An amendment has been made to an annexure of the rescue plan of SAA, with Rolls-Royce added to the list of lessors and their claims.

A Fin24 report says this is according to a notice to ‘affected persons’ published by the airline's business rescue practitioners (BRPs) on Monday.

According to the notice, an allocation of R1.7bn has been made to lessors from which Rolls-Royce will now be paid.

The BRPs further state that the amendment of the plan and payment to Rolls-Royce will have no effect on, nor prejudice any of the affected persons or the lessors.

In a notice to affected persons dated 22 April, the BRPs stated that the business rescue of SAA seeks to achieve a restructured airline that is commercially viable and able to continue operations without depending on the fiscus.

The BRPs said they sought, in addition to dealing with legacy debt, to ensure overheads are also reduced drastically in order to make SAA competitive and sustainable.

The Fin24 report says a key area is reducing the cost of labour. A section 189 process has concluded for all managers, specialists, cabin crew and ground staff. Those in these categories who have not been retrenched but reappointed, now all have new terms and conditions of employment with reduced benefits and salaries.

‘This is vital to ensure that the airline operates on a basis where its costs do not outstrip its revenue,’ states the notice.

No agreement has, however, been concluded with the SAA Pilots' Association. The BRPs regard a long-standing regulatory agreement Saapa has with the airline as ‘a significant impediment’ to ‘a reduction in costs, increasing productivity and operational agility’.

They go so far as to claim that the regulatory agreement fundamentally inhibits SAA's viability and sustainability due to its evergreen nature which ‘prevents SAA from achieving meaningful and expeditious transformation in compliance with the Constitution and the Employment Equity Act’.

Full Fin24 report