Irish lessor applies to have Hong Kong Airlines liquidated

A Stellar Aircraft Leasing special purpose vehicle has applied to the Hong Kong High Court to have Hong Kong Airlines liquidated given various outstanding debts.

Court documents show Stellar Aircraft Holding 1 Limited’s application will be heard on May 11. As the petition’s contents are not public information, details concerning the financial relationship between Hong Kong Airlines and the Ireland-based SPV are not known at this stage. Stellar Aircraft Leasing is a joint venture between DVB’s Deucalion Aviation Funds and Magnetar Capital. ch-aviation research shows Stellar has at least one aircraft placed with Hong Kong Airlines – A330-300 B-LHD (msn 1146)

The former HNA Group subsidiary has been in and out of the financial doldrums with the pandemic serving only to worsen its outlook given Hong Kong’s extreme measures to curb the spread of the virus. Last year, the carrier fought a suit against ALAFCO and also had to defer bond repayments.

Hong Kong Airlines was not immediately available for comment.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, it has a fleet of twelve A320-200s (of which only one has been active of late), nine A330-200s (inactive), seven A330-300s (only four active), and one A350-900 (inactive). On the other hand, business is brisk for its Hong Kong Air Cargo (RH, Hong Kong Int’l) subsidiary whose five A330-200Fs are all active.