Gol Linhas Aéreas announced on Monday that it had obtained approval from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to move forward with its financial restructuring plan launched on January 25.
According to the company, the US Court preliminarily approved that US$350 million of the US$950 million in financing granted by members of the Abra group, the holding company that controls Gol and Avianca, be immediately accessed.
Final approval to receive the full funding should be the subject of new hearings in New York. For now, the airline states that the amount will guarantee the operation of its flight network.
The financial recovery process managed in the United States, called “Chapter 11”, provides for the renegotiation of the company’s debts with hundreds of creditors, including several lessors of its aircraft.
Brazilian bankruptcy law was avoided precisely because it does not include lessors, who account for the majority of short-term debts.
According to data from Ch-Aviation, Gol only owns two of the 139 Boeing 737s in its fleet. The largest lessor is AerCap, from Ireland, which has 30 jets leased to the Brazilian carrier.
Stocks in free fall
“We are pleased by this successful start to our legal financial restructuring. Obtaining the U.S. Court’s authorization to access new financing will enable GOL to continue operating in the normal course, as we anticipated,” said Celso Ferrer, Chief Executive Officer.
The company has tried to reassure its customers and the market by remembering that the Chapter 11 process has already been used successfully by other airlines, such as LATAM and Avianca.
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Despite this, the airline’s shares continued to melt on the Brazilian Stock Exchange. Just on Monday, January 29th, the price fell 33.6% after Gol revealed that its debts were greater than expected.
