(Mar 29): Airlines worldwide raised more than US$17 billion ($24.3 billion) in bank loans in March to shore up their finances amid the coronavirus outbreak.
US carriers were the most active, borrowing US$12.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Delta Air Lines Inc. is the top borrower this month, obtaining US$5.6 billion, followed by Singapore Airlines, which secured a S$4 billion ($2.8 billion) bridge loan, and United Airlines Holdings Inc., which raised US$2.5 billion.
The airlines have borrowed new loans or drawn down on existing credit lines that they typically didn’t use before the health crisis. Companies in all industries globally have raised more than US$230 billion from commercial banks since early March in response to the virus.
Eleven other airlines, including British Airways Plc and Etihad Airways PJSC, have about $8 billion in combined revolving facilities that they may not yet have drawn, the data show.
The aviation industry is asking individual governments for state aid, including carriers based in Germany, Thailand, and the US.
