Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. GOL entered the process with a financing commitment for $950 million in new debtor-in-possession financing from members of an ad hoc group of bondholders from Abra.
GOL will seek access to the DIP funding as part of its first day hearing. The financing is subject to court approval and, along with cash generated from ongoing operations, will provide liquidity to support operations in the normal course during the Chapter 11 process.
With the support of the court-supervised process and the additional liquidity from the DIP financing, GOL’s passenger flights, its GOLLOG cargo flights, Smiles Loyalty program and other company operations are continuing in the normal course.
“GOL has undertaken significant efforts to provide the best travel experience for our customers, while improving our profitability and financial position,” Celso Ferrer, CEO of GOL, said. “We have made outstanding progress to date and believe that this process will allow us to fully address the challenges caused by the pandemic while we maintain our high standard of service to our customers. This process will enable GOL to further expand our position as a leading Latin American airline while maintaining our purpose of ‘being the first for all.’ We are confident the steps we are taking will allow us to offer the lowest cost fares with exceptional travel experiences to our customers across an increasing number of routes. Our employees will keep handling their daily activities looking after GOL and the safety and quality of its flights. We are pleased to be moving forward with commitments for new capital that will help advance our long-term strategies, including improving affordability, the travel experience and customer choice.”
