Qatar Airways first to receive 777X in 2020 - al Baker

Bahrain's Gulf Air eyes joint ventures for growth

Air Namibia in bailout talks

Air Namibia (SW, Windhoek Int'l) is negotiating a state bailout, but has declined to confirm details of a rescue plan reportedly requiring NAD193 million Namibian dollars (USD11.6 million) to restart the airline following the country’s COVID-19 lockdown.

“At present, we are still negotiating with the shareholder about new figures, which are not yet finalised,” spokesman Twaku Kayofa told ch-aviation in response to a leaked document quoted by Namibia’s New Era newspaper. “The article is not the final position of the airline, therefore we can’t comment on its contents,” he said.

“Our operations have been negatively affected by COVID-19 due to the decrease in travel demand. Furthermore, the continued suspension of our regional and international flights have a detrimental effect on the airline’s already difficult cash flow position. We continue to redefine our strategy for the restart of all operations when borders are reopened eventually, notwithstanding the impact of COVID-19 on global traffic demand," Kayofa said.

He confirmed Air Namibia’s domestic operations restarted on September 20, 2020, serviced by a 37-seater E135 following the...

US court approves LATAM's revised financing plan

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has approved a revised debtor in possession (DIP) financing plan submitted by LATAM Airlines Group. Compared to the rejected original, this version entails scaled-down contributions from Oaktree Capital and other existing shareholders in favour of new creditors.

According to the new proposal, the total capital injection would remain unchanged at USD2.45 billion. LATAM Airlines said that the "terms of the Revised DIP Financing Proposal maintain, in essence, the structure of the Original DIP Financing Proposal".

However, Oaktree Capital is now due to provide USD1.125 billion instead of USD1.3 billion as per the original proposal. The remaining USD175 million of Tranche A will be provided by Knighthead Capital Management, Jefferies Finance, and/or other entities that are part of a creditors’ syndicate organized by Jefferies. None of these entities would have participated in the recapitalisation drive under the original plan.

Tranche B of the financing still amounts to USD1.15 billion. However, a group of LATAM's shareholders comprising the Cueto Group, the Eblen Group, and Qatar Airways...

RwandAir axes A330neo, B737 MAX leases

RwandAir (WB, Kigali) has confirmed it has cancelled leases for two A330-900Ns and two B737-8s amid protracted delays in their respective deliveries.

“We can confirm that, as reported, RwandAir’s decision to no longer move forward with its order of two Airbus A330neos and two Boeing 737 Max aircraft is correct", Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Makolo confirmed to ch-aviation but declined to elaborate.

The A330-900s were ordered through Air Lease Corporation while the B737-8 MAX was due to be leased from SMBC Aviation Capital. All four were ordered in 2018 and were expected to have arrived in 2019. The airline had planned to use the A330-900 to start New York JFK services, but various delays meant none had been received by the time the pandemic happened, while the decision to can the B737 MAX was taken before the COVID-19 crisis.

According to FlightGlobal, Makolo confirmed ongoing talks with Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) for a 49% stake in the Rwandan national carrier. She said the airline would...