KEY POINTS The risk that prepetition lease payments made by a lessee that is a debtor in a US bankruptcy will be clawed back from an aircraft lessor can be reduced if: • the lease is a true lease rather than a disguised secured loan or finance lease • one or both of basic rent and maintenance reserves are payable in advance (i.e., at the beginning of a rent period rather than at the end) • basic rent and maintenance reserves are payable monthly rather than quarterly or semiannually • the lessor enforces the lease’s payment obligations consistently • any payment made by a third party on beha

The McCaskill-Bond Amendment to the Federal Aviation Act provides that a merger of air carriers requires the new entity to merge the seniority lists of the two carriers’ employees. Republic Airways acquired Midwest Airlines, and thereafter the Teamsters Union, which represented the flight attendants at Republic’s older carriers, refused to integrate the seniority lists for flight attendants and placed Midwest’s flight attendants at the bottom of the seniority roster. A group of Midwest flight attendants challenged the action, asserting that it violated the amendment.

The "American rule" is a well-defined legal principle applied by courts throughout the United States that holds each party to a dispute responsible for paying its own attorney fees. This principle is, however, subject to a number of exceptions that effectively allow a prevailing party to recover its own attorney fees from a losing party. For example, federal and state statutes increasingly authorize a prevailing party to recover costs from its adversary in certain types of actions.

La Commissione europea ha approvato, in base alle regole comunitarie in materia di aiuti di Stato, il piano della Germania per concedere ad Air Berlin un prestito temporaneo di 150 milioni di euro. La misura permetterà una ristrutturazione ordinata della compagnia aerea insolvente senza distorcere indebitamente la concorrenza nel mercato unico.

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, Germany’s plans to grant Air Berlin a temporary €150 million bridging loan. The measure will allow for the orderly winding-down of the insolvent airline without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.

The process of repossession will involve complex issues of fact and law. Each one is different depending upon the jurisdiction involved, the approach of the operator and the attitude of the relevant authorities.

Information and planning

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the bottom line of many businesses. Among the hardest hit industries has been the travel industry and, in particular, airlines and aviation companies. Many airlines are still struggling to generate new ticket sales as compared to pre-pandemic levels and average fares remain depressed.¹ One industry source predicts that passenger numbers will not return to 2019 levels prior to 2024.² Compounding this are increased costs of fuel (up 35% so far this year) and other expenses.³