July 07, 2020: SA Express’ assets, including Bombardier CRJ200 jets, are being offered for sale through an online auction as the airline edges towards liquidation.

The airline was placed in provisional liquidation on April 28 but a final liquidation order has been deferred until early September.

Online auction platform, Go-Dove, is seeking expressions of interest for several assets of the airline which, it states, are “immediately available for negotiation”. The site is advertising sale of the business in its entirety, but is also inviting offers from purchasers for specific assets as well as investment offers from potential equity partners, as per FlightGlobal.

Its list of available assets includes CRJ200s, engines, spares and rotables, ground-support equipment, tooling, and workshop equipment.

The platform is also advertising operating and maintenance licences, IT infrastructure, and other intangible assets “required to operate an airline in southern Africa”.

SA Express flew to domestic and regional destinations, but it suspended operations in March as the Covid-19 pandemic compounded its financial difficulties. It has not paid salaries since February, prompting some of its employees to protest in recent days.