Correction to my previous posting. When refered to SAA being more solvent than Sun Air, I of course meant more Insolvent. In fact Sun Air was SOLVENT at the time of it's closure. Ask the liquidators.
I am sure I am boring anyone who may still be ploughing through this, but I want to just clarify something. Some people have said that Sun Air, although not yet in serious financial trouble, could not survive any longer against the seat dumping and price waring. This IS what REHABELE must have thought, and prompted them to up sticks and get out. They had already had a huge cash reserve substantially depleted while weathering the storm. Although even before Sun Air closed there were signs that the price war was over (fare increase 2 weeks prior) it has been suggested that this was only because the end of Sun was already assured and SAA having achieved it's objectives could now stop it's wars and start to turn a profit. Not true. Season increases in traffic had commenced and the effectiveness of the war and seat dumping was comming to an end, load factors at Sun were impressive in the last month.
AND SAA could themselves not continue with the price war. They had to put up fares otherwise their year end figures, even after doctoring to make Coleman good, were going to be abysmal. This would not hail well with the public, elements of Government, or the SAA privatisation process.
There are those who thought that this carefully devised plan of Andrew's was really clever. Actually, it was, when it was first used years ago. But he really just got lucky with his timing, and things didn't all go according to plan. There was a lot he didn't figure on, and the fact that all the domino's fell his way was less by foresight and planning than by design.