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Sep 18, 04, 3:16 pm
From DowJones Newswires:
NEW YORK -- US Airways Group Inc. (UAIRQ) unsecured creditors will gather Monday to consider forming a creditor committee.
The office of the U.S. Trustee invited the 30 largest unsecured creditors of the bankrupt airline to meet at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Va., at 1 p.m. EDT Monday.
GE Capital Aviation Services, the bankrupt airline's largest creditor, will likely attend, a spokesman said. GECAS has a $149.8 million claim against US Airways.
And Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) will attend and seek a seat on the board, a spokesman for the company said. EDS' claim amounts to $16.4 million, making it the No. 3 creditor, behind No. 2 GE Engine Services.
Also among the top 30 unsecured creditors are airline-ticket distributors Sabre Inc. (TSG), Worldspan Technologies Inc. (WS), Amadeus Global Travel Distribution S.A. (AMS.MC) and Cendant Corp.'s (CD) Galileo, as well as some airports and vendors.
Doug Jessop, a lawyer representing the Denver and San Francisco airports in both the US Airways and UAL Corp. (UALAQ) bankruptcies, said the unsecured creditors have a strong interest to keep US Airways operating. If US Airways must liquidate, as many experts fear, the unsecured creditors are unlikely to get anything, Jessop said.
"The ATSB will take everything," he said, referring to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, a government agency that guaranteed a loan to the carrier.
The ATSB has pledged to work with the carrier to ensure "taxpayers' interests are protected," according to a statement.
Jessop, whose clients aren't among the top 30 US Airways creditors, said US Airways' survival may rest on whether the ATSB cuts the airline some slack, or cuts it off if the airline breaches any part of the debt covenants. And that decision appears to be a political one, Jessop said.
US Airways has said it has no plans to liquidate or sell any assets, and expects to operate normally through the bankruptcy proceedings.
NEW YORK -- US Airways Group Inc. (UAIRQ) unsecured creditors will gather Monday to consider forming a creditor committee.
The office of the U.S. Trustee invited the 30 largest unsecured creditors of the bankrupt airline to meet at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Va., at 1 p.m. EDT Monday.
GE Capital Aviation Services, the bankrupt airline's largest creditor, will likely attend, a spokesman said. GECAS has a $149.8 million claim against US Airways.
And Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) will attend and seek a seat on the board, a spokesman for the company said. EDS' claim amounts to $16.4 million, making it the No. 3 creditor, behind No. 2 GE Engine Services.
Also among the top 30 unsecured creditors are airline-ticket distributors Sabre Inc. (TSG), Worldspan Technologies Inc. (WS), Amadeus Global Travel Distribution S.A. (AMS.MC) and Cendant Corp.'s (CD) Galileo, as well as some airports and vendors.
Doug Jessop, a lawyer representing the Denver and San Francisco airports in both the US Airways and UAL Corp. (UALAQ) bankruptcies, said the unsecured creditors have a strong interest to keep US Airways operating. If US Airways must liquidate, as many experts fear, the unsecured creditors are unlikely to get anything, Jessop said.
"The ATSB will take everything," he said, referring to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, a government agency that guaranteed a loan to the carrier.
The ATSB has pledged to work with the carrier to ensure "taxpayers' interests are protected," according to a statement.
Jessop, whose clients aren't among the top 30 US Airways creditors, said US Airways' survival may rest on whether the ATSB cuts the airline some slack, or cuts it off if the airline breaches any part of the debt covenants. And that decision appears to be a political one, Jessop said.
US Airways has said it has no plans to liquidate or sell any assets, and expects to operate normally through the bankruptcy proceedings.