El Al has called a shareholders’ meeting for 18 August in order to seek approval to raise the company’s registered share capital. The Israeli flag-carrier is planning to raise $400 million through a $150 million share issue and a state-backed staggered $250 million loan. El Al says that, in order to issue the shares, an amendment to the company’s articles of association, to hike the registered capital, is necessary. Its capital currently stands at 1 billion shares plus a special state share. El Al says it wants approval to increase this by 500 million shares, to 1.5 billion. The airline says it is holding discussions with the ministry of finance on the terms and conditions for the funding, adding that the government will undertake to purchase, at the average May price, any shares not taken up by the public. If the government takes shares they will be placed with a trustee whose role and powers have yet to be decided. But El Al says the conditions for the financing scheme will include restrictions on the use of the funds, and a prohibition on dividends, until the loan is repaid. Another condition requires the airline to improve its efficiency by reaching collective agreements with personnel. But while it has achieved new pacts with cabin crew, maintenance and administrative personnel, a deal signed for the pilot sector is causing friction because it was signed in the absence of pilots’ representatives. The airline’s pilots have turned to the labour court in Tel Aviv in a bid to block the agreement, aimed at saving over $100 million, signed with the trade union organisation Histadrut. El Al says its pilots’ committee has filed an urgent request to the labour court against the airline and Histadrut, seeking a ruling that the agreement – made without fair representation – is “invalid”.

Source: Cirium

Israeli flag-carrier El Al must carry out a planned $150 million share issue by the end of August, before the country’s government will back a $250 million bank loan. The conditions have been outlined in a 22 July letter from the ministry of finance. El Al opted in early July to pursue the joint loan and share issue, after a prolonged effort to negotiate a $400 million loan package with the ministry. The airline says it has been informed “for the first time” that the state guarantee for the $250 million loan will be granted “only after” the shares are issued. El Al has previously stressed that near-term funding is critical to its future, and has yet to indicate whether the timing attached to the package will affect its operation. The airline has already extended the suspension of flights until 31 August, a decision which affects 6,100 employees. El Al says the ministry has agreed to release $10 million from a compensation fund which, at the end of June, had a surplus of 230 million shekels ($67 million).

Source: Cirium

Alaska Airlines is to join the Oneworld alliance, becoming the group's 14th member. The US carrier hopes to complete its entry into the alliance "around the end of the year". Alaska's wholly-owned subsidiary Horizon Air and regional partner SkyWest Airlines will join Oneworld as affiliate members. Joining the alliance will "improve connectivity and service for our guests throughout the West coast and beyond", says Alaska chief executive Brad Tilden. "Oneworld will open up a tremendous international network for our business and leisure travellers when they're ready to start flying overseas again, in addition to greater connectivity around the US through our network for international visitors," he adds. Alaska is "eager to build deeper ties" with the six Oneworld members it already co-operates with, these being American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Qantas. The airline's addition to Oneworld will add 34 destinations to the alliance's US network.

Source: Cirium