Swissair jets take off to escape creditors

Swissair faced the ignominy of watching at least four of its aircraft fly to south west France over the weekend in an attempt to stop the planes being seized by creditors.

While the dispute, involving leasing firm ILFC, was later resolved,it emerged yesterday that the Swiss flag-carrier has careered into a new cash crisis involving SR Technics, a subsidiary firm that services Swissair planes. This needs some SFr30m (£12.6m) by November 9 and a total of SFr240m by the spring in order to carry on.

If the subsidiary fails to get the cash and has to close down, the airline will be forced to cancel flights. "We will have to ground the fleet," a Swissair spokesman said.

The Swiss government, which put together the Swissair rescue deal backed by funds from a group of blue-chip Swiss firms, has made it clear it is not prepared to put more money into a rescue.

The company itself is looking for support from Swiss regional governments, particularly the canton of Zurich where its main operations are based, as well as seeking bank finance. There are signs, however, that Zurich, which contributed to the Swissair rescue, is unwilling to put up more cash.

"We have to get the SFr30m by November 9 and not one day later," an SR Technics spokesman claimed. The group needs another SFr90m to cover operations in November and December and a further SFr120m between the beginning of next year and April, he added.

Crossair, which is taking over the bulk of the Swissair's airline operations, needs SR Technics' services but has no money in its business plan to buy all or part of the operation.

Swissair had faced potential problems over the weekend when leasing firm ILFC demanded the airline fly up to 19 aircraft to Bordeaux to avoid them falling into the hands of other creditors.

Yesterday, however, Swissair said the small number of aircraft which had been flown to the French airport were now on their way back into service.

Meanwhile unions at Aer Lingus are demanding the Irish government put further pressure on the European Commission in order to allow Dublin to pump money into the national flag carrier.

The government has said it will sell up to 30% of the airline to raise the funds to pay for a redundancy programme involving the loss of 2,000 jobs, which is a key feature of Aer Lingus' survival plan.

However unions are concerned that a buyer is unlikely to come forward in the current circumstances and that the cash will have to come from the government. Union leaders are expected to meet Bertie Ahern, the prime minister, to press their case.

Though the EC has taken a tough line on aid for Aer Lingus the unions believe the government should make another effort to win Brussels' approval for support for the carrier.

"A one-off payment is needed to allow an acceptable redundancy package to go ahead. We believe the fight in Europe was given up too early and that the government can find a way to invest in the company," claimed John McDonnell, the general secretary of SIPTU, Ireland's largest trade union.

· British Airways announced yesterday that its director of strategy, David Spurlock, had resigned for personal reasons. His responsibilities will be taken on by Roger Maynard, the director of alliances, investments and joint ventures.