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The Transportation Department said yesterday that it had fined a half-dozen airlines a total of more than $7 million for failing to provide timely refunds to customers. The department’s intervention contributed to the airlines’ issuing more than $600 million in refunds, it said, the New York Times reported. Frontier Airlines, a budget carrier based in Denver, was fined $2.2 million, more than any other company. It was the only U.S. airline penalized as part of Monday’s announcement and has issued $222 million in refunds, according to the department. The refunds were meant to compensate passengers for flights that were canceled, significantly delayed or otherwise altered substantially, the department said. “As people get ready to fly this holiday season, I want customers to know that the D.O.T. has their back,” the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, said on a call with reporters. Air India was assessed the second-largest fine, of $1.4 million, and TAP Air Portugal was fined $1.1 million. The remaining three carriers — Aeromexico, El Al and Avianca — will each pay less than $1 million. Including the penalties announced on Monday, the department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection has issued a record $8.1 million in fines in 2022.

Aircraft lessor Air Lease Corp. reported a rise in third-quarter revenue on Thursday, helped by strong demand from airlines looking to expand their fleet to tap a boom in travel, Reuters reported. Airlines are increasingly opting to lease new and young-used aircraft from lessors to offset jet delivery delays from Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. The Los Angeles-based leasing giant, which has a $28 billion order backlog with the planemakers, said in August that the company would examine progress payments that it makes to Boeing and Airbus as aircraft deliveries get delayed. Still, the shortage of airplanes has driven up lease rates in a boost to aircraft lessors such as Air Lease.

The largest pilots union of Latam Airlines in Chile voted to strike on Wednesday, a day before the company said it was planning on concluding its exit from bankruptcy, Reuters reported. The Union of Latam Pilots (SPL) said it represents 313 of Latam Airlines's approximately 500 pilots and that 99% of its members voted to approve the strike. In a statement released Wednesday, the union said it was looking to wipe away some pandemic-era cost-saving measures, including a 30% pay cut and a shift to a "variable salary model." "What we're asking now is an act of justice that jumps into view: recover conditions we had before the adjustment that hit us hard," Mario Troncoso, president of the SPL said in a statement. Troncoso added that 240 pilots were fired during the pandemic and while company executives and other company employees recovered 100% of their pre-pandemic salaries, pilots are the only ones still receiving a reduced salary.

LATAM Airlines, the biggest carrier in Latin America, said it plans to conclude its exit from bankruptcy on Nov. 3, Reuters reported. "This process will allow the group to emerge more agile, with a more competitive cost structure, adequate liquidity to face the future, with approximately $10.3 billion in equity, and close to $6.9 billion in debt," the company said in a statement late on Friday. LATAM filed for chapter 11 in 2020 after airline travel was hammered during the pandemic, and it won court approval that June. The reorganization plan would inject about $8 billion into the airline through a combination of capital increase, issue of convertible bonds and new debt.

SAS AB said yesterday that it will defer interest payments due on its perpetual capital securities as part of its restructuring plan and voluntary chapter 11 process in the U.S., MarketWatch.com reported. The Scandinavian airline filed for chapter 11 in July as it seeks to push through a comprehensive financial restructuring to cut costs and raise capital under the supervision of the U.S. court system. The deferrals announced today include a 39.7 million Swedish kronor ($3.5 million) semi-annual interest payment due Oct. 24 on its outstanding SEK1.62 billion perpetual capital securities, and a SEK153.1 million semi-annual interest payment due Oct. 26 on its outstanding SEK6 billion subordinated perpetual capital securities.

LATAM Airlines detailed a financing plan yesterday that the company hopes will finalize its exit from bankruptcy in the first week of November, Reuters reported. The company filed for chapter 11 in 2020 after airline travel plummeted during the pandemic, and won court approval that June. The reorganization plan would inject about $8 billion into the airline through a combination of capital increase, issue of convertible bonds and new debt. In a note sent to the market regulator late Tuesday night, LATAM detailed the structure of its exit financing that includes a $500 million revolving credit facility and a five-year term loan facility of $1.1 billion. It also includes $450 million in senior secured notes due in 2027 and $700 million in senior secured notes due in 2029, as well as $750 million five-year bridge-to-notes and another $750 million in seven-year bridge-to-notes.

PT Garuda Indonesia on Friday filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York court, as the debt-laden carrier tries to secure its future profitability, Bloomberg News reported. The submission comes as the airline, having completed a court-supervised debt restructuring in Indonesia to halve reduce its debt load, tries to capitalize on the rebound in international travel. Garuda’s total debt now amounts to roughly $5.1 billion, President Director Irfan Setiaputra told parliament in Jakarta on Monday. Reviving the national airline is a top priority for the Indonesian government, because the country relies on air transport for connectivity and to support its tourism industry. The airline could post net income of around $400 million next year and gradually increases its earnings to $647 million in 2026, according to a projection by Indonesia’s finance ministry this month.