The planned business rescue of South African Airways is in limbo because government attempts to raise 5.3b rand ($307m) of immediate funding from commercial banks failed to elicit a response, a person familiar with the situation said. The administrators of the state-owned airline can’t hand over the business to management because it is insolvent, the person said. The banks were approached by representatives of the Department of Public Enterprises and the National Treasury, the person said, asking not to be identified as a public statement has not been made. SAA hasn’t made money since 2011 and has survived on government bailouts -- a situation Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has said is unsustainable. He has undertaken to try and “mobilize” 10.3b rand the airline needs to keep flying from private equity, pension funds or “strategic partners.” The Department of Public Enterprises declined to comment. Treasury said funds are still being mobilized. B4SA, a grouping of the country’s biggest business organizations, said that with the economy in crisis banks have other priorities and shouldn’t fund the carrier.<br/>
star
Panama’s Copa Airlines on Wednesday reported that it earned almost no income between April and June, with revenue falling 98% as coronavirus-related measures virtually shuttered the Panama City airport that serves as its home base. Panama’s tough anti-coronavirus measures, including a travel ban that will go at least through August, has also become a radical test of Copa’s resilience. In normal times, Copa is considered Latin America’s most financially successful airline, known for steady profits, low debt and a strong cash position. But in Q2, Copa earned only $14m in revenue but spent $400m keeping the business running, it said in an earnings release. As a result, it swung to a $386m net loss from a $50m profit a year earlier. Other publicly-traded airlines in Latin America have also had to cope with significant travel bans, but none saw their commercial operations come to a total halt for three months. Copa said that its only revenue in the quarter came from “a small number of charters and humanitarian flights.” <br/>
Croatia Airlines has postponed a long-term Airbus A319 lease, cancelled a similar Bombardier Q400 lease and dropped a CRJ1000 seasonal lease as part of measures to rein in costs over the first half. Over Q2 the company made a loss of Kn62.7m ($10m), it states, despite the cost-cutting. “The company, under normal circumstances, begins to make a profit to cover winter losses [in this quarter],” it adds. Last year’s net profit for the quarter was more than Kn9m. Croatia Airlines posted an operating loss of Kn155m and a net loss of Kn173m over the first six months of the year, around double the deficit at the halfway mark last year. Revenues more than halved to Kn412m. The company managed to cut operating costs by 41%. Croatia Airlines says it conducted 57% fewer flights – just over 5,660 – over H1, focusing on its Q400 fleet owing to the turboprops’ lower capacity compared with its Airbus jets.<br/>