Eastern European budget operator SkyEurope Airlines is insisting that its central investor, York Capital, has not indicated any intention to withdraw funding from the airline and is still committed to the carrier.
SkyEurope chief executive Jason Bitter tells ATI, flightglobal.com's sister premium news source, that "every indication" from York - which agreed a €10 million loan to the airline last month - is that the company is "still very much engaged".
"They want to see this through," he says, suggesting that York would not have agreed further funding if it was intending to withdraw it.
An Austrian press report claims today, without citing sources, that York is seeking an exit.
Bitter points out that, as previously stated by the carrier, York's latest funding amounts to a bridging loan and that, as such, it will be "bridging to something".
Investment bank Rothschild has been called in to assess potential financing alternatives, but Bitter declines to disclose any specific options under consideration.
While he concedes that the airline's business has had a "rough go", notably as a result of fuel prices and credit-card processing issues, he insists that SkyEurope has "no problems" with its lessors - notably its main source of aircraft, GECAS.
York Capital could not immediately be reached for comment.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
