Isn't SAA one of those national airlines that the government owns and will never let go under? I am sure this is to clear the debt, but I have a hard time believing that this will last long. There aren't many choices in SA as it is. I flew there on business Jan-Feb of 2019 and decided to go with Delta as BA went too far north through LHR and SAA has notoriously bad aircraft and service.
There are loads of companies doing this right now. LATAM and Avianca are also piling all their debt into US bankruptcy court right now, although they have been privatized. They aren't going anywhere though.
"Give us a kiss, big tits."