Tag: Avianca (Page 2 of 2)

ATR Congratulates Silver Airways on 1st New ATR 42-600 Flight

April 24, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Toulouse, 23 April 2019 – Silver Airways yesterday launched its regularly scheduled flights aboard its new ATR -600 series aircraft. The first flight departed Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 10:40 a.m. and arrived at Key West International Airport at 11:55 am (EST).

Silver Airways, America’s leading independent regional airline, is reinventing the regional flying sector by being the first U.S. carrier to operate the technologically advanced, customer friendly ATR -600 series aircraft. Silver Airways has taken delivery of three new ATR 42-600 aircraft from NAC. The aircraft is specifically designed for short-haul markets, but with the same look, feel and customer amenities of larger jetliners. Yesterday marked the first time revenue passengers have flown on an ATR 42-600 operated by a U.S carrier.

The new aircraft are allowing Silver to expand its service in the South Eastern United States, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. By initially introducing the mission-specific ATR 42-600 aircraft, with seating for 46, Silver now has the unique ability to offer quicker direct flights to even more short and medium-haul leisure and business destinations in both domestic and nearby international markets.

“This is truly a great day for Silver Airways, ATR, Nordic Aviation Capital and our customers that would not have been possible without the hundreds of dedicated men and women of Silver Airways and Seaborne Airlines who have worked tirelessly over the past year to arrive at this historic moment,” said Silver Airways and Seaborne Airlines CEO Steve Rossum. “The new ATR 42-600 series aircraft will be transformational for Silver Airways and is ideal for our short-haul domestic and nearby international operations. The state-of-the art aircraft allows for a safe, highly reliable and efficient fleet operation and a superior overall experience for our guests.”

“We are proud to see the ATR -600 aircraft take flight in the U.S. and to introduce the most modern standards of passenger experience and regional aircraft with our valued partner Silver Airways,” said ATR Chief Executive Officer Stefano Bortoli. “We are grateful to our friends at Silver for being our U.S. launch customer; leading what we expect to be a new wave of eco-responsible and passenger-friendly regional travel and the return of the ATRs in the U.S.”

“Nordic Aviation Capital is proud of its relationship with Silver Airways, and we are particularly pleased to be part of their great success story,” said Martin Moller, Chairman of Nordic Aviation Capital. “The introduction of the ATR -600 series represents an essential milestone for them. We are congratulating Silver Airways on their service expansion and look forward to continuing our outstanding relationship with them for many years to come.”

Silver Airways has taken delivery of three of up to 50 new ATR 42-600 series aircraft, including an initial order for 20 ATR -600 aircraft split among the 46-seat ATR 42s and the 70-seat ATR 72s. As the world’s leading regional flying aircraft, the new ATRs will provide Silver’s passengers unparalleled experience and reliability and pilots the industry’s most advanced cockpit.

Silver intends to take delivery and begin operating five more ATR 42-600s in 2019, and subject to regulatory approval, the airline is planning to take delivery of at least three ATR 72-600s this year. All of the initial 20 aircraft are expected to be in service by 2020.

About Silver Airways
Silver Airways operates the most routes within Florida and between Florida and the Bahamas from its hubs in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa, and also flies between Boston and Bar Harbor, Maine. Silver is the official airline of the Minor League Baseball team Daytona Tortugas and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. In addition, Silver owns and cooperatively operates Seaborne Airlines with flights in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. Silver is a codeshare partner with United, JetBlue and Avianca, and has interline agreements with American, Delta, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Bahamasair, Hahn Air, Azul and Emirates. Members of United’s MileagePlus® and JetBlue’s TrueBlue loyalty programs can also earn frequent flyer awards for travel throughout Silver’s network. Silver operates a fleet of highly-reliable Saab 340 aircraft and is also currently renewing and expanding its fleet with up to 50 new eco-friendly ATR -600s. Silver is honored to be the North American launch customer for the all new ATR -600 offering best-in-class quiet cabins, premium leather seats with more legroom, and spacious overhead bins that accommodate full-size, carry-on roller bags. Silver is owned by affiliates of Philadelphia-based investment firm Versa Capital Management, LLC. To learn more about Silver’s refined passenger experience, visit www.silverairways.com/destinations/atr42.

