Credit: 123rf
ALL Nippon Airways (ANA) has agreed to a bailout plan for Skymark Airlines that will see the ailing budget carrier receive a major injection of cash and a new management team.
Skymark Airlines, Japan’s third-largest carrier, filed for court protection from its creditors in January with estimated liabilities amounting to 71.1 billion yen (US$603 million).
The carrier’s ambitious expansion plans, including a fleet of new Airbus aircraft worth US$2 billion and longhaul routes to London and New York were dashed as the soaring cost of aviation fuel and the falling yen took its toll.
Now, a rehabilitation plan will be set in motion with a new management team starting work at the airline on September 29. Additionally, 18 billion yen in new capital will be injected from a private equity fund and ANA Holdings, the parent firm of the airline.
“We are considering the ways in which we will work together in the future,” Maho Ito, a press official for ANA, told TTG Asia e-Daily. “The details have yet to be decided but we anticipate this will mean codesharing on some routes, although it will take some time to coordinate ticketing and other systems.”
Ito admitted that the two airlines are “rivals” but added that ANA has a tradition of assisting fledgling airlines, including Air Do and Starflyer.
Skymark declined to comment on the agreement, but said in a statement: “Skymark will make repayments to creditors in accordance with the rehabilitation plan and will make every effort to implement it. We request your full support in this regard.”
