Swissair scales back aircraft-leasing business
The Swissair Group has announced it is to restructure its aircraft-leasing portfolio, which is controlled by its subsidiary, Flightlease. The aim is to concentrate on aircraft needed for the Swissair Group's operations, a statement said on Tuesday.
The company said that the planned exit from Flightlease’s third-party business was in line with the group’s strategy to focus on its core business of Swissair and the regional airline, Crossair.
The planned measures will enable the Swissair Group during the course of the year to “generate significant cash, strengthen its balance sheet and withdraw from a number of future commitments,” the statement added.
They will, according to the group, also simplify the legal, management and financial structure.
Commenting on the move, Swissair Group chairman and chief executive, Mario Corti, said: “Our new strategy of withdrawing from Flightlease’s third party business should provide an important source of value and cash generation for Swissair Group during the coming months.”
In a separate development, the auditing firm Ernst and Young has been chosen by a Zurich court to conduct a special investigation of the Swissair Group’s finances, which was decided by shareholders after an eight-hour marathon at their annual general meeting at the end of April.
The group made losses of SFr2.9 billion ($1.63 billion) last year.
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