About ATR:

European turboprop manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the regional aviation market. ATR designs, manufactures and delivers aircraft, with its fleet encompassing some 200 airlines in nearly 100 countries. The ATR 42 and the ATR 72 are the best-selling aircraft in the below 90-seat category. With continuous improvement as a driving force, ATR produces cutting edge, comfortable and versatile turboprops that help airlines expand their horizons by creating more than 100 new routes every year. Compared with other turboprops, ATRs offer an advantage of 40% on fuel burn, 20% on trip cost and 10% on seat cost, whilst offering the lowest noise emissions. ATR is an equal partnership between leading aerospace firms Airbus and Leonardo and benefits from a large global customer support network allowing it to deliver innovative services and solutions to its clients and operators all over the world. For more information, please visit http://www.atr-aircraft.com. Follow us on Twitter – #ATRLeads

Avianca Brazil Gives Up 18 Planes, Cancels 1,045 Flights

April 22, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Avianca Brasil canceled more than 1,045 domestic flights this week because it has to return 18 aircraft to leasing agencies.

Brazil’s National Aviation Agency said the planes needed to be returned Monday to avoid affecting Holy Week holiday passengers. Customers can either get refunds for canceled flights or rebook through partner airlines.

Avianca Brasil declined to say how many planes it has left. But the G1 news portal reports that the airline has just seven planes still in its fleet.

On April 1, the airline canceled several international routes from Sao Paulo to New York, Miami and Santiago, Chile.

Avianca Brasil filed for bankruptcy in December after failing to pay leases on its aircraft. The airline, formerly known as Ocean Air, has licensed the name Avianca since 2010 from Colombian carrier Avianca Holdings SA. They are separate companies with the same owners: brothers German and Jose Efromovich. The latter is being investigated for allegedly failing to pay airport fees in Salvador airport in northeastern Brazil.

A company representative from Avianca’s headquarters in Colombia stressed that the Brazilian company is independent from Avianca Holdings group, both operationally and financially. The company said in a statement that flights operated by Avianca Holdings SA from hubs in Bogota and Lima, Peru, to destinations in Brazil will not be affected by the Avianca Brasil cancellations.

Airbus A320 Neo of Avianca at GRU Airport – Guarulhos International Airport, Sao Paulo, Brazil – 2017

Avianca Brasil to Sell Some Assets to Azul

March 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO, March 11 (Reuters) – Brazilian airline Azul SA said on Monday it intends to pay $105 million for certain assets held by Avianca Brasil, which was headed to court to face aircraft lessors as it seeks to keep operating planes despite mounting late payments.

Azul said the non-binding purchase agreement would involve 70 pairs of slots, which grant airlines the rights to operate regular flights between airports.

Azul already operates two Airbus A320 planes that were previously used by Avianca Brasil until they were repossessed in December due to outstanding payments. Under the agreement announced on Monday, Azul said it could end up operating up to 30 Airbus planes currently in use by its rival.

Azul did not disclose how it would be able to take over the leases and the airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Avianca Brasil filed for bankruptcy protection in December in an attempt to stall aircraft lessors who had sued to repossess its fleet, two months after the carrier started missing payments on many of its aircraft.

The Avianca Brasil hearing scheduled for Monday in an appeals court will deal with a request from aircraft lessors, including Aircastle, that planes be repossessed as soon as possible, after a bankruptcy judge extended the airline’s control over the aircraft until at least April.

Since filing for bankruptcy, Avianca Brasil has secured a $75 million loan from hedge fund Elliot Management.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun and Ana Mano Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott)

Azul Linhas Aereas Embraer 195 at Curitiba Airport, Brazil

Avianca Brasil Looking for Additional Capital

January 23, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Avianca Brasil, which filed for bankruptcy protection in December, is looking for a cash injection and has hired Brazilian consulting firm Galeazzi & Associados to help in talks with investors and creditors, the airline said.

Galeazzi’s executives are already visiting the carrier’s creditors to discuss options, a source said, asking for anonymity to disclose private talks. Reuters first reported the news of the Galeazzi hire, citing sources.

Avianca shareholders are discussing a potential cash injection with different investors, including hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, two sources said. Any investment now would need to happen within the bankruptcy protection process, likely in the form of debtor-in-possession financing.

Elliott and Galeazzi did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Any capital injection or loan would need authorization from the bankruptcy judge.

Avianca is battling two of its main aircraft lessors, Aircastle Ltd and General Electric Co’s unit GE Capital Aviation Services, who have tried so far unsuccessfully to ground or repossess 40 percent of its fleet.

