PAL says ‘no certainty’ Chapter 11 proceedings will complete by 2021

Philippine Airlines has said there is “no certainty” its business restructuring process will end by 2021, noting that a variety of factors will affect the timeline. The carrier was responding to a news report by the Manila Bulletin, which cites PAL president and COO Gilbert Santa Maria as saying that the embattled carrier will exit restructuring by this year. Santa Maria was speaking at a press briefing, days after the carrier filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in New York, a move that had been long anticipated. “Only an asteroid hitting Manhattan can stop us from exiting Chapter 11 this year,” he was quoted as saying. The carrier, in a 7 September stock exchange filing, says Santa Maria was expressing “a statement of hope or wish…that the Chapter 11 process will end quickly”. It notes that the statement is not “based on any legal consideration”. “There is no certainty that the judicial proceeding will terminate quickly that will allow PAL to exit Chapter 11 process before the end of 2021. It will all depend on the acceptance, oppositions or agreements of the creditors, lessors and other stakeholders to the proposed rehabilitation/ restructuring of PAL,” the airline adds.<br/>