South African Airways SOC Ltd. said the airline subsidized its low-cost entity Mango Airlines by sub-leasing aircraft at a discount to market value, a move that may have given the carrier an advantage in the country’s highly competitive budget market. The state-owned carrier sub-leased Mango all 10 of its aircraft “at a significantly discounted cost” while paying the leasing company the market rate, Johannesburg-based SAA said in a statement. The move was a “necessary investment” to support the low-cost entity, SAA said. SAA’s comment on sub-leasing planes to Mango comes after last week’s resignation of the budget airline’s Chief Executive

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