German leisure carrier Condor is preparing to exit “protective shield proceedings” in November, following the liquidation of its former parent company Thomas Cook Group in September 2019.
Protective shield proceedings are a German form of bankruptcy protection, which allows distressed companies to restructure under court supervision. Unlike administration, management retain control of the company.
“Condor Airlines is pleased to announce that it will successfully conclude the German protective shield proceedings as a healthy company in November 2020,” Condor said Oct. 2. “The protective shield proceedings allowed Condor to gain legal independence after the compulsory liquidation of its former parent company, Thomas Cook Group.”
Condor also filed for U.S. Chapter 15 proceedings, to ensure that the German proceedings-and their conclusion-are recognized in the U.S.
“The U.S. is, and will be, one of Condor’s most important markets,” the German carrier said. Once current EU-U.S. travel restrictions are lifted, Condor plans to operate nonstop flights from underserved U.S. gateways to Frankfurt and beyond.
“Condor successfully went through in the past 12 months to set the company up for a future without Thomas Cook,” Condor said. “Chapter 15 makes the provisions of the German restructuring proceedings and their conclusion binding in the U.S. as well and clears the way for Condor to be a healthy company as of November in all its markets.”
Polish Aviation Group, which owns LOT Polish Airlines, announced plans to acquire Condor in January 2020, however this deal fell through in early April.
Condor subsequently secured a €294 million ($346 million) state-backed loan and €256 million to refinance a bridging loan, granted in winter 2019 following Thomas Cook’s entry into insolvency.
This funding enabled Condor to resume flights from eight German airports to various Mediterranean leisure destinations during the summer.
In July, Condor announced that it had reached agreements with its labor groups to avoid compulsory redundancies among its 4,200 staff, although the unions agreed to reduced working hours until at least March 2021.
Condor launched operations in 1956 and normally handles around 9.4 million passengers annually, flying 50 aircraft from eight German airports to around 90 destinations in Africa, America and Europe. In 2018-19, Condor generated an operating profit of around €57 million from a €1.7 billion turnover.
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