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Grupo Aeromexico has filed a reorganization plan that includes a financing proposal largely backed by a group of senior noteholders and unsecured creditors and allow the carrier to shed $1b from its debt stack. In court papers filed late Friday, Aeromexico says it is continuing to “actively negotiate with various stakeholders regarding an exit financing package” based on the noteholders and trade creditors’ joint proposal to bring in as much creditor support for the plan as possible. The airline, represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell, filed for Chapter 11 in June 2020 with $2b in debt, blaming the downturn in travel demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aeromexico plans to ask US Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman in Manhattan to grant approval for it to begin soliciting creditor votes on the plan at a hearing on Oct. 25. The joint proposal includes $1.1875b in new equity and $537.5m in new secured debt. The new financing would be used to refinance or pay off all or some of $1b in loans used to fund operations during the bankruptcy. It would also be used to cover costs necessary to emerge from Chapter 11, to set up a cash-out option for general unsecured creditors and acquire Aimia Holdings UK Ltd’s interest in the airline's travel loyalty program, PLM Premier.<br/>

British Airways has signalled it could reverse its decision to scrap short-haul flights from London's no.2 airport Gatwick, after its pilots union took a new proposal to its members about BA's plans to set up a cheaper unit. British Airways was looking for alternative uses for its Gatwick slots but could now stay to compete there against low cost airlines such as easyJetif pilots give it the go-ahead in a ballot later this week. British Airways had said on Sept. 23 it would end its short-haul operations at Gatwick, blaming pilot union BALPA's rejection of the plans for the new unit, but talks were now back on. "Last week BALPA asked us to resume discussions. These talks were constructive, addressed key concerns and have secured the efficiencies required," a BA spokesperson said on Monday. BALPA confirmed on Monday that it was consulting with its BA members about improved pay and conditions for Gatwick pilots, adding: "The result of the ballot will be declared later this week." BA's main operations run out of London and Britain's biggest airport Heathrow. During the pandemic, when it has struggled financially, it has focused on Heathrow's more profitable routes.<br/>

Many aviation industry observers had written off the Airbus A380 “SuperJumbo” once the coronavirus pandemic took hold worldwide. A prevailing view was that the aircraft’s economics – with four engines and as many as 600 seats – made it unsuitable for post-Covid operations. The double-deck jet has been retired from some airlines’ fleets, while other carriers – including British Airways – had flown their A380s to long-term storage locations. But BA has now taken the industry by surprise by bringing back five of its 12 giant jets next month – initially on short-haul hops to Frankfurt and Madrid. Rob Burgess, editor of the frequent flyer site Head for Points, wrote: “According to internal scheduling documents which we have seen, British Airways is bringing five of its 12 A380 aircraft back into service from next month.” The first flights will start on 8 November from London Heathrow to Frankfurt (408 miles) and Madrid (773 miles) – the latter around one-10th of the plane’s maximum range. They will enable pilots to reaquaint themselves with the aircraft after a 20-month grounding.<br/>

A $300 "red herring" failed to sway a Manhattan federal judge last week. US District Judge Andrew Carter refused to dismiss a lawsuit in which the family of an American teenager claims two Russian banks enabled a Russian supremacist group to shoot down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine in 2014. The Antiterrorism Act, as you know, establishes a cause of action for US citizens against banks that provide material support to terror groups. But ATA plaintiffs still have to show that US courts have jurisdiction to hear their claims. That was a key issue in the lawsuit by the parents and sister of Quinn Schansman, who was 18 years old and traveling to a family vacation when he died aboard the Malaysian jet. In an amended complaint filed last October, Schansman's family alleged that two Russian banks – Sberbank of Russia PJSC and VTB Bank PJSC – funneled millions of dollars to the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Russian separatist group allegedly responsible for shooting down the Malaysain Air jet. The amended complaint asserted that New York had jurisdiction over the family’s case because Sberbank and VTB routinely and deliberately routed transfers to the separatist group through their New York-based correspondent accounts at US banks. The family’s lawyers at Jenner & Block were able to document two of those transactions in the amended complaint by obtaining early discovery from a court-ordered subpoena served on two of those US banks, Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon. Story has full details.<br/>

Qantas Airways expects to order more than 100 narrowbody and regional planes next year as well as widebodies capable of the world's longest commercial flights from Sydney to London, its CE said. Qantas plans to select the preferred supplier to replace its ageing fleet of 75 Boeing 737-800s and 20 717s in December, CEO Alan Joyce said in a virtual press briefing on the sidelines of the IATA annual meeting in Boston. "It is only once in a generation you go through a major fleet renewal like this," he told reporters. "This is a really strategic decision for our future." The orders would be worth billions of dollars and provide a boost to aircraft manufacturers that cut production during the pandemic at a time when many airlines, including Qantas, postponed deliveries due to lower demand. Qantas will place a firm order for the planes by mid-2022, with deliveries expected from late 2023 to 2034, Joyce added. The options under consideration include the Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320neo family, the A220 and Embraer E-Jet E2 family, Qantas said. The airline said the new planes would reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions by around 15% and it would also work with the manufacturers on accelerating the use of sustainable aviation fuel in a bid to meet a target of net zero emissions by 2050.<br/>

Qantas and Emirates have announced they will extend their codeshare partnership for another five years, as Emirates marks 25 years in the Australian market. The agreement was signed by both Emirates president Tim Clark and Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce at the IATA annual general meeting in Boston, and includes the option to further extend for an additional five years. The airlines have existing approvals from regulators to operate a joint business until March 2023, and will seek re-authorisation from the revelevant authorities, including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to continue the core elements of the partnership, including co-ordination of pricing, schedules, sales and tourism marketing on approved routes until 2028. It comes as the Dubai-based carrier celebrated its silver jubilee of 25 years of service in the Australian market, after performing its inaugural flight from Dubai to Melbourne in 1996. Since then, the airline has flown more than 39 million passengers on routes to and from Australia.<br/>