HONOLULU - The parent company of Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, joining four other U.S. air carriers seeking to restructure under court protection.
"It will be business as usual as we move forward to complete the restructuring of our company," said David A. Banmiller, who took over as Aloha Airgroup's president and chief executive in mid-November.
Reservations for future travel will be taken, tickets will be honored, and flights will operate as scheduled, said Banmiller.
The bankruptcy filing Thursday comes after months of working with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board to avoid a bankruptcy filing, the board said in a statement Friday.
In 2002, the board had approved a federal loan guarantee of $40.5 million on a $45 million private financing package. The carrier still owes the government $21.7 million, said Brookly McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the board.
Aloha, which operates a fleet of 27 Boeing 737 aircraft, recently reported a $6 million loss for the third quarter, its fourth quarterly loss in a row.
Banmiller said Aloha hopes to emerge from bankruptcy as quickly as possible.
Aloha's local rival, Hawaiian Airlines, is expected to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization in January. The other large air carriers in Chapter 11 are ATA, United Airlines parent UAL Corp. and US Airways Group.
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