Avianca also said in the statement it continues to operate normally.

The escalating legal battle has added to the uncertainty surrounding Avianca Brasil’s ability to maintain its current flight schedule.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer Editing by Susan Thomas and Alistair Bell)

Avianca Brasil Lessor Set to Seize 20% of Airline’s Fleet

January 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Lessor Aircastle is set to repossess 10 jets from Avianca Brasil, the country’s No. 4 airline, after a bankruptcy hearing on Monday, a source familiar with the matter said, potentially disrupting flights for thousands of passengers.

The 10 Airbus A320 planes represent more than 20 percent of Avianca Brasil’s current fleet, according to data provided by Brazil’s aviation regulator, raising doubts about the carrier’s ability to fly its full flight schedule if the aircraft are seized.

And it could lose more planes in the future. Lessor GE Capital Aviation Services and an affiliate are seeking to repossess 12 Airbus A320s from Avianca Brasil, according to James Luton, a GE spokesman.

When the airline filed for bankruptcy protections last month, the airline discussed the possible loss of 14 planes, which it said would affect 77,000 passengers over a three-week period.

A representative for Avianca Brasil declined to comment. The bankruptcy filing came after years of mounting losses and late aircraft payments.

Bankruptcy filings, while providing protection from creditors, do not cover leases, the source of the carrier’s entire 46-aircraft fleet.

Between the end of 2016 and September 2018, Avianca Brasil’s liabilities to aircraft lessors quintupled to 415 million reais ($112 million), according to the carrier’s financial statements.

Still, a Brazilian bankruptcy judge stayed a decision that would have allowed Aircastle to repossess the planes last month. That stay, however, expires on Monday.

Since the stay was issued, the source said, Avianca Brasil has not made any proposal to Aircastle that would have allowed the carrier to keep the planes. Avianca Brasil owes Aircastle more than $30 million, the source added.

The stakes are also high for Aircastle, as Avianca Brasil is its largest single customer, representing some 7 percent of its net book value, according to the lessor’s financial disclosures.

Avianca Brasil is separate from the better-known Avianca Holdings SA, which is based in Colombia. But they share the same owner, a family company owned in part by Bolivian-born airline entrepreneur German Efromovich.

United Continental Holdings gave the family company a $500 million loan last November.

Neither party has revealed why the loan was needed, but Efromovich has been sued for failure to repay his debts in the United States and Brazil in recent years.

($1 = 3.7138 reais)

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun)

Avianca Seeks To Cut Airbus Order In Half

December 11, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Airline Avianca Holdings SA (AVT_p.CN) will begin negotiations with Airbus (AIR.PA) to reduce the 100 planes it had agreed to purchase in a 2015 deal to as few as 50, the chief executive of the Latin American company said.

Avianca was also seeking a strategic alliance with German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), CEO Hernan Rincon said late on Sunday, part of its bid to expand in Europe.

Avianca representatives will travel to France in the coming days for re-negotiations with Airbus, Rincon said. Avianca had agreed to buy 100 A320neo planes to modernize its fleet.

“Of those 100, we’ll probably receive between 50 and 80 planes,” he said. “We don’t have any doubt that we will keep growing, what has changed is the rhythm of the growth.”

Technological advancement is part of the reason for the airline wanting to reduce its purchases, Rincon added.

“The rhythm of technology is changing, it will take a while to get all of the order and we don’t want to have a commitment to planes with today’s technology which will be received by us in 10 or 15 years,” he said.

A reduction in the original order, which was set to cost $10 billion, will also give Avianca some financial breathing room, Rincon added.

At the end of last month Avianca, United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.O) and Copa Airlines of Panama said they had finalized a three-way joint venture that will allow them to plan routes and fares together and share revenues on those routes.

United, Avianca and Copa are already codeshare partners and Star Alliance members.

“We’ve started conversations with Lufthansa, but its very embryonic,” said Rincon. “We hope to reach an agreement to benefit our passengers in Europe, which is a relevant and growing market.”

The deal with Lufthansa would be similar to the one just agreed with United and Copa, Rincon added.

Under the United and Copa agreement, United said it would provide a $456 million term loan to cash-strapped Avianca’s top shareholder, Synergy Group Corp. Loss-making Avianca has a roughly $4 billion debt pile, of which 40 percent is due within the next two years, according to recent financial statements.

