Letter from the provisional administrator of Swissair Group to contracting parties in long-term debt relations

Küsnacht, Zurich, 1 November 2001. The provisional administrator of Swissair Group, Mr Karl Wüthrich, an attorney-at-law, of Wenger Plattner, wrote as fol-lows to the contracting parties in long-term debt relations on 1 November 2001 (full text):

 

To the contracting parties in long-term debt relations with

 

• SAirGroup

• SAirLines

• Swissair Schweizerische Luftverkehr AG

• Flightlease AG

• Swisscargo AG

• Cargologic AG



Provisional debt-restructuring moratorium - effects on long-term debt relations

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Since 5 and 8 October 2001 SAirGroup, SAirLines, Swissair Schweizerische Luft-verkehr AG, Flightlease AG, Swisscargo AG and Cargologic AG have been under provisional debt-restructuring moratorium. The orders of the competent debt re-structuring judges in this matter have now become final.

The affected companies have concluded various contracts which constitute long-term debt relations (e.g. leasing contracts, tenancy agreements, rental agreements, service contracts etc.).

As provisional administrator I now make the following statement to you concer-ning the effects of the provisional debt-restructuring moratorium on such contracts and agreements:

 

1.

The primary concern of the administrator must be to ensure that the under-lying fabric of liability towards creditors of the individual companies is not diminished during the provisional debt-restructuring moratorium.

 

2.

Under Article 310 paragraph 2 of the Swiss Federal Debt Prosecution and Bankruptcy Statue, commitments entered into during the moratorium, with the administrator’s consent, constitute a privileged claim on the debtor’s assets in the event of a debt-restructuring agreement with assignment of assets or of subsequent bankruptcy.

 

3.

On the other hand, claims against the companies now under provisional debt-restructuring moratorium which derive from leasing or other contracts concluded before the moratorium was granted are non-privileged, unless the administrator expressly subrogates the debtor’s assets in such contracts and specifically grants approval of such obligations.

 

4.

As the provisional administrator of SAirGroup, SAirLines, Swissair Schweizerische Luftverkehr AG, Flightlease AG, Swisscargo AG and Car-gologic AG I hereby expressly state that:

  • The assets in debt restructuring are not subrogated in existing contracts concerning long-term debt relations (though this decision not to subrogate does not dissolve the contractual relations concerned);
  • I have given no general consent to continued fulfilment of the obliga-tions arising from such long-term debt relations; and
  • No tacit or express approval of the provisional administrator can be inferred from any continued payments under such long-term debt rela-tions; indeed, any such payments are made entirely without prejudice.

 

5.

Therefore approval to commit the debtor’s assets in the terms of the Swiss Federal Debt Prosecution and Bankruptcy Statute Article 310 paragraph 2 only exists with regard to contracts concerning long-term debt relations if I, as provisional administrator, have granted such approval in writing in an in-dividual case.

Yours faithfully
The provisional administrator

Karl Wüthrich

To view PDFs, you need the Adobe Reader. Click on the image to download it.