News
HNA and Airbus to “ease standoff” surrounding unpaid A330s
July 20th 2018
Airbus and HNA Group are seeking ways to ease a standoff surrounding six newly-built A330s parked at Airbus’ Toulouse facilities because HNA failed to pay for them as per contract terms, Reuters has reported. Read More »
Airbus said it would not comment on private discussions with its customers.
Last week, Reuters cited “sources familiar with the situation” as saying “after six months of talks, Airbus took the decision to withdraw the planes as it does not want to play the financier [for the parked A330s]”.
The six A330s in question are destined for HNA Group carriers Hainan Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines and Tianjin Airlines.
It has been widely reported that HNA Group is in financial trouble after acquiring global assets in excess of US$50 billion over the past two years. On a related note, earlier this year HNA had a falling out with several leasing firms for delaying payments. Several of the HNA airlines have also been late settling their fuel bills.
To complicate matters, earlier this month, HNA co-chairman, Wang Jian, fell to his death in France. Rumours circulating the web have suggested Wang might have committed suicide. He was widely regarded as the mastermind behind the overzealous acquisition spree that pushed HNA into debt.
Chen Feng has since been named sole chairman of the Haikou-headquartered conglomerate.
