Avianca Peru is being liquidated

Avianca Group, as part of its Chapter 11 reorganization, made this announcement about Avianca Peru, formerly TACA Peru:

In parallel to its Chapter 11 filing in the U.S., as previously announced, Avianca is commencing a liquidation of its operations in Peru pursuant to local laws, which will allow Avianca to renew its focus on core markets upon emergence from its court-supervised reorganization.

Avianca Perú is an airline based in Lima, Peru. It operates domestic services and international services. Its main base is Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM), Lima. The airline operates out of 18 airports. It is part of the Synergy Group and operates its flights with TACA’s codes. Through Synergy Group, it is one of the seven nationally branded airlines (Avianca Ecuador, Avianca Honduras, etc.) in the Avianca Holdings group of Latin American airlines.

In other news, Avianca Group announced first day approvals of its motions in the bankruptcy court:

Avianca Holdings S.A. has announced that all “first day” motions related to the Company’s voluntary reorganization proceedings initiated on May 10, 2020 have been approved on an interim or final basis by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Collectively, the orders granted by the Court at the hearing will help ensure that Avianca continues normal business operations throughout the reorganization process.

Among other things, the Court approved motions that will allow Avianca to protect employees and suppliers while also continuing to serve customers. Avianca received authorization to:

• Pay certain employee wages, compensation and benefit obligations owed from before the filing date, as well as to continue paying wages and honoring employee benefit programs in the normal course of business during its Chapter 11 cases;
• Maintain its network of customer programs throughout this process. Customers can continue to arrange travel and fly with Avianca in the same way they always have. Additionally, Avianca customers will continue to accrue miles when they fly with Avianca, and can continue to redeem miles earned through LifeMiles to purchase tickets with Avianca during this process; and,
• Honor various obligations owed to certain of its travel agency partners, vendors and suppliers from before the filing date. The Company will also continue to pay vendors and suppliers, as well as travel agency partners, in the ordinary course for goods and services provided on or after May 10, 2020.

The success of Avianca’s “first day” hearing marks the first significant milestone of the Company’s Chapter 11 case, and will allow it to both issue various critical payments and maintain operational continuity throughout its reorganization. With its requested relief granted, the Company can look forward to productively engaging with key stakeholders and other interested parties. Notably, the next Court hearing is currently scheduled for June 11, 2020, where Avianca hopes to secure approval of all interim orders on a final basis.

Ongoing Government Discussions

As previously announced, Avianca – like many other airlines around the world, including in the United States, the European Union, and Asia as well as in Latin America – is seeking financial support from the governments of the countries where it provides essential services. Avianca continues to be engaged in discussions with the government of Colombia, as well as those of its other key markets, regarding financing structures that would provide critical additional liquidity to support the Company during the Chapter 11 process and play a vital role in ensuring that the Company emerges from its court-supervised reorganization as a highly competitive and successful carrier in the Americas. In the interim, while these discussions are ongoing, the Company intends to utilize its cash on hand, combined with funds generated from its ongoing operations (such as cargo), to support the business during the court-supervised reorganization process.

Top Copyright Photo: Avianca (Peru) Airbus A330-243 N279AV (msn 1279) MIA (Brian McDonough). Image: 925808.

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