South African Airways looks to state for survival

[JOHANNESBURG] Hapless and helpless, South Africa's struggling national carrier awaits news on a state cash injection which is vital to stay in the skies, but which also shows up its inability to make money.

Eighty years after its creation, loss-making South African Airways (SAA) battles with an ageing fleet and a weak national currency.

"It's not a secret that our balance sheet is very weak," chief financial officer Wolf Meyer admitted.