South African Airways (SAA) acting CEO Nico Bezuidenhout reported on Thursday that the company’s “90 Day Action Plan is proceeding to schedule”. The plan, announced last month, is intended to enable the full implementation of the airline’s already approved Long Term Turnaround Strategy.

Already concluded are the re-evaluation of the company’s fleet requirements and the review of its long-haul international routes. “Network optimisation is key and we expect to make more announcements regarding commercial efficiencies in the near future,” he said. (Last month SAA unveiled stronger commercial ties with Etihad Airways, including expanding their codesharing network and increased frequencies to important destinations in Africa. The South African operator also announced a new Johannesburg-Abu Dhabi route; Abu Dhabi is the home base of Etihad.)

“There has also been a significant drive toward better governance with strengthened interaction between the board and management an emphasis,” he added. “There has also been resolution [sic], in agreement with National Treasury, in terms of scheduling the postponed annual general meeting for late January, early February.”

The Action Plan has six main thrusts. The first of these is to immediately deal with SAA’s liquidity situation and solvency. The second is to immediately investigate and determine what the options are for the future funding of the airline. The third is to deal with governance defects. The fourth is concerned with legal and high-level governance. The fifth thrust is to reorganise and optimise the company’s assets, while the sixth is to improve communication, both internally and with the government, media and people.

The Action Plan is being driven by a “War Cabinet” of executives within SAA. This meets twice a week. Progress is also being closely observed by the newly-constituted SAA Board.

“The interventions managed by the ‘War Cabinet’ are directly linked to business deliverables to steer the company back on to a path of sustainability as outlined in the Long Term Turnaround Strategy,” explained Bezuidenhout. “SAA is serious about rebuilding commercial sustainability and we will achieve our objectives. SAA means business.”