Delta Air Lines could be about to find a short cut route into the tough-to-crack Japanese domestic air market, by buying a stake in bankrupt Japanese carrier Skymark.
Delta has agreed to join hands with Skymark’s biggest creditor Intrepid Aviation on its restructuring plan which could see the Atlanta based carrier take a 20% stake in the Japanese low cost airline, according to a Nikkei Business Daily news report.
Intrepid Aviation has previously planned to rehabilitate Skymark in partnership with Japanese airline ANA but those negotiations broke down.
Japan’s domestic air slots are currently held by a few major Japanese carriers including ANA and Japan Airlines and a new entrant would likely shake up the market, the report says.
Although Skymark went under earlier this year with debts of more than $500 million, it still holds on to 8% of valuable domestic landing slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
Skymark has about 200 creditors who will vote on the new proposal at a creditors’ meeting in August.
