Third effort to find a buyer looks bleak, unless price is significantly discounted (216 words)

Published: 10/3/2001

Sakhalin Airlines (SAT) reports that one of its Il-62s, owned by the Sakhalin regional government, is back on sale after the deal to sell the aircraft in May to an unnamed Moscow carrier fell through and an auction in August also failed to yield any buyers. Igor Pozyuk, Commercial Director, is not optimistic about the prospects for this latest attempt, conceding that there have been no expressions of interest, given that the peak of the leasing season has now passed. In August, the regional administration put the aircraft up for sale at a price of $4.2m with an undertaking to repair the aircraft, which was damaged in a ground collision earlier in June. There are no indications yet as to the timing of the next offer, nor was Pozyuk forthcoming on the kind of price tag this time round. However, the administration is reported to be looking for $3.43m to reimburse the costs of buying the nine-year-old aircraft in February 2000. The repairs to the aircraft are reported to be in process and the airline is currently awaiting the arrival of the seven metre rudder from Kazan by train via Moscow, where it has been repaired.

Article ID: 2793