Bankruptcy Court permits US Airways to sell aircraft
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Virginia Thursday gave permission for US Airways Group, to sell four of its Boeing 767 planes and one spare engine to Mountain Capital Partners, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as part of a new sale-leaseback agreement with Mountain Capital.
US Airways said the sale-leaseback agreement will provide it with $30.8 million initially upon completion of the sale, and another $10 million after recurrent maintenance checks through 2009. US Airways has been operating under a month-to-month agreement with Mountain Capital, allowing the airline to return planes and the spare engine as it takes delivery of new aircraft.
The Bankruptcy Court also approved an agreement between US Airways and the Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) that extends the airline’s authorization to use the cash collateral that secures the ATSB’s federally guaranteed loans through Oct. 25. The agreement will also allow US Airways to retain about 40 percent of the proceeds from the sale of certain assets on which the ATSB holds liens.
“Both of these transactions are key steps in our plans to provide additional liquidity and move us closer to emergence from Chapter 11 and completion of our merger with America West Airlines,” said Ron Stanley, US Airways’ executive vice president finance and chief financial officer, in a statement.