAA is racist? I thought they sorted that out with majority rule? Obviously someone didn't get the memo.
In defence of the poor airline, fuzzy is correct. To fix SAA, you need to get rid of the ANC. It is mainly government interference which prevents the airline from working, not anything the airlines management does/does not do(although, like most airlines these days, they are mismanaged).
In defence of the poor airline, fuzzy is correct. To fix SAA, you need to get rid of the ANC. It is mainly government interference which prevents the airline from working, not anything the airlines management does/does not do(although, like most airlines these days, they are mismanaged).
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If SAA stopped using the airline as a personal taxi service and provider of jobs for the ANC boitjies, if they gave managerial positions and overseas postings to people with competence and experience rather than based on connections and skin colour, then it might one day function again as a proper and profitable airline.
SAA are unable to operate viable international services to/from CPT. Odd that many other airlines can, including BA and VS to London where SAA couldn't.
I think there's an extra letter in there. To fix SA, you need to get rid of the ANC.
SAA are unable to operate viable international services to/from CPT. Odd that many other airlines can, including BA and VS to London where SAA couldn't.
To fix SAA, you need to get rid of the ANC.
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@pigeonvoyageur
You will note that I specifically stated the larger aircraft, I am fully aware that many airlines and some you would not call airlines, use <300 hour cadets in the right seat on A319/20/21's and 737's on domestic routes, not the same as what was being discussed.
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Emirates cadets straight into the right seat of a B777 with less than 300 hours (not second officers). Cadets selected on nationality (racial basis) - Emiratis in order to pursue the UAE policy of emiratisation. Cathay cadets become Second Officers and they are also are now favoring Chinese nationals
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Is it legal to export a WHOLE bag of meat to Gabon? Why would you have a Bose sound system in your bag when you are on your way to a sim check? Do you DJ part time?
Está servira para distraerle.
What might happen to the isishawa were the sangomas get to hear about the opportunities presented by the magic of the Springbok that flies.
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All of you having a go at SAA here are frankly upset that you didn't get offered a flight deck seat here for whatever reason. I am a caucasian training captain with the company. This program is going to succeed because one of the key components of its success is the correct attitude of all of the participants in the process. Unfortunately the issue of race and capability is once again an easy escape for your argument. I urge you to accept the change that is overdue and imminent.