In the midst of the controversy over the loan of up to 370 million dollars that the Government approved for Avianca Holdings, as part of its financial recovery plan under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, the executive president of the company, Anko van der Werff, emphatically reiterated that the company will once again be profitable and will pay off the loan.
(You may be interested in: Duque’s defense of the loan for Avianca)
At the restart of the company’s operation, which began with 49 flights on September 1, the manager assured that he was confident “About who we are, the service and the product we offer”, and indicated that among the guarantees is Life Miles, a company with 10 million affiliates, which is very profitable.
“It is very important, because a loan means that we are going to pay the amount. It is very important for us, but it is also important for the country due to the connectivity that we provide not only on domestic flights but also on international ones, ”Van der Werff told Noticias Caracol.
(Read also: Claudia López criticizes the decision to finance Avianca)
He also pointed out that the government loan is for around 30 percent of the new capital that it is consolidating for the company to present the financing formula to the judge of the reorganization process in the United States, which is expected to be presented for approval probably by the end of September.
In addition, as part of the guarantees provided by Avianca Holdings for the entire loan under the figure of debtor in possession (DIP), which will be 1,200 million dollars, the firm Avianca Cargo, the most relevant brands of the holding company and some cash accounts of the airline.
Avianca Holdings points out that the Government requested the same interest rates that are being paid to the private market, which makes the guarantees in terms of debt support, but also in balance with the interest that must be paid for the 18 months of the loan term, are competitive.
And he emphasizes that under the scheme, the lenders who enter to be part of the financing of a company that is in restructuring they take a risk and, therefore, these have a priority over all creditors of the company at the time of payment.
(Also read: ‘Avianca’s credit has guarantees’: Minhacienda)
According to the International Air Transport Association (Iata), in the world, To date, there are nine flagship airlines that have received funding from the governments, the lowest amount being 370 million dollars from Colombia. Since in Spain the account goes to 1,400 million dollars, in Portugal it amounts to 1,300 million dollars, in Germany it is close to 13,000 million dollars, while in the United States it already reaches 29,000 million dollars.
In this process There was also Latam Airlines, which withdrew the loan applications after obtaining totally private financing.
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