Philippine Airlines planes are parked at the international airport in Manila in September 2016. / … [+]
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Philippine Airlines—controlled by billionaire Lucio Tan—made its much-anticipated bankruptcy filing in the U.S., paving the way for the restructuring of the flag carrier amid mounting losses arising from pandemic-induced global travel restrictions.
“The restructuring plan, which is subject to court approval, provides over $2 billion in permanent balance sheet reductions from existing creditors and allows the airline to consensually contract fleet capacity by 25%,” the company said in a statement on Saturday after filing for a pre-arranged restructuring plan under the U.S. Chapter 11 process in the Southern District of New York.
Under the plan, PAL will raise $505 million in long-term equity and debt financing from its majority shareholder and…