I am surprised the market is not being kept fully informed of the predicament Virgin Australia (VAH)has found itself in. This may be due to the ASX announcements being overloaded but unlikely. I suspect it is due to the mess VAH are in. For those that do not know Stand and Poor's (S&P) has junked the VAH credit rating. This is the second downgrade in 2 weeks by S&P. S&P is concerned the previous mentioned $900 million unrestricted cash buffer (loan) is likely to materially reduce in the very near term. With HNA now taken over by the State (Chinese Government) anything could come from left field. Etihad is going to crumble like a pack of cards. A ratings agency has described Etihad as having very weak financials.
Etihad has sold 38 long haul aircraft at fire sale prices to raise USD1,000,000,000. This is just over an average of USD26M per aircraft. The sale includes all the B777-300ERs, A330-200s and A330-300s powered by Trent engines.