Aloha Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

[AQ PILOT]

I highly doubt you'll get anyone to argue with you that Zander needed to go....there were no tears shed when he left....

 

[English]

I'm curious....what is Lydia giving as an excuse? She SO needs to go bye bye....

Here's what happened over the last three weeks...short version...

The first excuse was that she hadn't received my badge. OK, that was reasonable (except that it is still against Hawaiian state law to withhold my paycheck until the return of company property). So I called her and told her I fedex'd it a week prior. She said she hadn't received it. I had already tracked the package on the fedex website, so I told her the date and time it had been signed for. She feigned ignorance and said she'd call me back after she looked around. She never called me back. So a couple of days later I called and offered her the tracking number as proof that I had actually sent the badge back. At this point I could read her attitude in the tone of her voice, and knew she didn't believe me. She said she'd track the number and get back to me. She didn't. So the next day I called her and she was very apologetic. Seems after they tracked the package they realized it was there, and actually looked for it, and found it. It had been there since March 1. She offered to send the check out right away, but first she had to fix an error on my check. Seems she shorted me by about a weeks' pay. She said she was having a second check issued to cover the difference, and they'd be fedex'd to me the next day. I waited a couple of days, and when fedex never stopped by my home, I called her to get a tracking number. She said she had been waiting to hear back from me, whether I wanted to have one check sent, or wait for both. I said it didn't matter, that she could send what she had. I waited a couple more days, no package. I made yet another call. This time, she said she had been too busy to ship it to me (yes, that is actually what she said). I was losing my patience, and informed her that Aloha was in violation of state law by withholding my paycheck so long. She said I'd have it the next morning. That was Wednesday, today is Saturday, and I still don't have it.

ARGHH!

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

I would drop an email to PC.

 

[English]

I did. Got the out of the office til March 28th automatic reply.

Any other ideas?

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Ls????

 

[English]

Did that. He said I had to go through flight ops.

 

[RJP]

I'm curious....what is Lydia giving as an excuse? She SO needs to go bye bye....

Does she work for WP as well? Maybe that's why no one ever gets paid correctly.

On another note, any details on the rumor that the NYC investment company that promised $90 mil has dropped out? Heard that one the other day.

Cheers.

 

[RJP]

Here's what happened over the last three weeks...short version...ARGHH!

Wow, I'd hate to hear the long version. If it makes you feel any better, a couple of pilots called pay at WP to find out why they got shorted (again) and were promptly told that they'd end up with a letter in their file if they didn't go through ops and called pay directly in the future.

One company. Two names. Same **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Did that. He said I had to go through flight ops.

Uhhh, I thought he was flight ops. You are at the point I have been in the past with companies where nobody would help. It's time to be such a nuisance that they pay you so that you will just leave them alone. Call PM, call, Pua, call every stinking person in Flt Ops. Everyday. Everyday at 8am. Then call them at 4PM. They'll get sick of it. Ask every one of them what they would do and how they would feel if they were in your shoes.
Call the F/O rep. Call the MEC. Call everyone. Write a letter and make up a a letterhead that says something like, Goldschwartz, Sheisterman,and Fitch. Make up some text threatening legal action. Heck, in the end, you may not get squat since they are in CH 11, but I bet when PC gets back, he'll help.
When this is over, she'll still have bad breath.

Actually, before you do all that, talk sweetly to Pua. She helped me in a situation not unlike yours.

 

[English]

Thanks Hugh. I'll try to be more of a pest. I figured my options were to 1) be more patient (not working) or 2) just escalate the situation and go to the state labor department and file a complaint. I like your suggestion as I'd rather handle it directly. I can just envision Lydia screwing up my PRIA stuff to get even if I get her in trouble.

I'll try Pua. That was originally where I started but she was off for a couple weeks going to Jill's wedding or something.

If this doesn't work though, I'd like to talk to you about post 251...

 

[English]

Well Pua came through for me.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Cool, that oughta help pay for the fancy, new grill!

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Mar/21/bz/bz01p.html
Don't read the second to the last paragraph while drinking milk.

 

[RJP]

Don't read the second to the last paragraph while drinking milk.

