Some Chinese airlines seeking to delay aircraft payments due to virus crisis - lessor
13/02/2020 10:25
By Anshuman Daga
SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Some Chinese airlines are
asking to defer payments on aircraft rentals as they grapple
with a fall in demand due to the coronavirus, the head of Asia's
fifth-biggest aircraft leasing firm said in an interview with
Reuters.
"A lot of clients are trying to seek help from all the
industrial players, not only from lessors but also from banks,
from regulators, airports and OEMs (airplane manufacturers),"
said Mike Poon, founder and chief executive of China Aircraft
Leasing Ltd 1848.HK .
The coronavirus pathogen was first identified in December.
The Chinese province at the epicentre of the outbreak reported a
record rise in deaths and thousands more cases on Thursday,
suggesting a much bigger crisis facing China and the world.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2AB6U4
UK-based consultancy Ascend by Cirium said the number of
flights scheduled to operate to, from and within China had
dropped by 34% from Jan. 23 through Feb. 11.
Poon this week attended the Singapore Airshow, where Boeing
Co BA.N said some of its deliveries of 777 and 787 widebody
jets to Chinese airlines had been delayed as a result of the
crisis. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AC1EL
China's aviation regulator said on Wednesday it would
support restructuring or mergers to help airlines cope with the
outbreak, and that it would continue to lobby authorities to
subsidise airlines hurt by travel curbs. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AC10Q
"I trust the Chinese government will try to find ways to
support the whole industry," Poon said. "I definitely view it as
a short-term problem."
He said banks could help provide more direct support to
airlines than lessors if they had liquidity issues, as
negotiations between carriers and lessors could take a few
months to resolve.
Major aircraft lessor Avolon said on Wednesday it and peers
could benefit from the coronavirus outbreak as airlines shore up
cash by refinancing their planes. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2AC2WQ
(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Writing by Jamie Freed; Editing by
Jan Harvey)
((anshuman.daga@tr.com; +65 64035676; Reuters Messaging:
anshuman.daga.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))