Midway Liquidation

:down: Yeah I'm tired of Ferguson too!

I could not believe his quote in the News and Observer, that if the Pilots don't amend the contract for a third time "Its their fault" that the company will close.

Look at his record of FAILING airlines, HE is the problem, not the Pilots, Not the War on Terror, Not the TSA, Not anything but him.

I swear I will never know how these (*^(& idiots get jobs after crashing companies.

Sorry for venting, but I worked for him and I truly hope to see his A$$ on the street looking for a job!

J3
 
I would hope that the judge would just remove Ferguson and let Midway try to get something else in line. I think that Ferguson has had more than his 15 minutes, get off the stage and let some one else take a try. Just my 2 cents........
 
The only thing that USAirways wants is the DCA and LGA slots. If they are interested in ridding Midway of Ferguson, that would be good, but there are past ties with him and others in the leadership of USAirways.

This has been a ploy from day one to get those coveted slots.

J3
 
As a furloughed pilot who has been down the road that my fellow pilots at Midway are enduring, I would strongly suggest that you ensure your leadership is informing you of your eligibility for filing unemployment claims in the event of the airline shutting down. The eligibility requirements are clear. If your job loss resulted from "no fault of your own", you are eligible. The employment security commissions of many states do not look favorably on employee groups, organized or not, that chose to not continue their current employment and file a claim. :shock:
 
It looks like Midway is cancelling all their JAX-DCA flights tomorrow and some DCA-CHS flights. It says the flight crew is unavailable for the flight.

Is this the end????????
 
dashflyer said:
It looks like Midway is cancelling all their JAX-DCA flights tomorrow and some DCA-CHS flights. It says the flight crew is unavailable for the flight.

Is this the end????????
Yes, this is the end!!! A friend of mine is in a crash pad down in DC living with 10 Midway flight attendants. They received certified letters this past weekend stating that the airline will be closing on the 30th.
It's unfortunate, but true.
 
Apparently they had several front end crews quit with no notice and didnt feel they should recall anyone to fill the slots with such an uncertain future. I guess you will find that US will be the "investor" and pick up the pieces.
 
Midway deal hits snag
If talks this weekend are fruitless, the airline could be grounded next week

By DUDLEY PRICE, Staff Writer


Facing a possible court-ordered liquidation next week, Midway Airlines has been unable to reach a new labor agreement with its pilots that it needs to exit bankruptcy.
Midway's president and chief executive, Robert Ferguson, notified the pilots by e-mail Thursday that a tentative contract agreed to two weeks ago had been rejected by an unidentified investor that the Morrisville-based carrier was counting on for at least $5 million.

Midway now plans to make one final proposal to the pilots that would be acceptable to the investor, according to the e-mail supplied by the pilots union.

Meanwhile, Midway said it might ground one of its eight regional jets as early as today because it has been unable to hire pilots.

Mark Stewart, a Midway pilot who heads the airline's chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, said the two sides could resume talks as soon as this weekend.

"I personally remain optimistic this can be worked out," Stewart said. "It's kind of hard to say [what will be done] when we don't know what will be put forward."

Ferguson was unavailable Friday.

Once the Triangle's busiest carrier, Midway has been trying to reinvent itself as a commuter affiliate of US Airways. But the airline, which has been in Chapter 11 for about 26 months, needs a loan to pay off creditors after it leaves bankruptcy.

US Airways says that it has identified an unidentified investor that is willing to provide the financing but that the investor is insisting on concessions from the pilots.

Midway faces a hearing Thursday when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Thomas Small said he will decide whether to convert the carrier's case to Chapter 7. If the case is converted, the airline could be liquidated and its assets sold to repay creditors.

Exactly what caused the investor's rejection of the earlier agreement is unclear. Ferguson had said the key concessions involved an extension of the terms of the existing contract from six to 10 years and the pilots' agreement to fly aircraft other than Midway's existing fleet of 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets. The pilots had agreed to fly a variety of planes but declined to extend their contract in an oral agreement reached only minutes before a liquidation hearing Oct. 9.

That last-minute agreement prompted Small to postpone considering liquidation until Thursday to see whether the agreement satisfied the investor.

Stewart said Friday that Ferguson had also wanted a list of other concessions that pilots didn't agree to, but he declined to elaborate.

US Airways, meanwhile, is making plans to rebook passengers if Midway is grounded next week, said US Airways spokesman David Castelveter.

US Airways flies to all the destinations served by Midway with either US Airways Express or US Airway mainline flights. If Midway ceases flights, passengers would be rebooked, either on US Airways or other carriers, or given refunds, he said.

