BUSINESS NEWS
British Airways has secured a €2 billion loan from a syndicate of banks
UK carriers seal support as hopes for 2021 fade
BA and easyJet clinch funding as recovery forecasts lengthen, reports Ian Taylor
UK airlines have secured a new round of funding as the prospect of an early restart of travel recedes. British Airways announced a
five-year, £2 billion loan from a syndicate of banks backed by a government guarantee last week and easyJet secured a five-year bank loan of £1.4 billion supported by a partial UK government guarantee. Virgin Atlantic, which has so
far been refused a government loan or guarantee, is poised to secure
40 14 JANUARY 2021
£170 million from US private equity firm Bain Capital through the sale and leaseback of two Boeing 787s. However, most of the money will go to repay hedge fund Davidson Kempner which helped the carrier complete a £1.2 billion court-sanctioned recapitalisation in September. IAG said it continues to explore
“debt initiatives” to improve the group’s liquidity of €8 billion. EasyJet said its loan would allow it to repay £900 million in short-term
debt as it continues to assess funding opportunities. The carriers acted to bolster cash
reserves as Ryanair slashed flights from the UK and Ireland to “few, if any” from the end of January and European air traffic management organisation Eurocontrol forecast Europe’s air traffic won’t recover to pre-Covid levels until 2026.
Continued on page 38
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