The Taiwanese carrier TransAsia Airways has decided to close down operations after two fatal crashes in the past two years pushed it into losses.
After a board meeting on Tuesday, the Taipei-based airline said it will not be able to repay convertible bonds due on November 29, but will compensate affected customers in full. The carrier was losing as much as NT$300 million (Dh34.5m) a month, said the chairman Vincent Lin in the city. Shareholders will vote on the decision on January 11.
“We decided to dissolve the company when we’re still able to handle creditors, passengers and employees,” Mr Lin said. “It’s doubtful if we would be able to do it in six months.”
At the centre of air-safety investigations by authorities for the disasters in 2014 and 2015 that killed a combined 91 passengers, the company has reported losses in each of the past seven quarters totalling NT$3.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The carrier is also being investigated by regulators for alleged insider trading in the company’s shares prior to disclosures that it was halting flights on Tuesday.
Founded in 1951 as the island’s first private airline, its shares started trading on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in late 2011. With a fleet of 16 aircraft, TransAsia flies to 27 destinations. The carrier had racked up NT$17.1bn of liabilities as of September 30.
“TransAsia was not efficient enough to compete with low-cost carriers and stimulate new traffic and did not have enough bulk to be relevant for the corporate market,” said Will Horton, a senior analyst at Capa Centre for Aviation in Hong Kong. “TransAsia’s absence will not be felt significantly.”
Trading in TransAsia’s shares was suspended starting Tuesday, according to a company filing. The firm has US$75m of convertible bonds due November 2018 and NT$180.4m of outstanding local-currency convertible securities due in October 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
TransAsia’s stock slumped 7.1 per cent to NT$5.20 on Monday before the suspension, with more than 10.7 million shares changing hands, giving the airline a market value of NT$3.95bn.
The financial supervisory commission (FSC) and the ministry of justice late on Monday said they had initiated an inquiry into insider trading, while the Taiwan stock exchange earlier said it would fine the company NT$1.5m for breaching corporate disclosure rules.
The island’s civil aeronautics administration said the airline should have got regulatory approval for the suspensions, which will affect 84 flights and about 5,000 customers. Taiwan’s cabinet has directed affected customers to seek assistance from its consumer protection committee.
Taiwan’s labour ministry said the carrier must negotiate with the 1,735 workers it laid off to ensure their rights are protected and avoid disputes.
In June this year, investigators examining the causes of the 2015 crash said the fatal accident involving a twin-engine ATR 72-600 aircraft could have been prevented had the crew correctly identified a malfunction and prioritised right actions to stabilise the flight path. The crash killed 43 people. Another in July 2014 claimed 48 lives.
The company’s shares have fallen about 56 per cent since the first of the disasters, while the benchmark Taiex index dropped 3.8 per cent over the same period.
Creditors will monitor developments at the company, which has borrowed NT$11bn in syndicated loans, Central News Agency reported, citing the FSC chairman Lee Ruey-tsang.
“We have not met your expectations and extend our apologies,” the chief executive Liu Tung-ming said in Taipei.
* Bloomberg
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