Airlink has announced that Johannesburg – Margate scheduled air-service will be withdrawn from 17Apr09.

With this latest announcement to hit the local airline industry from SA Airlink, does it signal the  continued down turn of the airline industry, additional cost cutting. It happened before after 911 when it was cheaper for the airlines to park their planes on an abandoned air strip rather than keep them in the skies. So is this a continuation of the down turn experienced by airlines over the past few years. They have been hit by 911, sky high fuel and now lower passenger numbers it is surprising that they are still in business.

We know how SAA is still in business they have another bail out from government. I mean 1.6 Billion rand to save an airline that cannot even find a decent CEO for years, what is it with the airline? At 1.6 billion rand, lets just say there are 10 million tax payers in the country means that we have each paid atleast ZAR160 to keep the airline going. Not to mention the fat wallets that have been supported in the interim. Now one may ask similiarly to that asked in the banks of the UK, how the hell can you actually earn a bonus (or should the politically correct word be retention bonus) when you have actually been a diservice to your company and the nation as a whole. It is rediculous! Get a decent person who can run the airline and restore it to the glory it was or SAA stop flying!