Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT, 遠東航空) plans to file an application with the Taipei District Court next month to end its financial restructuring plan, airline president Chang Kang-wei (張綱維) said yesterday.
FAT suspended operations and sought bankruptcy protection in 2008. It obtained approval in 2009 from the Taipei District Court to proceed with a financial restructuring plan. The carrier resumed operations in April and is expected to become profitable by early next year, Chang said in an interview.
If the court approves the application, local banks are willing to provide loans to the airline, Chang said. The company plans to buy Boeing and Airbus planes to upgrade its existing fleet, most of which are McDonnell aircraft.
On Oct. 31, the carrier began offering flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province, China. It also operates flights from Songshan airport to Taiyuan in Shanxi Province and Nanning in Guangxi Province.
FAT also provides regular flights to Angkor in Cambodia and charters to Cebu in the Philippines and Da Nang in Vietnam. The carrier also provides domestic flights to Kinmen and Penghu.
In January, the airline plans to add more cross-strait flights from Kaohsiung to Haikou in China’s Hainan Province and Hefei in Anhui Province.
FAT had about 10 employees when the court approved its financial restructuring. That has now expanded to more than 600.
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