SAA Phoenix, now "run on data", is like a start-up with huge secret assets like Voyager - CCO Simon Newton-Smith

Airline veteran Simon Newton-Smith opens up to BizNews editor Alec Hogg in this fascinating interview on why newly relaunched South African Airways is unlikely to even need taxpayer funding again. The airline's new Chief Commercial Officer returned to SAA in August after a successful career at global majors including a long spell with Virgin Atlantic. Apart from being trimmed down - 4 000 pre-Business Rescue staff to 800 - Newton-Smith explains how a modernised approach to managing the airline is already starting to pay off. And how priceless assets like its brand and the large Voyager customer base underpin what not long ago appeared to be a most unlikely recovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices