By Megumi Fujikawa and Shawn Schroter
TOKYO--Japan's Skymark Airlines Inc. (9204.TO) said Thursday
that its plan to purchase Airbus Group's (EADSY) superjumbos when
the yen was much stronger was a principal cause of its need to file
for bankruptcy protection.
Japan's third largest carrier filed papers to protect it from
its creditors at the Tokyo District Court late Wednesday, blaming a
large cancellation fee imposed by Airbus when the order was
scrapped last year.
"When we made the contract with Airbus, the yen was around Y80
(against the dollar)," the company's new chairman Takashi Ide said
Thursday at a press conference, in which he also cited the weaker
yen's impact on fuel costs as a factor that hit the company's
bottom line. The dollar is currently trading at around Y117.90.
Mr. Ide and new president Masakazu Arimori took over the helm of
the company Wednesday after Shinichi Nishikubo stepped down as
president.
The new chairman said the decision by Airbus in July to cancel
Skymark's 2011 order for six A380 superjumbo jets came after the
Japanese air carrier asked for a postponement of the delivery of
the planes, citing the impact of the weaker yen.
Skymark is the first Japanese airline in five years to file for
court protection. In January 2010, Japan Airlines applied for
bankruptcy protection under the corporate rehabilitation law. JAL
has since made a dramatic recovery, relisting in 2012, though the
use of taxpayers' money to bail it out remains a talking point.
Skymark said its debts total Y71 billion, but the company's
lawyer said the amount doesn't include the cancellation fee, which
could be as much as $700 million.
Mr. Arimori said Skymark hadn't received details of the final
cancellation fee yet.
Skymark was founded in 1996 with an eye on the domestic market
for budget air travelers.
Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com and Shawn
Schroter at Shawn.Schroter@wsj.com
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