American and four carriers sign up with Treasury for billions in loansAmerican Airlines and four smaller carriers have reached agreement with the government for billions more in federal loans, a sign of the industry’s desperate fight to survive a downturn in air travel caused by the virus pandemic. The Treasury Department said Thursday that it had signed letters of intent for new loans to American, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and SkyWest Airlines. American Airlines said it signed a term sheet with Treasury for a US$4.75 billion loan, which would be in addition to US$5.8 billion that Treasury has already agreed to extend to American. Isom said in May that the airline was considering using its AAdvantage frequent-flyer program as collateral for a federal loan. Major carriers including American, United, Delta and Southwest have raised billions in available cash on the private credit market.

Source: The Standard July 02, 2020 14:59 UTC