British Airways, kulula.com confident of return to the SA skies in September
If all goes according to plan, Comair, which operates kulula.com as well as British Airways domestically, plans to restart flights in September, its business rescue practitioners said on Thursday.
In a status report to affected persons dated 31 July and seen by Fin24, rescue practitioners Richard Ferguson and Neil Hablutzel indicated that as a result of the Covid-19 adjusted level 4 lockdown restrictions, leisure travel to and from the Gauteng was prohibited from 27 June to 26 July. This, and other factors, resulted in the Comair suspending scheduled flight operations with effect from 5 July.
As a result, Comair's fleet of aircraft has been placed in short-term active storage pending the recommencement of scheduled flight operations. Consequently, Comair has been unable to generate revenue of any significance since then. All ticket sales have been retained by the respective clearing houses until such time as certainty surrounding the company's future has been achieved.
The rescue practitioners have an ongoing obligation in terms of the Companies Act to continuously consider whether there is a reasonable prospect of rescuing the company, and the support of the Comair Rescue Consortium (CRC), which was chosen as the preferred bidder for the airline, is seen as pivotal if the rescue process is to succeed.
The rescue practitioners said on Thursday that they are confident that they now have the commitments they need in terms of funding.
"We are not at liberty to discuss the extent of the funding, but can say it is sufficient to ensure that flights will resume in September," they said.
Furthermore, a general offer made to minority shareholders at an estimated 4.26 cents per share, will proceed as proposed in the adopted business rescue plan.
In addition to the commitments from the CRC, other funding options include the sale of some non-core assets and settlements that are being concluded.
"These negotiations are complicated, sensitive and ongoing; consequently, we are not able to go into further detail or determine when they might be completed," the rescue practitioners said.
Steven Herring, one of the members of the consortium, is on record as saying they are "absolutely committed to ensuring Comair returns to the skies as a viable and sustainable business. We will not let it fail".
