Air Horizons grounded!

[CK]

France's Air Horizons grounded
Victoria Moores, London (17Nov05, 12:50 GMT, 277 words)


French carrier Air Horizons has been forced to ground operations, while separately a commercial court has set a three-week observation period during which administrators must determine the cash-strapped carrier’s future.

Air Horizons, which operated as Euralair Horizons before being acquired by its current owner Angel Gate Aviation, uses a Boeing 737-800, a 737-400 and three 757-200s on charter missions. It also has two Boeing 737-200s which perform scheduled services to Morocco.

A spokesman for the carrier says: “All our aircraft are not flying. We have no flights, we have no aircraft. We have two or three different American companies which we lease aircraft from. They asked to take the aircraft back.”

According to Avsoft’s ACAS database the aircraft belong to a variety of companies comprising Lehman Brothers, CIT Group, Triton Aviation Services, GATX Capital, ICX Corporation, SP Aircraft Owner I LLC and Wells Fargo Bank.

Air Horizons, which is under the care of court-appointed Parisian administrator Maitre Chavaux, entered suspension of payments on 1 October.

Yesterday a commercial court in Bobigny set the period of redressement judiciaire, the French equivalent of an observation period, which will run until 7 December. This period allows the airline’s administrator time to determine the future of the company.

The airline was hoping for its observation term to mirror its recently extended air operator’s certificate, which runs until 31 January 2006.

Its debts amount to around €20 million ($23 million), due mainly to its late introduction of a new aircraft type – three Boeing 757s - this summer and the spiralling cost of fuel.

Tour operators which are contracted to use Air Horizons capacity are today using scheduled operators to repatriate their passengers.


Source: Air Transport Intelligence news