Belgian Airlines (KF, Brussels-Charleroi) has been given an additional four months to reach an agreement with its creditors under a court-led restructuring procedure (Procédure de Réorganisation Judiciaire – PRJ), the company told its employees. This was revealed in an internal document sent to local media.
When the Nivelles Commercial Court near Brussels approved Air Belgium’s request to start a judicial restructuring last September, it gave the airline four months, until January 22, to submit a new business plan. . Creditors, including the 11,000 passengers waiting for refunds, now have to wait until May 13 for news about the relief.
“We are making good progress under the circumstances. [the PRJ] However, we need to continue,” it said in a document in early January, adding that it had concluded agreements with the majority of its creditors and had so far succeeded in reducing its debt by 3 million euros (US$3.3 million). .
The four-month extension will allow the company to “conclude and finalize negotiations with remaining creditors and move forward with negotiations with potential investors awaiting a more attractive balance sheet.” In September, it was reported that Chinese state-owned Sichuan Airlines Group, the parent company of regional carrier Sichuan Airlines (3U, Chengdu Shuangliu), was willing to invest in Belgian Airlines.
Since October 3, Belgian Airlines has focused on cargo and ACMI, for example, since the beginning of the year it has leased two A330-200s to SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) and one of two A330-900Ns. is leased to LOT Polish Airlines (LO). , Warsaw Chopin), the ch-aviation fleet module shows. The other -900 has been undergoing maintenance since August last year. The current airliner consists of these four A330s, the other aircraft are his two A330-200s (P2F) and his three B747-8s (F).
However, sources told French-language news site L Post that the airline is considering retiring two Airbus A330neo jets due to suspected design flaws in their Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 turbofan engines.
Belgian Airlines did not immediately respond to ch-aviation’s request for comment.
A Rolls-Royce spokesperson told ch-aviation: “As far as we know, this is not an engine issue. The Trent 7000 engines on these aircraft have performed well and have provided industry-leading levels of reliability and availability throughout the airline’s service life. Belgian Airlines will continue to be a valued customer.”