Struggling Delta Air Lines announced on Monday it is selling a regional carrier serving the southeast US to shore up its cash position as it battles to fend off bankruptcy.
Delta said it was offloading Atlantic Southeast Airlines for US$425 million in cash to rival carrier SkyWest Inc, and would use some of the proceeds to pay down US$100 million in debt.
In a delayed filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Delta warned that it was unlikely to get further debt financing because of its low credit rating and already-pledged assets.
Its operating cash flow would not be enough to meet its liquidity needs for the rest of the year, it warned.
However, Delta chief executive Gerald Grinstein said the deal with SkyWest would shore up the carrier's bottom line as it "takes steps to secure its future as a competitive airline."
Like other US carriers, Delta has been hammered as high fuel prices compounded a slowdown in air traffic.
Grinstein said the board would "take a hard look at all of our operations and assets ... to strengthen our financial position in the face of continuing market pressures and factors outside of our control, including fuel prices."
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Delta was working with General Electric's finance arm to help pull together financing in case it decides it needs to file for "Chapter 11" bankruptcy protection from creditors.
A Delta spokesman declined to comment on the report.
The threat of bankruptcy has dogged Delta before. Last autumn, the airline struggled with red ink and tumultuous talks with its unionized pilots. The pilots eventually relented.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
RSS