Braathens Regional Airlines Begins Financial Restructuring
Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA) has entered a court-supervised financial reorganisation under Swedish law, a process comparable to Chapter 11 in the United States. The move, approved by the Solna District Court on October 10, aims to secure the future of the airline’s turboprop operations following the bankruptcy of its Airbus-operating subsidiaries last week.
The restructuring will allow BRA and its subsidiary, Braathens Regional Airways, to renegotiate key contracts, reduce operating costs, and streamline their ATR operations. The airline said the process is intended to address transition costs as it shifts to focus entirely on ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) leasing services.
Braathens emphasized that the restructuring will not affect ongoing operations for its two major ACMI clients—SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Austrian Airlines. The carrier operates a fleet of seventeen ATR72-600 aircraft, with four currently flying for Austrian and the rest for SAS.
The company acknowledged that redundancies will follow as a result of Braathens International Airways’ bankruptcy, though specific details and timelines are still being finalized in consultation with employee unions. BRA confirmed there are no plans to reduce its current fleet size.
This latest restructuring marks another chapter in Braathens’ transformation, as it exits the Airbus market to focus solely on turboprop leasing. The airline plans to release a detailed restructuring roadmap in the coming weeks as it works to stabilize operations and ensure long-term sustainability in the competitive European regional aviation market.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com