jblawton
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Read this first in a Panamanian newspaper as Copa was one of the airlines stopping sales of tickets in Venezuela. I link below to a similar article in the LA Times... I've included some chosen lines from the article to spare some the reading.
U.S.-based American Airlines and United Airlines and Panama’s Copa Airlines said they were halting ticket sales in Venezuela in lieu of the government’s failure to pay arrears that as of last month totaled $2.6 billion. Under Venezuela’s complicated foreign exchange rules, the government acts as intermediary in foreign sales of goods and services transacted in the country.
Airlines that previously announced a suspension in business operations included Air Canada, Tame of Ecuador and TAP Portugal. The $2.6 billion figure for the accumulated arrears came in a statement issued Dec. 12 by the International Air Transport Assn., an airline trade group.
“We can’t let this financial hole deepen on this route because of the lack of payment transfers,” Tame General Manager Fernando Guerrero said during a press conference in Quito, Ecuador, on Wednesday. He said Tame had not been paid for Venezuelan ticket sales since March.
As of Friday, no flights in or out of Venezuela had been canceled by foreign carriers, but the airlines had halted ticket transactions in bolivars, the local currency. Sales of tickets purchased with dollars are still being made, airline officials said.
Venezuela finds itself in a tightening cash shortage partly because of falling oil revenues resulting from declining productivity at oil fields and refineries, which supply more than 90% of government revenue and 70% of export sales.
http://www.latimes.c...s#axzz2rMPAK4rP
Given the currency restrictions here in Argentina are not so different (and I'm not sure how the recent changes affect this) to those of Venezuela, would it be possible such a thing could happen here in the near future? Note the amount being owed to airlines in Venezuela was huge, but considering the dwindling cash reserves Argentina has, it would certainly be a significant amount of money going through BCRA, and a matter of concern if reserves go down any further. Also, I doubt airlines would wait as long to react as they did with Venezuela if they see a similar pattern developing.
Venezuela sees more airlines suspend ticket sales, demand payment
CARACAS, Venezuela — Three more international airlines on Friday joined the list of companies that have suspended ticket sales in Venezuela, complaining that the government owes them billions of dollars.
U.S.-based American Airlines and United Airlines and Panama’s Copa Airlines said they were halting ticket sales in Venezuela in lieu of the government’s failure to pay arrears that as of last month totaled $2.6 billion. Under Venezuela’s complicated foreign exchange rules, the government acts as intermediary in foreign sales of goods and services transacted in the country.
Airlines that previously announced a suspension in business operations included Air Canada, Tame of Ecuador and TAP Portugal. The $2.6 billion figure for the accumulated arrears came in a statement issued Dec. 12 by the International Air Transport Assn., an airline trade group.
“We can’t let this financial hole deepen on this route because of the lack of payment transfers,” Tame General Manager Fernando Guerrero said during a press conference in Quito, Ecuador, on Wednesday. He said Tame had not been paid for Venezuelan ticket sales since March.
As of Friday, no flights in or out of Venezuela had been canceled by foreign carriers, but the airlines had halted ticket transactions in bolivars, the local currency. Sales of tickets purchased with dollars are still being made, airline officials said.
Venezuela finds itself in a tightening cash shortage partly because of falling oil revenues resulting from declining productivity at oil fields and refineries, which supply more than 90% of government revenue and 70% of export sales.
http://www.latimes.c...s#axzz2rMPAK4rP
Given the currency restrictions here in Argentina are not so different (and I'm not sure how the recent changes affect this) to those of Venezuela, would it be possible such a thing could happen here in the near future? Note the amount being owed to airlines in Venezuela was huge, but considering the dwindling cash reserves Argentina has, it would certainly be a significant amount of money going through BCRA, and a matter of concern if reserves go down any further. Also, I doubt airlines would wait as long to react as they did with Venezuela if they see a similar pattern developing.
