Virgin Australia lessors agree in principle to delay plane repossession: administrators

Virgin Australia Holdings' administrators have reached in-principle agreements with aircraft lessors covering the bulk of its fleet to wait until after Aug. 31 to repossess planes, to allow them to complete a sale, an affidavit showed. The administrators at Deloitte are not paying aircraft and engine lessors but have asked them to sign standstill agreements to refrain from repossession to let the buyer decide on the future fleet, showed the affidavit published by the Federal Court of Australia on Monday. Lessors would normally be able to repossess planes from June 19, which is 60 calendar days after the appointment of administrators. But the coronavirus pandemic has decimated travel demand, giving lessors few alternative options for placing the planes. “Negotiations with the Aircraft Lessors have been advanced to the point where an indicative in-principle agreement has been reached with lessors representing the vast majority of the Virgin Companies’ fleet which are subject to lease or financing arrangements,” administrator Salvatore Algeri said.<br/>