Publications
Publications
- August 2020 (Revised December 2020)
- HBS Case Collection
Latam Airlines and COVID-19: Seeking Bankruptcy Protection in the United States
By: Laura Alfaro, Mauricio Larrain, Carlos Vilches and Sarah Jeong
Abstract
On May 26, 2020, Latam Airlines became the largest airline in the world to be driven to bankruptcy by COVID-19. With a complex debt structure and international investor composition, the company decided to file for bankruptcy protection in the United States, which offered a more flexible reorganization procedure than the local bankruptcy process. After the filing announcement, the company reached an all-time-low stock market valuation. Some experts questioned whether the bankruptcy filing of Latam Airlines in the United States could be detrimental for the development of the Chilean capital market. Even if the company succeeded financially, would it be able to adapt to a different way of flying post-COVID?
Keywords
Airlines; Pandemic; Coronavirus Pandemic; Health Pandemics; Air Transportation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Capital Markets; Strategy; Latin America; Chile; United States
Citation
Alfaro, Laura, Mauricio Larrain, Carlos Vilches, and Sarah Jeong. "Latam Airlines and COVID-19: Seeking Bankruptcy Protection in the United States." Harvard Business School Case 321-027, August 2020. (Revised December 2020.)