On August 4th local time, British billionaire, founder and CEO of Virgin Atlantic Airways, a British billionaire and founder and CEO of Virgin Atlantic Airways, a subsidiary of Richard Branson, officially filed for bankruptcy protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Law, . According to foreign media, because Delta Air Lines and Virgin Group own 49% and 51% of Virgin Atlantic respectively, Virgin Atlantic said in a filing with the bankruptcy court in New York that it had negotiated a "confidential capital recapitalization" agreement with stakeholders that it would cut debts on its balance sheet and seek sustainable long-term growth. Court documents revealed that since January this year, Virgin Atlantic Airlines bookings have fallen by 89% year-on-year, with demand in the second half of 2020 being about 25% in the same period in 2019. Virgin Atlantic Airlines, which just resumed international passenger flights on July 20, has finally become another collapsed airline under the avalanche of the epidemic.
Virgin , which also belongs to Virgin Group, has had a hard time. Not only did it announce in April that the company had entered custody, half of its foot had stepped into the bankruptcy door, but it also recently announced that it plans to lay off 3,000 employees, which is equivalent to one-third of its total number of employees. In addition, airlines also said that it will continue to suspend international flights until the global aviation market recovers.
When Virgin Australia announced its entry into custody, Richard Branson said it had injected $250 million into several Virgin Group companies and planned to raise as much money as possible on Necker Island in the Caribbean as collateral assets to help its airlines survive the crisis. Facts have proved that the epidemic has almost emptied Virgin Group's "blood slot", and temporary blood transfusions are just a drop in the bucket for continuing to survive.
Above pictures are from Virgin Atlantic Airways
Although many countries have announced the restart of inbound travel and the opening of international flights, since many countries still implement the policy of 14 days of quarantine after entry, tourists are still waiting and watching about leaving the country. The financial forecast report of the global air transport industry released by the International Air Transport Association in June showed that in 2020, global airlines will lose $84.3 billion and their net profit margin will fall by 20.1%. Revenue is expected to be only $419 billion, down 50% from 2019 revenue of $838 billion. In addition, passenger volume in June fell by 86.5% compared with the same period last year, and the decline in April was even as high as 94.1%. Global passenger traffic is expected to fall by 55% in 2020 compared to 2019, worse than the 46% forecast in April.
In order to save themselves, airlines have tried all kinds of tricks: cut salaries, layoffs, and retire large passenger planes early. Helplessly, the fierce and still raging epidemic in the world has hit the aviation industry one after another. According to data from the British " Daily Telegraph ", in addition to Virgin Atlantic, there are 23 airlines that have gone bankrupt due to the epidemic around the world.
Source: Air Italy
New Alitaly was established in 1963. It announced bankruptcy liquidation on February 11, 2020, and the operation was suspended on February 25, and the company was dissolved.
Atlas Global, Türkiye, was established in 2001 and declared bankruptcy on February 12, 2020.
Flybe, UK, was established in 1979 and declared bankruptcy on March 5, 2020.
Miami International Airlines (Miami Air International), founded in 1990, submitted bankruptcy filing materials on March 24, 2020, and declared bankruptcy on May 8.
Tigerair Australia, a low-cost airline owned by Virgin Australia, was established in 2007 and declared bankruptcy on March 25, 2020.
Trans States Airlines was established in 1982 and declared bankruptcy on April 1, 2020.
Compass Airlines was established in 2007 and declared bankruptcy on April 5, 2020.
Ernest Airlines, Italy, was established in 2015 and declared bankruptcy on April 5, 2020.
RavnAir Alaska was established in 1948. It submitted bankruptcy filing materials on April 5, 2020 and declared bankruptcy on June 24.
SwedishBraathenssSubordinate Airlines (Braathens Regional Airlines), founded in 1976 and declared bankruptcy on April 6, 2020.
Germanwings was established in 1997 and announced its permanent closure on April 8, 2020.
Source: South Africa Airways
South Africa Airways, established in 1934, submitted bankruptcy application materials on April 16, 2020, and entered liquidation status in May.
Virgin Australia was established in 2000 and applied to enter the voluntary hosting process on April 21, 2020.
German LGW Airlines, German Lufthansa Group subsidiary, was established in 1980, submitted bankruptcy application materials on April 22, 2020, and declared bankruptcy on April 26, 2020.
Air Mauritius was established in 1972 and submitted bankruptcy application materials on April 23, 2020.
Colombia Avianca, founded in 1919, declared bankruptcy on May 10, 2020.
ArgentinaSouth American Airlines (LATAM), founded in 1919, declared bankruptcy on May 10, 2020.
Air Georgian, founded in 1994, declared bankruptcy on May 29, 2020.
Austrian European Airlines (LEVEL Europe), founded in 2017, declared bankruptcy on June 18, 2020.
Image source: NokScoot
Thailand Cool Bird Airlines (NokScoot), founded in 2014, declared bankruptcy on June 26, 2020.
SunExpress Deutschland was established in 2011 and declared bankruptcy on June 26, 2020.
Source: Aeromexico
Aerospace (Aeromexico), founded in 1934, filed for bankruptcy protection on June 30, 2020.
Avianca Brasil was founded in 1998 and entered bankruptcy proceedings on July 6, 2020.
There are many centuries-old stores on this list. As the epidemic continues to spread in the United States and rebounds in Europe, it is very likely that names on the bankruptcy list will continue to increase. It is worth mentioning that airlines declare bankruptcy does not all mean permanent suspension. Through restructuring, acquisition and other means, these airlines are expected to return to the blue sky in the near future. However, since the aviation industry is in the hardest hit by the epidemic, according to the International Air Transport Association's forecast in June, the global air transport volume is only about one-third of the previous epidemic. It is expected that passengers' air travel demand will not recover to the pre-crisis level by 2024. Survival is still the primary issue facing global airlines.
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