Under heavy pressure from Western sanctions and airspace bans, Russian state flagship airline Aeroflot (AFLT.MM) plans to raise up to 185.2b roubles ($3b) in an emergency share issue, it said on Tuesday. Aeroflot, controlled by the Russian state, said shareholders at its annual meeting had approved the issuance of 5.42b new shares that could be bought at a price of 34.29 roubles each under an open subscription. The airline also plans to order 300 aircraft from United Aircraft Corporation, which is majority owned by Rostec, Russia's state aerospace and defence conglomerate, the Vedemosti business newspaper reported. The paper, citing two sources, said Aeroflot was eyeing the Irkut MS-21 medium-range plane, also known as the MC-21, which can carry more than 200 passengers and is due to enter service this year. Aeroflot also wants the Sukhoi Superjet 100, Russia's main domestic-made passenger jet, which typically seats just under 100 passengers. A smaller number of orders would be made for the Tupolev Tu-214, which seats around 200 people, it said. With passenger numbers still down by a third compared with pre-coronavirus levels at the start of the year, the company has since been severely hit by Western sanctions.<br/>
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The CE of Air France-KLM has expressed concern over further staffing shortages and aircraft delivery delays, as he looks ahead to the busiest travel months of the year. Ben Smith’s comments came after tough operational challenges at KLM in recent weeks, where disruption and flight cancellations have affected services at the Dutch flag carrier’s Schiphol hub. “We had an experience at Amsterdam Schiphol, which we’ve never seen before, over the last two or three weeks where everything came together and it was a bit of a wake-up call for us,” Smith said during the Paris Air Forum on 7 June. “We had staff shortages throughout, both at KLM and also with Schiphol. On top of that there was a big demand for increased salaries because of inflation. So it all came to a head and the airport got overwhelmed and we had to make some difficult cancellations.” That experience has left Smith “quite concerned about the readiness of airports and many of the services” that support the group’s two network carriers and low-cost unit Transavia – both within Europe and elsewhere – as he looks towards the summer peak period. Certain positions and certain support functions such as security, frontier police or any of the other support functions, there is a lack of employees who are interested in this work, and if we do finally locate or find people, there is a training delay.”<br/>
PT Garuda Indonesia plans to raise money via a two-stage rights issue, as the indebted airline looks to salvage itself. After the carrier and its creditors come to agreement on its debt, the Indonesian government will inject 7.5t rupiah ($520m) via a first rights issue, Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Kartika Wirjoatmodjo told a parliamentary hearing Tuesday. The announcement comes just days before a scheduled key meeting in Jakarta, to decide how much of a haircut gets imposed on holders of its debt. Creditors are then expected to vote on the carrier’s $9.8b restructuring plan later this month. The debt restructuring of the ‘technically bankrupt’ carrier is becoming a test of how far Indonesia’s government will go to rescue a state-owned company. Like many airlines, its business suffered due to the pandemic. Garuda said earlier in the year that it wanted investors to take a haircut of 81 cents on the dollar for their debt. Failure to reach an agreement with creditors within the 270-day limit stipulated by law would put Garuda in liquidation. That could hurt the country’s tourism industry. Garuda is running on roughly 20% of its pre-pandemic fleet, curbing its ability to generate operating income. Wirjoatmodjo said the second rights offering will be conducted early in Q4 to allow strategic investors to buy a stake in the carrier. The government plans to keep a 51% share, he said.<br/>