No merger talks with China airlines, says SAA

Johannesburg - State-run airline South African Airways (SAA) on Thursday denied it was in talks to sell itself to an airline, despite a report that said it was in discussions with Air China and HNA Group's Hainan Airlines to set up a West Africa-based hub or even sell a stake in the company.

Bloomberg reported the news on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

READ: SAA in talks with Air China on strategic pact

In reply to a query by Reuters, a SAA spokesperson denied that the company is in talks to sell itself to any other airline.

Instead, further to a recent agreement between Air China and SAA, the talks would lead to Air China commencing "operations between Beijing and Johannesburg on which SAA will codeshare," the SAA spokesperson said.