Thai Airways International (THAI) said in a regulatory filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand it expected to submit its business rehabilitation plan to creditors in January. Read More » If approved, the plan will be put forward to the country's Central Bankruptcy Court for consideration. "If the court considers and orders approval of the rehabilitation plan and appoints a plan administrator, the process is expected to be completed by the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2021," THAI said. The airline sought the protection of the Central Bankruptcy Court in May after the Thai government baulked at providing a cash bailout for the flag carrier.
At their virtual AGM overnight, International Air Transport Association (IATA) speakers said airlines would likely post a collective net loss of US$118.5 billion in calendar 2020. In June, the association estimated the global airline industry would lose US$84.3 billion for the year. Carriers are estimated to lose US$66 for every passenger transported in the 12 months, IATA director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, said.
Market conditions were expected to improve in 2021 as travel restrictions were eased and forecasts of a vaccine being widely available in the next year likely to be realised, IATA said. However, the industry remained on track to post a net loss of US$38.7 billion next year, a deeper slump into the red than IATA's June estimate of a US$15.8 billion net loss. "We need borders to be safely re-opened without quarantine so people will fly again. With airlines expected to bleed cash at least until the fourth quarter of 2021 there is no time to lose,” de Juniac said.
Incoming IATA director general and CEO, Willie Walsh, said in his acceptance speech "I have a passion for this industry and a passion for IATA. We need, more than ever, an effective industry body to serve and represent our interests". The former boss of British Airways' parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), said passengers had been denied the freedom to travel not by COVID-19 "but by a disjointed political response and restrictions put in place by certain governments who have failed to adapt and adopt sensible measures that would have allowed almost normal air services to continue".
The association’s 2021 annual general meeting is scheduled for June 27-29 in Boston. It will be hosted by JetBlue.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said in regulatory filing to the Singapore Exchange yesterday it had raised S$500 million (US$372 million) in fresh liquidity from the sale of 10-year bonds with a coupon rate of 3.5%, via a private placement. The company said the initial offer of S$300 million was raised to S$500 million due to "strong appetite" from a select group of private investors. "We would like to thank investors for their support of this bond issue, which follows the recent highly successful convertible bond issue. These [responses] reflect the strong confidence investors have in the ability of Singapore Airlines to navigate the near-term challenges and emerge as a leader in the airline industry," SIA group CEO, Goh Choon Phong, said.
AirAsia Group overnight reported a net loss of 851.8 million ringgit (US$208 million) for the three months to September 30, a deterioration from a net loss of 51.4 million ringgit 12 months ago. Revenue at the LCC group collapsed 87%, to 387.3 million ringgit, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Bursa Malaysia. Despite the year-on-year decline, AirAsia said revenue had more than tripled from 119 million ringgit in the quarter to June 30.
In a statement, AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes, said: "We foresee sufficient liquidity in 2021 with the expectation of upward growth trajectory in air travel demand amid the further formation of travel bubbles and green lanes. We have high hopes, with the availability and accessibility of effective vaccines, AirAsia will soon paint the skies red again. We expect to bounce back by mid-2021."
AirAsia Group president for airlines, Bo Lingam, said the company was "actively exploring opportunities for a local airline presence in IndoChina". AirAsia Group has joint venture operations in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. AirAsia Japan shut down in October. Negotiations to establish joint ventures in Vietnam and China in the last two years came to nothing.
