SOUTH African Airways is to split off its profitable engineering and maintenance operation into a separate private company, according to the Business Report. Transnet Managing Director Saki Macozoma said SAA will look for an equity partner for the new company. The new technical company will remain in the SAA fold, and SAA will retain a majority stake. The Swiss-based SAir group, which paid R1,4-billion last year for a 20% stake in SAA, and Lufthansa Technik, the engineering and maintenance company in the Lufthansa German Airlines group, are both likely contenders, the paper reports.