Dav8tor
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Airline announces deadline for bidders By Roger Yu, USA TODAY
Dulles, Va.-based Independence Air on Thursday set a Dec. 16 deadline for investors to submit bids to buy the whole airline or just some of its assets.
The small airline, which flies mainly in the East, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week in Delaware. It's seeking to sell itself in whole or part to keep its planes flying. The airline says it expects to keep flying at least until early January regardless of the outcome of the bidding.
Meanwhile, company spokesman Rick DeLisi said the airline, which already has cut flights by more than half, is attempting to cut operating costs deeper.
"We're doing this to present the most attractive possible package for potentially interested investors or purchasers," he said. "We don't want to offer speculation on the potential outcome of the process."
Seventeen-month-old Independence Air operates 230 daily flights from its base at Washington Dulles airport. The airline has set Dec. 1 as the deadline for potential bidders to express their interest. If the airline receives more than one qualified bid for its assets, an auction will take place on Jan. 3 at its lawyers' offices.
Independence Air reassured its 2,800 employees this week that management is talking to unnamed potential investors.
Bankruptcy lawyer William Wallander of the Dallas office of Vinson & Elkins said it's rare for a company to enter Chapter 11 looking to sell itself. More commonly, he said, companies attempt to shed debt by giving investors an ownership stake in a reorganized business.
Before launching as a low-cost, independent airline, Independence Air's corporate parent, Flyi, was known as Atlantic Coast and operated as a feeder under contract with Delta and United.
With some of its planes no longer in operation, the company is looking to terminate leases or sell the few that they own. It is also seeking court permission to cancel some of its leases on 50-seat regional jets, which are the mainstay of its active fleet.
Dulles, Va.-based Independence Air on Thursday set a Dec. 16 deadline for investors to submit bids to buy the whole airline or just some of its assets.
The small airline, which flies mainly in the East, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week in Delaware. It's seeking to sell itself in whole or part to keep its planes flying. The airline says it expects to keep flying at least until early January regardless of the outcome of the bidding.
Meanwhile, company spokesman Rick DeLisi said the airline, which already has cut flights by more than half, is attempting to cut operating costs deeper.
"We're doing this to present the most attractive possible package for potentially interested investors or purchasers," he said. "We don't want to offer speculation on the potential outcome of the process."
Seventeen-month-old Independence Air operates 230 daily flights from its base at Washington Dulles airport. The airline has set Dec. 1 as the deadline for potential bidders to express their interest. If the airline receives more than one qualified bid for its assets, an auction will take place on Jan. 3 at its lawyers' offices.
Independence Air reassured its 2,800 employees this week that management is talking to unnamed potential investors.
Bankruptcy lawyer William Wallander of the Dallas office of Vinson & Elkins said it's rare for a company to enter Chapter 11 looking to sell itself. More commonly, he said, companies attempt to shed debt by giving investors an ownership stake in a reorganized business.
Before launching as a low-cost, independent airline, Independence Air's corporate parent, Flyi, was known as Atlantic Coast and operated as a feeder under contract with Delta and United.
With some of its planes no longer in operation, the company is looking to terminate leases or sell the few that they own. It is also seeking court permission to cancel some of its leases on 50-seat regional jets, which are the mainstay of its active fleet.
