Interjet plans to restart its flights in 2022 with aircraft leased from Airbus

The low-cost Mexican airline Interjet plans to resume its flights in 2022 with 10 Airbus SE aircraft leased after suspending operations a year ago, when the coronavirus pandemic it aggravated its already battered finances, company representatives said.

The ravages of the pandemic In the world tourism sector, the operational and debt payment problems, as well as tax and salary problems, have exacerbated the company, which went from being one of the main airlines in Mexico, to the risk of bankruptcy.

“The plan is to restart operations with 10 Airbus 320s,” Interjet CEO Luis Bertrand said in an interview with Reuters on Friday. The company “is alive, it is viable and we are going to move it forward,” he added.

The Interjet shareholders They agreed in April to request the protection of the Mexican courts to save the company, of some 5,000 employees, while restructuring liabilities, but the legal process, known as commercial bankruptcy, has not yet begun.

Interjet It is focused on its debt and wants to reach agreements with creditors that it can present in a conciliation stage of the commercial bankruptcy, said Iván Romo, partner of SOELI Consulting, in charge of restructuring the liabilities, of some 1,250 million dollars previously declared , without giving details.

And “to operate again next year, with promises of cuts (forgiveness) between 90% and 99%,” he added.

Bertrand, who led the AToluca International Airport, near the capital, explained that along with the financial, legal and labor negotiations, progress is being made in restarting operations.

Part of this includes a plan to return 22 Sukhoi planes acquired with financing to their owners in exchange for paying an outstanding debt of 6.3 billion pesos (about $ 296 million).

We have already signed the respective agreements so that these aircraft can begin to be rehabilitated again, “he said.

Of the Airbus what do you expect to rent Interjet In the new stage, six will go to the Mexico City airport, two to the Toluca airport and two to the terminal in Santa Lucía that would be inaugurated next year, according to the manager.