Next time SAA needs a few billion for its bottomless money pit, it could try asking one of SA's most famous sons for help.
Elon Musk has experience with defying gravity - this week his SpaceX rocket company delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station - and he has just become the world's third richest person.
The inclusion of Tesla, the electric vehicle and battery company in which Musk has a 21% stake, in the S&P 500 index of the US's top companies sent its shares soaring on Tuesday.
Tesla now has a market value of around $418bn (R6.4-trillion), and the 500% increase in its share price this year means Pretoria-born Musk is worth $117.5bn (R1.8-trillion).
That's enough to give SAA a R10.5bn bailout - the size of the business rescue fund approved this month by finance minister Tito Mboweni - more than 170 times.