Bankrupt Skymark Airlines has submitted its rehabilitation plan to the Tokyo District Court that includes the target of being re-listed on the stock exchange within five years. While the plan sets a framework for capital investments by the airline's prospective new shareholders, it is short on specifics on how it will rebuild its business. The airline, which should try to retain its role as a third player in the domestic aviation industry alongside Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, must make efforts to ensure that its rehabilitation plan is workable.
According to the plan, Skymark will implement a 100 percent capital reduction and then issue new shares. Investment fund Integral Corp. will purchase 50.1 percent of the stocks totaling ¥18 billion. Another 33.4 percent will be held by a fund jointly set up by the Development Bank of Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and 16.5 percent by ANA Holdings Inc., the parent company of ANA.
Skymark creditors are expected to express their support or opposition of the plan in a meeting to be held as early as July. The carrier will likely face a difficult time since Intrepid Aviation, a U.S. aircraft leasing company, and Airbus SAS — both major creditors — are calling for revisions to the plan. On June 1, Intrepid Aviation announced that it has submitted its own plan to rebuild Skymark to the court, opposing the idea of ANA Holdings becoming a sponsor of Skymark. Skymark owes some ¥104 billion to Intrepid Aviation and ¥85 billion to Airbus — about 60 percent of the total ¥320 billion debts owed by Skymark. The revamp plan must be approved by parties who together hold more than a half of the total debt, so Intrepid Aviation and Airbus could torpedo it.