Colombian flag carrier Avianca is rejecting two Airbus A321’s as part of its US Chapter 11 restructuring process. Court documents filed on 6 January show that the airline rejected MSNs 6511 and 6767 on 15 December. Avianca had on 1 December filed a schedule of aircraft leases to be assumed on condition that definitive documentation and approval orders were met. The Latin American operator rejected the two aircraft when the deadline to agree terms was reached on 15 December. Data shows that the two aircraft form part of Avianca's 2015-2 EETC portfolio. DAE Capital is listed as the servicer of the aircraft, while court documents show that Wells Fargo is the trustee. Avianca completed the financing of 11 aircraft in 2015 via two issuances under an enhanced aviation investment vehicle (EAIV) private EETC structure. That structure was created by Burnham Sterling, which was mandated as lead arranger and sole bookrunner in the deals.

LATAM Airlines Brazil has conducted a first international service with its Boeing 787-9, flying the twinjet to Spanish capital Madrid from Sao Paulo Guarulhos airport. From 23 February, the aircraft (registered PS-LAA) will also be deployed on the route connecting Guarulhos and New York JFK, the airline says. It has been operating this 787-9, equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, on domestic routes since October, and says it is the first Brazilian airline to operate the type in the country. LATAM Airlines Brazil adds: "In all, up to four Boeing 787-9 aircraft from the LATAM Group fleet in Chile will arrive in Brazil to be crewed by Brazilian pilots and flight attendants, in yet another strong commitment by the company to the recovery of the air sector in the country."

Brazil's Gol expects international flights to contribute about 8% of ASK capacity in 2022, about half the network share pre-pandemic. "We're going to be more of a follower [when it comes to the return of international operations] given the volatility and restrictions that can apply to international destinations," Gol's finance chief Richard Lark said today during an investor presentation in Singapore. This means a "much smaller contribution to EBITDA" from international operations, compared to 15% of ASKs pre-Covid-19, contributing 10% of total revenues and about 5% of EBITDA. Meanwhile on the domestic front, the airline's revenues had in December exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since March 2020, at 9.8% above the corresponding month. This was driven primarily by VFR traffic and Lark says that Gol's large corporate sales reached around 80% of 2019 levels. Gol had conveyed in its November earnings call expectations for a recovery at the end of the first quarter of 2022. This lag in corporate travel, however, has pushed the timeline out to the second half of the 2022, Lark says. Gol expects to recover the remaining 20% of its corporate travel segment "over the next few months". The airline will focus its business network on point-to-point and shuttle flights for clients in industries that have shown the least recovery so far, including the finance sector, Lark says. "We do expect that Gol's utilisation will return to our normalised levels of around 12h a day in the second half."