South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has retracted a statement announcing the suspension of its Chief Commercial Officer, Sylvain Bosc, after it later emerged he had not been informed of an impending disciplinary enquiry.

The original statement, issued early on Friday, said a forensic investigation had shown Bosc had manipulated feasibility figures relating to the Johannesburg O.R. Tambo-Abu Dhabi International route in favour of its launch. SAA had sought to maintain services to Mumbai International and Beijing Capital among other destinations by means of its Etihad codeshare agreement after direct flights from Johannesburg had proven uneconomical.

"SAA has had a codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International), which commenced in the 2013/2014 financial year, and is still in operation, which indicated that the passenger fares generated from this route are substantially lower than estimates put forward to the Board and the Minister in a Section 54 PFMA application by Mr Bosc," the statement said. "A former SAA International Network Planner previously warned Mr Bosc that the exaggerated fare price that Mr Bosc had used in the calculation, would not be achieved, and that this would cause further losses to SAA."

The statement goes on to claim that Bosc ignored the advice put forward, and which was subsequently proven to be correct, resulting in the launch of the loss-making Abu Dhabi route.

However, a retraction was printed later in the day which noted that Bosc had yet to be brought before a disciplinary hearing.

"To the extent that the media release may suggest that Mr Bosc has been found guilty of any misconduct or impropriety it is sincerely regretted and no impairment to Mr Bosc's identity was sought or intended," a statement issued later on Friday said.

Owned by government, SAA has struggled with leadership problems over the past six years with its last de-facto CEO Monwabise Kalawe having been forced out earlier this year amid allegations of improper conduct. Kalawe, the carrier's fourth CEO since 2009, succeeded Vuyisile Kona who himself was fired in March 2013 for his appointment of several consultants under unclear circumstances.

Meanwhile, the airline's woes have continued to mount with SAA audit committee chairwoman Yakhe Kwinana telling a parliamentary inquest last week that the airline would post a loss of ZAR648 million (USD46 million) in the first six months of the current financial year. The airline has therefore asked the South African Treasury for a guarantee of at least ZAR4 billion (USD284 million) for it to finalise its 2014/15 financial statements as a going concern. Should disbursement occur, it will add to the ZAR6.488 billion (USD568.6 million) Treasury granted the carrier earlier this year to allow it to finalise its annual financial statements for 2013/14.

A confidential internal memo, published by BusinessDay, says the board has warned SAA must secure an equity injection from the state or enter business rescue, the South African equivalent of US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As such, to continue trading under current circumstances would be "reckless", they said.

The need for recapitalization stems from a board decision to renegotiate an agreement with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) wherein SAA would convert ten outstanding A320-200s into five A330-200s, which it will then lease. Unable to pay both its debts and the predelivery payments required by Airbus, the move would ease some of SAA's financial burden. However, it has since emerged that renegotiating the agreement has now triggered a series of "substantial financial obligations" resulting in the push for more state funding.