AuAAdvantage

Perhaps some of you who have had experience with previous airline Chapter 7s (PanAm, Eastern, Braniff, etc) could shed some light on possible clues when an airline, such as US, is about to halt ops and liquidate.

First off, I believe they sometimes have extraordinary fare sales to build up cash when they know they're going kaput as of a certain date. Of course, credit card customers would be protected, except those whose dispute period would have passed. Another possible clue is when certain flights are cancelled. It's my understanding that some, perhaps most, foreign locations are less desirable places to have one of your aircraft stranded because it's easier for creditors to seize them. So perhaps a mass of flight cancellations of redeyes to Europe would be a precursor to US's chapter 7 filing later that day. Thoughts?

planeluvr

Another clue would be the web site no longer works; oh know, U's web site never works. Are they in liquidation?

bofie

I think that usairways will survive.

marcelin

This is a very useful question. The other day I skimmed the bankruptcy docket, the GE financing agreement, and US Airways' motion for relief, to familiarize myself with the milestones and the timing. I'd love to hear from experts whether there are discernible clues when liquidation is imminent.

Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA

pitflyer

http://www.braniffinternational.org/...finalhours.htm

Braniff's Final hours

jetsetter

Thanks pitflyer, interesting article. There was a recent BOS Globe article about US prospects and it talked about how apparently Logan Airport is preparing in the event that US shuts down....from finding new tennants like Air Tran or JetBlue, to how the airport would get back all the CIDA badges.

There must be some secret plan and meetings at CCY where they have crafted some kind of plan?

Is it the kind of thing that could just happen on Tuesday, or would we have little things (clues) happen a few days before? What is say the time window from the time that Bruce L would know it was shutting down to the first outward signs of shut down?

TravelManKen

Great article, thanks for the link

BearX220

There will be little to no notice. They will want all their aircraft stateside and preferably parked at major stations, not stuck in places where they owe money and the a/c could be seized. So the first clue will be unexplained cancellations of eastbound transatlantics or late-day westbound transcons.

In the cases of Braniff and Pan Am the public only got word of the shutdown when it was well underway. (As the article linked above makes clear, the first evidence that Braniff was shutting down was aircraft piling up on the ramp at DFW... management was telling Dispatch to cancel outbounds without explaining why, let alone calling a press conference. Read John Nance's "Splash of Colors" for an excellent account of Braniff's tailspin.)

I believe this could happen to US any time now.

PhlyingRPh

There was a really interesting documentary on one of the lesser known public service satellite stations (Colors maybe?) about the demise of Sabena. A film crew was filming a documentary on Sabena at Brussels airport when they suddenly realized something fishy was up. They chronicled the whole demise over two days. It was very interesting that the line staff were the last to know!

EnvoyBoy

I say this with all due respect and sincerity: what's your expertise/knowledge/insight for this statement?

greg

Envoy Boy: It doesn't take a rocket scientist to discern at this point that it's all over for USAir. Sure it's not fair to the many good employees, customers and shareholders. But life will go on. This will bring closure and in fact, a cull in the herd may be the best thing to happen for the prospects of the other legacy carriers. Sorry if this sounds cruel, but it's honest- I still miss Pan Am, Braniff and Eastern.

PGHflyer

Well, I respectfully disagree that it is "all over." The chances may be a little dimmer than they were prior to Christmas meltdown, but I don't see any indication to throw in the towel just yet...........all of this is sheer speculation by EVERYONE at this point.

jetsetter

There is this theme that a carrier is worried about their a/c being seized. But if the whole place is shutting down, why worry about it at that point. Or do they keep management on, and they sort of get a bonus or some sort of recognition if they sell the planes rather than having them seized by creditors?

I also miss Eastern even though I never flew them, the first airline club I visited was the EA Ionespheer in BOS in the now demolished terminal A. I was about 16 or 17 and they served me , and I remember I got some snacks and they put them on a little table, and I had left something in the club and they mailed it to my home. Also I miss the Pan Am and the Trump Shuttle, back when the shuttle was treated as more than just another main line flight and had much more of a mystique to it. Back then the shuttles competed on service, and there were extensive adds touting each shuttles service which are 99.9% gone today.

tpowaleny

This was an excellent documentary. It is on DirecTV on the LinkTV network every once in a while.

http://www.linktv.org/programming/pr...?code=brussels

EnvoyBoy

I don't think it's unreasonable of me to not take any/every opinion off the internet as valid and sound.

I'm just asking if the poster has any authority or special knowledge. Anyone, literally anyone, could post here. I'd like to hear from someone with expertise in anaylsis of the industry or something. Not just some poster who's never been heard from on this forum until recently, with no disrespect to the poster intended.

Forgive me for trying to make an educated judgment of my own. No matter what the topic or source, I think it behooves each of us to be discerning users of the internet.