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Airlines looking for used Boeing 737s will not be benefitting from the problems of Western Pacific Airline {WPAC} anytime soon as the troubled Colorado Springs, Colo.-based carrier won approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court in Denver last week for new financing that will sustain the airline's operations and preserve its 18-plane fleet.
A $10 million cash infusion from New York-based investment firm Smith Management allowed the airline to catch up on overdue aircraft lease payments that needed to be met by Dec. 4 to avoid returning planes to the lessors. The U.S. bankruptcy court okayed Smith Management's plan to provide an initial $10 million loan and up to $40 million in additional financing during the next two months to help Western Pacific reorganize.
The drama of Western Pacific's Chapter 11 bankruptcy court proceedings was heightened by the interest of other airlines in obtaining the struggling carrier's aircraft. Southwest Airlines...