15 January 2010 I Jake Kanter
Japan’s beleaguered airline, Japan Airlines (JAL), has committed to continue paying suppliers amid reports that the company will file for bankruptcy.
In a statement on JAL’s website yesterday, the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation (ETIC) – a Japanese government body charged with rehabilitating the struggling airline – said “no change is to take place” to payment terms.
“The ETIC is in the process of forming a business revitalisation plan to support Japan Airlines, in which we intend to ensure all of its business operations on and off the ground will be performed smoothly without any interruption as usual with sufficient amount of capital,” it said.
The ETIC reportedly plans to inject a ¥600 billion (£4 billion) credit line to help the company maintain its payment commitments to vendors.
Under the restructuring, it is thought that JAL will file for bankruptcy protection as early as next week, in a process similar to Chapter 11 in the US.
