Bericht: Air Canada nächster Insolvenz-Kandidat

[huschi]

Die Toronto Globe and Mail berichtet heute, daß die Air Canada noch heute Insolvenzschutz beantragen wird. Für einen Aprilscherz ist das Thema leider zu ernst:

 

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/.../TickerOverride

 

Air Canada seeking bankruptcy protection, sources say

 

Air Canada is expected to announce that it has filed for bankruptcy protection before a Toronto court, sources tell The Globe and Mail.

 

Robert Milton, chief executive officer, is expected to announce the filing today. A court hearing has been scheduled for 1 p.m. EST. He is also expected to hold a conference call and issue a letter to employees.

 

The company's shares were halted Tuesday pending news. On Monday, its shares fell 16 per cent in Toronto.

 

The latest move comes after the carrier, hammered by a global economic slowdown and the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the current U.S.-led war with Iraq, struck a deal this week to cut another 1,000 jobs after reaching an agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union.

 

However, reports Tuesday also cast doubts on whether the carrier was able to reach similar agreements with its other unions in a series of last minute talks.

 

The airline is labouring under heavy debts, increased competition from low-cost carriers and declining passenger traffic as a result of the Iraqi war.

 

A number of North America's biggest carriers have either already filed for bankruptcy protection or are getting ready to do so as travellers again opt to stay home in the face of global turmoil.

 

In February, Air Canada — which many had speculated would ultimately follow suit and file for protection — said it had to slash labour costs by $650-million. More recently, it said it had to cut another 3,600 jobs in response to declining traffic in the wake of the U.S.-led war with Iraq.

 

At the same time, Mr. Milton also outlined a plan to fix the airline, calling for it to be carved up, including the possible sale of its regional carrier Jazz.

 

Mr. Milton had said at that time that selling subsidiaries like Jazz and Air Canada's maintenance division, the carrier could bring in much-needed cash and, possibly, lower costs over the longer term.

 

A week earlier, Air Canada had announced a deal to sell 35 per cent of its Aeroplan frequent-flier division to Onex Corp. for $245-million.

 

The carrier closed out 2002 with a loss of $428-million. In the fourth quarter, it lost about $364-million. It hasn't posted an annual profit since 1999.

 

The carrier's long-term debts and leases total about $12-billion.

 

Federal sources quoted by The Globe and Mail on Tuesday said Ottawa was prepared to offer Air Canada a $300-million bailout package, which would include loan guarantees, if the carrier wanted it. But sources quoted by the paper also said that Air Canada was in a last-minute scramble to crunch numbers to see if that could be avoided.

 

Federal Transportation Minister David Collenette has said in the past that the federal government was committed to the airline's survival, even though it has also been suggested that the carrier wouldn't give the carrier a cash bailout.

 

Air Canada, by far the country's biggest airline, isn't the first to fall on financial hard times. In the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, Canada 3000 — then the country's second biggest airline — abruptly halted service after it was unable to produce a viable business plan that would have allowed it to access $75-million in loan guarantees from the federal government.

[Gast]

Siehe ARD - VHS-Text S.116

 

Air Canada wird m.M. allerdings mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit Unterstzützung vom Staat bekommen. Wäre ja auch zu doof wenn Canada's einzige wahre Airline (bzgl. der Strecken) dicht macht.

 

Edit: Schon traurig was derzeit abgeht. Hätte man folgende Fakten vor 2 Jahren jemanden erzählt....

 

- AC kurz vor Insolvenz

- AA kurz vor Insolvenz

- UA Insolvent

- US Insolvent (ist ja wieder raus aus C11)

- SN exsistiert nicht mehr

- SW exsistiert nicht mehr

- LH & Co groundet massen Maschinen

 

... dann hätte er uns ausgelacht und uns für unzurechungsfähig gehalten

_________________

Gruß Steffen

 

 

[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: XQ-NUE am 2003-04-01 21:17 ]

[laudaair]

Eine Airline nach der anderen sperrt zu.

Ich frage mich nur, wohin das führt...