The US Export-Import Bank (Exim-bank) has abandoned its opposition to the rehabilitation plan for debt-ridden Philippine Airlines (PAL).
The move effectively clears the last significant hurdle on PAL's route to recovery from near-bankruptcy this year.
Eximbank had been petitioning the US bankruptcy court to withdraw protection from the carrier, which will clear the way for the repossession of four Boeing 747-400s which PAL is using on transpacific routes.
The airline says: "The change of heart by Eximbank, the last remaining hold-out among PAL's creditors, comes less than five months after PAL began its full-scale implementation of its amended rehabilitation plan upon its effectivity in June."
PAL claims it has "consistently attained - and in some cases surpassed" operational and financial targets under the plan. Airline president Avelino Zapanta says that this was one reason for Eximbank's change of heart.
Source: Flight International
