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IOL News
19 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
SAA distances Itself from Mango rescue process
South African Airways (SAA) says it has no involvement in the business rescue of its subsidiary, Mango Airlines Image: Karen Sandison / Independent Newspapers South African Airways (SAA) says it has no involvement in the business rescue of its subsidiary, Mango Airlines, as the low-cost carrier moves closer to finalising a sale to a new investor. The airline issued the clarification following a wave of public queries about Mango's status. SAA emphasised that Mango's business rescue process is entirely separate from the one SAA exited in April 2021. "Mango Airlines (SOC) Limited remains a subsidiary of SAA that was placed in business rescue in August 2021. Mango's business rescue process is totally separate from the business rescue process that South African Airways (SOC) Limited came out of in April 2021," the airline said. "SAA has no authority or direct oversight over Mango's financial obligations, and current and future business plan," it added in a statement to the media. The update comes after Mango's Business Rescue Practitioner, Sipho Sono, confirmed that the airline is nearing the final stages of negotiating a sale and purchase agreement with a potential investor. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ "This stage of the business rescue process follows debates and litigation between Mr Sono, the former Ministry of Public Enterprises, and the Board of SAA on the level of transparency required from a BRP on the identity and financial capabilities of the investors purchasing a business being disposed of". Mango halted its operations on July 26, 2021, leaving many passengers with unused tickets. "As part of this BRP's disposal process, Mango is verifying the value of unflown air tickets purchased by Mango passengers before 26 July 2021 for departure dates after 26 July 2021. Mango operations were suspended on 26 July 2021. "SAA emphasizes that it is not involved in Mango Airlines' claims, refunds, or any financial settlements related to its operations". SAA also urged affected individuals to follow "Mango's official channels for all inquiries related to its business rescue process". Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. IOL Business
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Mango airline sale: SAA to receive nominal fee as new owners emerge
State-owned Mango appears to be a step closer to the skies again, four years after the low-cost airline was grounded in July 2021. Image: File The sale of grounded state-owned low-cost airline Mango is being finalised and its current owners, SA Airways (SA), are likely to receive a nominal fee of about R1 000. Business rescue practitioner Sipho Sono this week said there was no reason why SAA should not sign the sale of shares agreement because the sale was approved even though the matter had to go to court to force the decision. 'That decision has already been taken. We don't know why its taken SAA long to comment on the sale of shares agreement but at least now there is some movement,' he explained. Sono said SAA appointed lawyers advising the national carrier to review and conclude the agreement. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'So it looks like we are moving in the right direction. The value that goes to SAA is nominal, they are not getting anything. Their shares will be sold at next to nothing, let's say a R1,000,' he added. Sono expressed confidence that the rest is more the language of the agreement and nothing of substance will change. Mango's new owners are expected to lease aircraft, according to Sono. 'The investor will be buying the intellectual property, the brand, which is Mango, and the loyal customer base, which previously had a good experience with Mango. The planes and so forth would be leased independently so there are no planes to be sold,' he said. Sono said Mango has to be sold and it has to be privatised as it may no longer be owned by SAA. 'It will be sold to a private investor whose details we have not officially released. We will only do so once all the relevant agreements have been signed,' he further stated. Sono said the investor has also reviewed the agreement and once it is signed the investor will be announced but timelines for the restart of Mango have not been finalised. 'We are busy with trying to conclude a transaction that will then allow the investor to finalise its own business plan. The timelines and the dates will be announced in the future,' he said. At the start of the business rescue process, there were 55,000 unflown customers, which is about R180 million in value. Sono said some of the customers have been refunded by their banks, where if a passenger bought a ticket with their credit card they are allowed to claim back from the bank within 30 days or so. In addition, there are a number of customers who may have opted for bank refunds and some of them may have been refunded by Mango's pervious travel partners. Sono said customers are no different from other creditors but they have been prioritised to receive the full value of their unflown tickets. 'Customers are getting good value, assuming we finalise the transaction and Mango restarts soon enough,' he said. However, if the sale is not concluded, customers will be treated the same way as other creditors and will be paid a dividend, which is a fraction of what they paid for their tickets.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Mango Airlines customers offered hope of refunds after 2021 grounding
Thousands of Mango Airlines passengers who were left out of pocket when the low-cost South African airline was grounded in 2021 may finally see some relief Thousands of Mango Airlines passengers who were left out of pocket when the low-cost South African airline was grounded in 2021 may finally see some relief. Business rescue practitioner Sipho Sono has confirmed that affected travellers can now register their ticket details online to begin the long-awaited refund process. Mango, a subsidiary of South African Airways (SAA), was placed under business rescue in July 2021 after financial difficulties and regulatory hurdles forced it to halt operations. Since then, many customers who had purchased tickets for future flights have been left in limbo, unable to access refunds or rebook travel. In a promising development this week, Sono announced that the claims process is now open to those who never received their money back. 'Passengers who were affected by Mango's grounding and who have not yet been refunded are encouraged to register their claims online,' he said. 'This is the first formal step toward ensuring that legitimate ticket holders are reimbursed.' Although it remains unclear how long the refund process will take or whether all claims will be fully honoured, the move has been widely welcomed by consumer groups and travel industry observers.
