Can embattled SA Airways actually be rescued?

Image: Sunday Times/Esa Alexander
This is the first thing that the appointed business rescue practitioner will have to evaluate, said Nicholas Potgieter, a director at Fluxmans Attorneys, in the wake of an announcement about the fate of the national carrier on Wednesday night.
The airline’s board of directors adopted a resolution to place the company under business rescue, hoping to facilitate the rehabilitation of the “financially distressed” company.
The Companies Act describes a financially distressed firm as one which appears likely to be insolvent within six months.
In a statement on Thursday, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan said the board’s decision was supported by the government.
Fluxmans Attorneys director Ryszard Lisinski said the aim of business rescue was to ensure that a company continued as a going concern.
Business rescue, as defined by the Companies Act of 2008, states that the process involves providing for the temporary supervision of the company and management of its affairs, business and property by a business rescue practitioner. It also provides for a temporary moratorium on the rights of claimants against the company, or in respect of property in its possession.