After officially declaring its financial situation as no longer viable, Mexicana has filed for reorganisation proceedings with Mexican authorities and is moving to protect its US-based assets from seizure.
Mexicana on 2 August firmed up reports about its weak financial state and sought wage concessions of 41% and 39% from its pilots and flight attendants.
The carrier followed that declaration with a formal restructuring request with Mexican authorities, and is now seeking Chapter 15 relief in the US courts to protect its routes and aircraft in the US.
Mexicana in court filings explains that its assets are not protected from seizure during the intervening time of its filing in Mexico and the approval by US courts of its foreign representative for its Chapter 15 proceedings.
Stressing the need for immediate relief to avoid a disruption in its operations, Mexicana says several of its aircraft have been seized in Canada, and attempts have been made to seize other aircraft at JFK and Chicago O'Hare.
Flightglobal's ACAS database shows Mexicana's mainline fleet is comprised largely of Airbus A320 family aircraft. The carrier also operates two A330s, two Boeing 767-200ERs and two 767-300ERs.
Mexicana's reorganisation only applies to its mainline operations. Its subsidiaries Link, which operates Bombardier CRJ200s, and Boeing 717 operator Click are excluded from the restructuring.
The carrier says its current debt load is roughly 1.5 billion Mexican pesos, or roughly $127 million in US dollars.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
