East Star Air : 8C : DXH

La compagnie chinoise East Star qui a cessé ses opérations en mars 2009; 3 A319 et 6 A320 à cette date

Pourrait redémarrer sous l'impulsion de China Equity Group

Sur ATWonline :

China Equity Group plans to re-launch Wuhan-based East Star Airlines, which is going through bankruptcy reorganization, with a CNY200 million ($29.2 million)-CNY300 million investment, according to CEG Chairman Wang Chaoyong.

Wang revealed that the group plans to raise the money to restart the troubled carrier in conjunction with seven other companies, including Shanghai YuField. He said CEG has "submitted the reorganization application" to the appropriate court. "Hopefully we can get the result in the next two or three weeks," he commented.

The team charged with East Star's restructuring, composed largely of Wuhan government officials, insisted last month that bankruptcy was the carrier's only option [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

If CEG's plan is approved, the reorganized airline's stakeholders are expected to include parent company East Star Group, which currently has a 40% holding, as well as CEG and some of the carrier's debtors. Based on the reorganization plan, East Star will operate three aircraft initially with a focus on regional tourism in the middle part of
China, allowing it to avoid competition with the country's major airlines.

"We hope the reorganized carrier can make a turnaround and earn a profit in three to five years," Wang said.

by Katie Cantle

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Au moins 3 appareils Airbus étaient en leasing chez GECAS ( CFM-56 )


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Finalement, East Star ne redémarrera pas

Quelques éclaircissements sur Airwise :

East Star Airlines, a debt-laden privately-owned Chinese airline, officially went bankrupt on Thursday after a desperate fight to stay aloft. It was the first of China's airlines to do so.

The Intermediate People's Court in East Star's hometown of Wuhan said a plan submitted by the East Star Group and ChinaEquity was unfeasible and failed to meet the conditions for a legal restructuring, the Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

East Star, founded in 2005 by a travel agency and a real estate company both owned by the East Star Group,
at its peak accounted for 10 percent of market share in Wuhan, in central China. It was China's fourth private airline.

It foundered on rising debt, tough competition for passengers, and a drop in air travel as the economy stumbled last year. Its total debt surpassed CNY752 million yuan (USD$110.1 million) last month.

East Star was grounded by the industry regulator on March 15, after rejecting a takeover offer from Air China's state
parent.

It then launched a dramatic search for a rescuer, at one point in June calling a night-time press conference at which anonymous executives announced a CNY500 million investment by a firm that did not appear to have a valid street address.

ChinaEquity, an investment firm, earlier this month promised to invest CNY200 million to CNY300 million for East Star's restructuring, but it did not specify the source of the funding, failed to provide certificates and documents, and lacked measures to protect creditors, the court found.

East Star Airlines had no operating income in 2008. ChinaEquity recorded CNY470,000 in main business income and a CNY187,477 deficit last year, the court found.

Its main creditors include the parent of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation.

(Reuters)

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La flotte d'East Star, selon Planespotters, ( merci ! )

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Motorisations

Airbus A 319-112 : CFMI CFM56-5B6

Airbus A 320-214 : CFMI CFM 56-5B4