One would need to be a forensic accountant to work out exactly how much money taxpayers have had to cough up, directly and indirectly, to keep SAA flying over the past two decades. Since 1999 alone the national carrier has been thrown lifelines totalling more than R30-billion in government guarantees and loans.The competitive advantage this gave SAA over privately run airlines - and the knock-on effect on the prices passengers paid for their tickets - defies quantification.The news yesterday that SAA has asked for another bailout from the Treasury, of about R5-billion, to enable it to continue as a going concern will have come as no surprise to long-suffering taxpayers.After all, what's a few billion between friends?Also predictable was the confirmation that the national carrier has still not been able to table its 2014-2015 annual report.Ditto the fact that SAA has appointed yet another acting chief executive - its seventh acting or "permanent" CEO in less than four years.Then, of course, there's the seemingly untouchable status of SAA chairman Dudu Myeni, who is said to be a close friend of President Jacob Zuma.Myeni famously defied Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, in November last year, when she was ordered to reinstate immediately a CEO sacked by the board.In recent weeks Myeni also appears to have been thumbing her nose at the Treasury - under which SAA now falls as part of an earlier rescue plan - by insisting on renegotiating a contract with Airbus, raising the possibility that the embattled airline will have to pay a penalty of up to R1.6-billion to the European group.Myeni, who also faces a revolt by SAA pilots over her running of the airline, and allegations of political interference, has asked parliament to give her seven days in which to explain why she believes she should not be dismissed.It would take a brave punter to bet against her surviving...