South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) will be transferred from the South African Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to the National Treasury, Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, has announced. Until this announcement, the DPE has overseen the carrier's operations on behalf of its sole shareholder, the South African government.

"Working with the relevant ministries, the SAA will be transferred from the Department of Public Enterprises to the National Treasury. The Presidency will closely monitor the implementation of the turnaround plans of these (three) critical State-owned companies that are drivers of the economy,” said Radebe said.

The national carrier has been beset with administrative problems attributed in large part to a lack of consistent, transparent leadership.

Outlining a 90-Day Action Plan aimed at steering the airline back to the full implementation of its Long-Term Turnaround Strategy (LTTS), acting SAA CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said an Inter-Departmental team comprising representatives from the DPE, the National Treasury, and SAA, had been established to accelerate higher-level decision-making processes regarding the carrier.

In addition to making a total of ZAR1.3billion (USD113.71million) in savings, SAA has set in motion plans to attract potential strategic investors with Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) considered to be among the strongest contenders.

On Thursday, December 11, the two carriers announced a deepening of their existing relationship wherein SAA will launch a daily direct Johannesburg O.R. Tambo to Abu Dhabi International flight from March 29, 2015. The two will expand their codeshare cooperation agreement with Etihad placing its ‘EY’ code on SAA’s new Johannesburg-Abu Dhabi flights, in addition to 16 of the airline’s other services from Johannesburg to destinations across the African continent. In return, South African Airways will place its ‘SA’ code on 32 Etihad Airways routes beyond Abu Dhabi to a range of destinations worldwide.

In addition, the airlines will enhance the alignment of their Etihad Guest and Voyager frequent flyer programs.