Court extends Aeroméxico recovery plan deadline to late 3Q21

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has allowed Grupo Aeroméxico an extension of 75 more days to complete and present its reorganisation plan, the Aeroméxico (AM, México City Int’l) parent revealed in a statement on June 22. The court, which is presiding over the group’s Chapter 11 restructuring process, “approved the extension because, among other reasons, of the good progress the company has made with its restructuring,” the company claimed. “Aeroméxico will continue pursuing, in an orderly manner, its voluntary financial restructuring through Chapter 11 while continuing to operate and offer services to its customers and contracting from its suppliers the goods and services required for operations,” it reiterated. It concluded: “The company will continue to strengthen its financial position and liquidity, protect and preserve its operations and assets, and implement necessary adjustments to mitigate the effects of Covid-19.” The airline had been due to present its plan on June 25 but told the court it needed more time to finalise it. Earlier this month, it requested a 120-day extension to deliver the plan on October 25, the newspaper Milenio reported. Now it has promised to deliver by September 8, explaining that it had made progress in recent days. Likewise, the group earlier requested a 120-day extension to the deadline to consult with the creditors’ committee and obtain their support for the restructuring, implying a date of December 22. Now, however, it believes it can cover the process in 76 days, giving it until November 8. Grupo Aeroméxico filed for Chapter 11 protection on June 30, 2020. It has since clarified that its liabilities total approximately USD5 billion, including state taxes, bank loans, and airport fee debts to the operator of México City Int’l. In related news, insolvent Interjet’s indefinite cessation of operations has left a booty of more than 50,000 takeoff and landing slots at Mexico City International, and these have started to be distributed among its former competitors, the business magazine Expansión reported on June 21. In summer 2019, it had 52,467 slots registered with the airport, which by 2020 had reduced to 51,580. For this year it has no assigned schedule, while Volaris (Y4, Toluca) has 30,600 registered slots, 53% more than in 2019, and Aeroméxico more than 114,000, up 9% from pre-pandemic levels. Another airline gaining presence in the capital is Aeromar Airlines (VW, México City Int’l), whose slots have increased by 22% in the last two years, while those of VivaAerobus (VB, Monterrey General Mariano Escobedo) have grown 15% to almost 18,000 this summer season, according to the magazine. In pre-pandemic times, Interjet’s presence at Mexico City exceeded that of Volaris, Viva Aerobus, and Aeromar combined, and it would be difficult if a newly relaunched Interjet ever sought to restore them.