The bankruptcy court has given Latam Airlines flexibility on fleet’s future options.
Latam has a deadline until July 19 to give notice to its lessors about returning leased aircraft. If not taking that measure, Latam will have to hold on to the planes for another 30 days.
This decision includes Latam’s operations in Chile, Brazil and Ecuador with a total of 111 leased aircraft.
Latam counted with 320 aircraft at the time of filing for bankruptcy, 213 were under finance leases, and the remaining 98 under operating leases. The company is working to restructure its fleet, operations and debts, however cutting one third of the fleet would mean a huge reduction and a bad perspective for Latin America Aviation.
While the pandemic crisis doesn’t show significant signs of recovery in South America, Latam might not hold so many aircraft in its fleet.