US leasing giant GE Capital Aviation Services has filed a petition in a São Paulo court to start bankruptcy proceedings against Brazilian carrier Transbrasil.
The leasing company claims the airline cannot execute payment on a $2.58 million debt relating to Boeing 737-300s returned off lease.
Transbrasil has responded by entering a motion to dismiss GECAS' request and is filing its own suit against GECAS for damages in view of the temporary suspension of share trading of the airline's stocks on the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo stock exchanges that came as a result of the petition.
The debt results from the return of five 737s to the lessor, in conditions other than those stipulated in the contract. Transbrasil sources say the airline agreed to repay GECAS the expenses required to bring the aircraft back to delivery conditions. However, the airline contested the alleged value of the services, stating that it was charged more than twice the market value.
The airline stated "surprise" at the action, "as the entire affair was being handled outside the courts."
Source: Flight International
