Interesting views on here. I'm going to throw in another idea.
SAA is kept alive by government subsidies because it has not really moved on from the old 'Spoorweg' days when it was part of SAR & H, that nepotistic organisation which provided jobs for the boys, who in those days were the Van der Merwes, who were unemployable in the private sector. The lowest grade were paper-shufflers and form-stampers in those Limpopo-grey glossy painted offices, the ones who had the right assets were trolley dollies and check in clerks, and those with connections (Broederbond) were senior management.
Time rolls on and now SAA is a nepotistic organisation which provides jobs for the boys, who now are the Siphos, who are unemployable in the private sector. The lowest grade are paper-shufflers and form-stampers in those Limpopo-grey glossy painted offices, the ones with the right assets (skin colour) are trolley dollies and check in clerks, and those with connections (ANC) are senior management.
It's a good airline, although inconsistent in service delivery, I've just had two long haul flights on the same route, the second as outstandingly bad as the first was good. But it's an airline that really shouldn't be there in its present form.