The airline South African Airways is – once again – looking for a new boss. In the last five years, four CEOs have already been burned out. Anyone interested in the job can apply until April 26, 2024.

But not only the position of general director has been re-advertised, South African Airways is also looking for other managers: head of finance, head of commercial operations, head of human resources, head of catering and head of technology - these positions are also available and applications will be accepted until April 26, 2024.

However, the new advertisements do not necessarily mean that the current incumbents will leave the company. They can also apply for possible reappointment, but must face potential competition from external applicants. The last few years have been turbulent for the group and the CEOs have literally given each other the doorknob.

The background to the current measure is that the managers are not permanently appointed. All incumbents were appointed on an interim basis and were initially only supposed to lead the carrier until an investor came on board. In 2021, it looked like the government would sell 51 percent to the Takatso consortium. But that didn't happen because the negotiations were ended. The responsible minister said that the talks had been broken off by mutual agreement.

What remains, however, is that the board of directors is still only appointed on a provisional basis. Now the interim management wants to be clear about whether you will be appointed permanently or replaced by other candidates. Now the current management team has to go through a formal application process and it is by no means certain that everyone will keep their job.

The airline South African Airways was deeply in the red for many years. As a result, a total of eight different company bosses have been at the helm since 2014. Since 2019 alone, there have been four general directors who did not last long. The carrier was particularly hard hit by the corona pandemic because it had to file for bankruptcy. This also affected the low-cost subsidiary Mango, which has not yet been able to get back into the air.

According to its own statements, the insolvency proceedings helped South African Airways to reposition itself. At the same time, numerous legacy problems and a significant surplus of personnel were eliminated. This would actually have created ideal conditions for the entry of a private majority owner. However, the privatization of South African Airways has been postponed.