South African carrier Comair’s business rescue practitioners believe there is a reasonable chance of the Johannesburg-based airline’s being saved. The airline’s board opted to enter business rescue on 4 May. Practitioners Shaun Collyer and Richard Ferguson met with creditors and employees on 19 May to outline the carrier’s position. They state that there are “reasonable prospects” for Comair to be rescued, pointing out that the airline is a “critical infrastructure asset” for the country, holding a 39% market share of domestic travel before the coronavirus crisis. Its assets exceed its liabilities but the grounding of the airline, as a result of the South African lockdown on 26 March, means it is unable to generate revenues and has insufficient cash to meet obligations. South Africa’s government is to lift the lockdown in phases but Comair will not be able to restore domestic flights until several of these phases have been implemented. The rescue will involve restructuring the airline’s business, debts and equity to maximise its chances of remaining solvent and continuing operations. Comair will depend on post-commencement finance in order to continue with the business rescue plan which is due to be published on 9 June, with a vote on 24 June. “Support of key stakeholders – namely the banks and lessors – for the business rescue process is therefore required,” the practitioners state. “Without it, we will have no choice but to place the company in liquidation.” Comair has suffered financially from the predicament of flag-carrier South African Airways, against which it had been awarded a R1.1 billion ($60 million) settlement in a competition case. The practitioners state that R790 million of this sum will be “unrecoverable” as a result of SAA’s own filing for business rescue last December. Comair operates as a franchise partner for British Airways and also serves routes with the budget airline brand Kulula. South African air transport is experiencing a critical period as a result of SAA’s and Comair’s rescue, as well as the liquidation proceedings against regional operator SA Express.

Source: Cirium

EasyJet has disclosed that it was the target of a "highly sophisticated" cyber-attack in which the email addresses and travel details of 9 million customers were accessed. The airline admits in a 19 May notice to the London Stock Exchange that the credit-card details of 2,208 customers were also accessed in the attack, which it says came from a "highly sophisticated source". "As soon as we became aware of the attack, we took immediate steps to respond to and manage the incident and engaged leading forensic experts to investigate the issue," says EasyJet. "We also notified the National Cyber Security Centre and the ICO [Information Commissioner's Office]. We have closed off this unauthorised access." The airline adds that all affected customers will be notified by 29 May. Those customers whose credit-card details were hacked have already been contacted, it says. EasyJet has seen "no evidence" that any personal information has been misused, but is advising affected customers about "protective steps to minimise any risk of potential phishing". The airline's chief executive, Johan Lundgren, says it faces "an evolving threat as cyber attackers get ever more sophisticated", and that this threat has become more acute during the coronavirus pandemic. "Since we became aware of the incident, it has become clear that owing to Covid-19 there is heightened concern about personal data being used for online scams," states Lundgren. "As a result, and on the recommendation of the ICO, we are contacting those customers whose travel information was accessed and we are advising them to be extra vigilant, particularly if they receive unsolicited communications."

Source: Cirium

Thai Airways International indicates that reform plans are still underway and dismisses recent bankruptcy rumours. "
Thai has clarified that it has no intention to file for bankruptcy, responding to rumours that appeared in the news and online about the consensus of its board of directors meeting on 15 May 2020 to file for bankruptcy," it said today in a statement that reflects a clarification submitted to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). "Thai's reform plan has been approved by [Thai's] board of directors on 17 April 2020 and presented to the State Enterprise Policy Office for consideration on 29 April 2020. The plan will soon be presented to the cabinet for further action. The board of directors had no resolution of filing for bankruptcy as appeared in the news." Separately, the carrier is among the SET-listed companies granted an extended deadline to submit first-quarter financial statements, along with Nok Air's parent company. In a letter to SET dated 13 May, Thai said that more than half of its total revenue comes from foreign branch offices. Covid-19-related travel restrictions and shut borders have made it challenging to prepare documents necessary to prepare the financial statements, which may include evidence of ticket sales and ticket refunds, per the auditor's request. "Therefore, there are limitations on access to information in searching, preparing and collecting accounting documents for the auditor's review." Thai is 51% owned by the government and was already facing financial difficulties before the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, its losses widened and revenues fell, even as passenger numbers increased.

Source: Cirium