Skymark Airlines grounded its Airbus A330-300 fleet to help strengthen its operating cashflow since entering bankruptcy protection on 28 January.
In response to queries from Flightglobal, the carrier says it has yet to decide on the fate of the five A330s, which have been grounded since 1 February.
Flightglobal's Ascend Fleets database shows that four of the aircraft are leased from Intrepid Aviation, and one from CIT Aerospace. A further five new A330s were also due for delivery this year.
The airline has since deployed Boeing 737-800s to replace the A330s on the Tokyo Haneda-Fukuoka and Tokyo Haneda-Sapporo services.
Skymark has also cut 24 daily services from its schedule, representing 15% of the total flight volume, it adds. These covers a select number of services from Ibaraki, Kobe, Sendai, Nagoya, Okinawa and Tokyo Haneda.
Skymark sought bankruptcy protection as the rapid depreciation of the Japanese yen over the past year added to its already challenging financial situation.
In addition, it faces a penalty of up to Y83 billion ($700 million) from Airbus over the termination of its order for six Airbus A380s.
Japanese private equity firm Integral Corporation has agreed to provide debtor-in-possession financing to the carrier and assist it to work on a rehabilitation plan. The finance is expected to be later replaced with an equity investment, subject to court approval.
Ascend Fleets shows that the airline continues to operate 27 737-800s, and holds a letter of intent to order four 737 Max 8s.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