Yep, the milk came right out my nose! This one will do the same.

Check the numbers in this baby.


Aloha revenue rose 10.7% during 2004

Aloha Airlines saw its revenue increase 10.7 percent last year to $454.3 million from $410.2 million in 2003, according to a recent company filing in Bankruptcy Court.

In the recent filing, Aloha also disclosed it had $9.1 million in assets and $543.7 million in liabilities at the time of its bankruptcy. Nearly $519 million of the liabilities include secured claims from aircraft lessors, who have since been brought up to date on their monthly payments.

Chief Executive and President David Banmiller earlier this year said the airline lost $24 million in 2004 - its fifth loss in the past six years - and saw fuel prices increase by $24 million over the previous year. In January, he described the airline's cash position as "a couple million dollars" before it began receiving loans and was able to postpone making aircraft lease payments under a 60-day bankruptcy exemption.

Since then, the company has resumed aircraft payments and is in the process now of seeking additional loans from outside investors. Aloha will select a winning bidder Wednesday from among interested investors.

 

[RJP]

More Cheery News From AQ

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - March 22, 2005
http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/03/21/daily8.html

LATEST NEWS

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - 2:43 PM HST Tuesday

Aloha finds new investors

Prabha Natarajan

Bankrupt Aloha Airlines scrambled to find new investors over the weekend after its initial prospective financier withdrew its $90 million package.

MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners II LP had until last Friday to come up with $65 million as part of its $90 million offer. However, the company decided to withdraw its offer.

"MatlinPatterson advised Aloha that it was not prepared to advance its proposal at this time," said Aloha spokesman Stu Glauberman.

The airline found a replacement deal on Sunday -- a $65 million interim financing agreement from Ableco Finance LLC and Goldman Sachs Credit Partners LP, both based out of New York.

Aloha will pay a steep price for the loan but needs the cash infusion immediately to cover its loan repayments and everyday expenses including payroll.

On Monday, the airline filed an emergency motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking approval of its interim-financing deal. A court hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

The loan will buy Aloha time to continue its financial restructuring and its go-forward business plan, Glauberman said.

The airline plans to be out of bankruptcy by this summer.

In the bankruptcy filing, Aloha, with $400 million in gross annual revenue, paints a stark image of a company with no money in the bank, mired in debt, and suffering a $1.7 million operating loss in January.

"Without the protection afforded by Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, [Aloha] will run out of cash and will not be able to operate after March 30, 2005," the company stated in a court filing.

The airline needs $10 million to meet its expenses for this month.

Earlier, the bankruptcy court approved a bidding process for Aloha that would provide the airline with either a $65 million loan or alternative financing.

In keeping with the bankruptcy court's injunction, Aloha's management met with 45 potential investors. Goldman Sachs and Ableco were two investors able to come up with a loan proposal in short order.

Ableco Finance describes itself as an "opportunistic" lender investing in leveraged buyouts, refinancing and other risky capital ventures that range between $5 million and $200 million.

Ableco is a partnership between Cerberus Capital Management LP and Gabriel Capital Group. Cerberus is also the investor that bought a 60 percent stake in Kokusai Kogyo, the parent company of Kyo-ya, which owns the four Sheraton hotels in Waikiki and one on Maui.

Ableco and Goldman Sachs will each invest $32.5 million in the airline. The money will be paid in two installments of $55 million and $10 million.

Aloha will use the funds to pay a $24 million Air Transportation Stabilization Board loan, $18 million in commercial loans from local banks, a $2 million bridge loan from MaitlinPatterson, plus the cost of securing interim financing. The rest will be used as the airline's working capital.

The second installment will be used to cover Aloha's operating costs during the term of the loan.

The terms call for Aloha to pay a $975,000 commitment fee and $975,000 closing fee, a $1.63 million success fee if the airline reorganizes, $10,000 monthly service fee and legal fees. This is in addition to a minimum interest rate of 5.5 percent plus 500 basis points.

The agreement also provides Ableco and Goldman Sachs a 30-day exclusivity period to decide whether they want to pursue additional investments in the airline.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.