SkyEurope 737 lease termination prompts flight delays
SkyEurope 737 lease termination prompts flight delays
Simon Warburton, London (09Jan09, 16:59 GMT, 238 words)
SkyEurope Airlines is experiencing delays at its central European bases after six of its 14 Boeing 737-700s were taken back by the lessor.
The aircraft have gone back to US supplier GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS), which terminated the leases yesterday.
SkyEurope Airlines chief financial officer Nick Manoudakis tells ATI: "Nobody has been left stranded, [but] there are some delayed flights. What we have done is replace some of our missing units with support capacity, primarily on a wet-lease basis.
"Unfortunately, we did not have a whole lot of time, so that caused some delays. The wet-leases have come from various operators, but mainly Air Slovakia."
Manoudakis declines to comment on the circumstances surrounding the return of the 737s to GECAS, stating only that it was "contractual".
Hinting that current market conditions could make the acquisition of replacement aircraft easier, Manoudakis says: "The market is a bit softer now, so we will just sit down and look at it as an opportunity."
He concedes that "a couple of people are a bit edgy", but insists that as long as "nobody panics" SkyEurope will weather the storm.
"It is not an easy situation but as far as I know it is business as usual," says Manoudakis. "The biggest risk we thought might be reactions from other suppliers, but that seems to be okay. The company is looking for investment, but I am confident this particular incident can be contained."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news