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.
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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