Amedeo has agreed in principle to grant lease rental deferrals to beleaguered Thai Airways, though the lessor says the agreement has not yet been signed due to the Thai government setting up a special committee to handle a new business improvement plan for the airline.
Amedeo Air Four Plus, Amedeo’s listed sidecar, said in a 15 May London Stock Exchange filing that it has obtained lender consent for the deferrals and will grant six-month deferrals from April, in relation to the leases of four Airbus A350s.
The lessor is already allowing the airline to defer rent even though the agreement has not been formally signed.
“It is the company’s intent to allow Thai the benefit of the rental payment deferral during this period prior to formalisation and all of the company’s rights under the leases are asserted and remain unaffected while waiting for the executed documents,” it says.
It adds that the deferred payments will be “made good” with interest over the next three years.
While Thai’s senior management has agreed in principle to the deal, Amedeo Air Four Plus says in the filing that “appropriate signatures on the document are still pending”.
The cabinet of Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha will today be asked to consider a proposal from the transport ministry for a rehabilitation plan that will result in the restructuring of the loss-making state-owned carrier after a bankruptcy filing in court, two senior government officials told the Financial Times.
Cirium is not able to verify the report at the time of publishing and Thai said on 18 May it has no intention to file for bankruptcy.
Regarding its arrangement with Thai, Amedeo Air Four Plus expects a “significant” reduction in rental income over the deferral period, but says the repayment has been structured “to provide that there will be a complete catch-up on such reduction together with interest in the three-year period from October 2020”.
The company is also discussing “a possible financial accommodation with Emirates” that was announced in April. With both carriers in mind, it says it will “keep the company’s financial position and dividend policy under review”.
