Sabena's woes have been well documented on these boards:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum40/HTML/000219.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum40/HTML/000248.html
Swissair canceled its morning flights to Belgium for fear its planes would be seized. Later in the day it was announced that Sabena, the Belgian carrier in which Swissair owns a 49.5 percent stake, would handle the Brussels-Zurich route. The Swissair Group failed Monday to make a $123 million payment to Sabena, which also has severe financial problems. Swissair promised in July to make the payment under threat of a lawsuit.
Outraged by Swissair's attempt to seek protection from creditors, the Belgian government, which owns the majority stake in Sabena, said it will go to court to force the Swiss company to provide the promised cash. The promised payment is Swissair's share of the first installment of a recapitalization plan for Sabena that Swissair had agreed to under pressure this summer.
Belgian worries
Even before the suspension, flights to Brussels were not operating, having been cancelled for "security reasons", after Swissair was unable to pay its portion of a rescue plan for Belgian airline Sabena.
Swissair was due to provide 60% of the bailout funds for Sabena, which were jointly agreed with the Belgian government.
But Swissair's decision to seek protection from creditors - part of the deal hammered out over the weekend - meant that it effectively defaulted on its Sabena obligations.
'Flagrant violation'
The Belgian government, which called the decision a "flagrant violation" of the agreements, has said it may take Swissair to court. Sabena itself may follow suit.
The future of Sabena is now in doubt, with some Belgian analysts saying the country's flag carrier may have to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/bus...00/1574658.stm
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Can they possibly survive now? Even without the wildcat pilot strike?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 10-02-2001).]