That deal still has to be approved by regulators.

Avianca will also start operating a regional subsidiary in Colombia in 2019, meant to serve medium and small-sized cities with 12 ATR 42 planes. The planes are already part of Avianca’s fleet, Rincon said.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Helen Murphy and Marguerita Choy)

Will Brazil’s Azul Join Avianca-United Airlines Alliance?

December 3, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Two Brazilian airlines, Azul SA and Avianca Brasil, are targets for expansion in the wide-ranging alliance between United Continental Holdings Inc , Colombia’s Avianca Holdings and Panama’s Copa Airlines on U.S.-Latin America routes, Avianca Holdings’ Chief Financial Officer, Gerardo Grajales, told Reuters on Monday.

There was little reference to Brazil, by far the region’s largest market, when the alliance was announced on Friday, but Grajales said the parties to the agreement already had in mind Azul and Avianca Brasil, which operates independently of Colombia-based Avianca Holdings.

“The two airlines complement each other in the Brazilian market,” Grajales said. “From the beginning we thought that Brazil should be covered by our agreement, however, no partnership would be authorized if it did not have an Open Skies agreement.”

The Open Skies agreement between Brazil and the United States was signed into law in May, when discussions among the three airlines were already advanced, he explained.

The airline agreement mimics a partnership between American Airlines and Chile’s Latam Airlines which has been mired in regulatory scrutiny.

The announcement between the United Airlines parent, Avianca and Copa capped off almost two years of negotiations. United will loan Avianca’s majority shareholder almost $500 million to be spent on ventures outside of the airline.

Depending on how it is repaid, United could end up owning a large chunk of the Colombian carrier. United is making no monetary investment in Copa or its affiliates.

United already owns an 8 percent stake in Azul, and has a codesharing agreement with Avianca Brasil, formerly known as Ocean Air.

Shares in Azul were down almost 5 percent on Monday afternoon in Sao Paulo. The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock disclosed late on Friday that it had sold an almost 10 percent stake in Azul’s preferred shares. Hours earlier, the carrier disclosed in another securities filing that it sought to double in size in the next five years.

Azul did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by David Gregorio)

Image from en.wikipedia.org

Avianca cuts Airbus delivery schedule

May 16, 2016 / WIL BALDWIN

Avianca cuts Airbus A320 NEO delivery schedule. The airlines parent, Avianca Holdings, released the following press statement on May 3, 2016:

“In an effort to improve its profitability, achieve a more efficient capital structure and reducing the current levels of indebtedness, Avianca Holdings S.A. reached an agreement with Airbus S.A.S. to reduce the number of aircraft deliveries scheduled for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The agreement with the European aircraft manufacturer represents a CapEx reduction of approximately USD1.4 billion for the next 30 months. During this same period, Avianca Holdings S.A. will continue to pursue its cost reduction initiatives, seeking to strengthen its balance sheet and generate greater cash flow.

Avianca Holdings S.A. reaffirms its leverage goal, measured as the net adjusted debt over EBITDAR, of no more than 5 times for 2019”.

It was just one year ago that an order for 100 A320-NEO aircraft was firmed up by the airline for the Airbus jets. The order for the 100 Airbus jets was the single largest order ever placed by an air carrier in Latin America, and brought the total number of A320-NEO jets the airline had on order to 133.

Avianca struggles with Latin American woes

The change in fortunes shows just how quickly the Latin American economy has declined. While it seams that falling global oil prices should be good for airline economics, the fact that that drop in prices leads to layoffs and cost cutting in the oil industry negatively impacts business travel expenditures. Brazil and Mexico rank ninth and tenth in global production of petroleum and other liquid Production, respectively. Venezuela (twelfth) and Colombia (nineteenth) follow on that list. In addition to its name sake airline and cargo operations, the airlines parent holding company also controls Aerogal in Ecuador, Avianca de Brazil, Aviateca de Guatemala, LACSA de Costa Rica, TACA de Honduras, TACA de Peru, and TACA de San Salvador. LACSA is an abbreviation for the latin “Lineas Aéreas Centroamericanas Sociedad Anónima”. TACA is an abbreviation for the latin “Transportes Aereos del Continente Americano”.

Avianca

Image from www.avianca.com

About ATR:

Avianca struggles with Latin American woes

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