"We are aware that the bankruptcy judge may convert Midway to Chapter 7 on Oct. 30th. While we hope that Midway finds a way through this difficult time, we are taking prudent steps to ensure that current operations go as smoothly as possible," Castelveter said.

Midway operates five daily round-trip flights between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Reagan National Airport in Washington and three from RDU to New York's La Guardia Airport. Midway also operates 22 daily round trips from Reagan to 11 destinations: Albany, N.Y.; Nashville, Tenn.; Burlington, Vt.; Manchester, N.H.; Charleston, S.C.; Greenville-Spartanburg; S.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Portland, Maine; Louisville, Ky.; and Toronto.
 
Thursday, October 30, 2003 7:01AM EST

Midway poised for liquidation
The airline has canceled flights today, pending the results of a crucial hearing in bankruptcy court, its affiliate US Airways says

By DUDLEY PRICE, Staff Writer

Facing possible court-ordered liquidation today, Midway Airlines is shutting down its operations yet again.
Midway, which flies 30 daily round trips as a commuter feeder for US Airways, "is canceling all flights for Thursday, Oct. 30, pending the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings" scheduled for this morning, US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said late Wednesday. "US Airways will reaccommodate customers on other US Airways flights or those of other airlines, if necessary."
Customers whose flights are canceled should contact US Airways reservations or their travel agents to be rebooked on other flights.

Whether Midway continues to operate flights as a US Airways Express commuter in the future depends on the outcome of today's bankruptcy court hearing. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Thomas Small could either give the airline more time to come up with a plan to leave bankruptcy or order the carrier's case converted to Chapter 7, which would involve selling the assets to repay creditors.

Meanwhile, Midway, which has halted all flights twice before in the past two years, prepared Wednesday to park its fleet of 50-seat regional jetliners at Kinston's Regional Jetport.

Don Howard, the regional jetport's director of operations, said officials from Morrisville-based Midway notified the airport Wednesday morning that they planned to bring in six to eight regional jetliners sometime Wednesday night. Midway has a total fleet of eight regional jetliners.

"They told the operations manager they planned to bring them in between dark and 1 or 2 a.m.," Howard said. Midway didn't say how long the planes might stay, he added.

Robert Ferguson, Midway's president and chief executive, did not return repeated calls.

Once the Triangle's busiest carrier, Midway has been trying since early this year to reinvent itself as feeder commuter for US Airways. But Midway, which has been in Chapter 11 protection for 26 months, is under pressure from the bankruptcy judge to show it can be a successful operation and leave bankruptcy.

Midway is hoping to exit bankruptcy with a cash infusion of more than $5 million from an unidentified investor that US Airways has lined up. But the investor is insisting that the airline gain contract concessions from its 85 pilots.

Last week Ferguson notified pilots that a deal reached earlier this month had been rejected by the investor.

Discussions on a new proposal began this week and were continuing Wednesday evening. Mark Stewart, a Midway pilot who heads the airline's union chapter, declined to comment on the contract discussions.

According to the latest schedule, Midway has two daily round trips from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Reagan National Airport in Washington and three daily round trips from RDU to New York's La Guardia. It also operates 25 daily round-trip flights that originate at Reagan National.

Midway, which moved here from Chicago in 1995 to pick up flights when American Airlines pulled out of its RDU hub, has ceased operations before. The first time followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a month after the carrier, citing a big drop in business travel, had declared bankruptcy and pared flights.

Midway resumed flights in December 2001 after receiving a $12 million federal airline bailout grant. But it halted flights once more in July 2002. It took to the air again as a US Airways Express carrier on Jan. 1, 2003.
 
Judge says he will order liquidation of Midway Airlines assets

By EMERY P. DALESIO
Associated Press Writer
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A federal bankruptcy judge said Thursday he would order the liquidation of the assets of Midway Airlines, a regional carrier for US Airways that had fought bankruptcy for two years.

"Sometimes despite the best efforts, reorganization efforts don't work out," Judge A. Thomas Small said. He did not say when he would issue the order.

Gerald Juetter Jr., an attorney representing Midway Airlines, said the carrier had been unable to reach an agreement with its 85 pilots and was converting its attempted bankruptcy reorganization into a liquidation plan.

"Midway surrenders," Juetter said.

Jack Butler, an attorney representing US Airways, said the company had loaned Midway $8.6 million since December to keep Midway flying as a commuter feeder airline for US Airways. But Midway is running out of money and has been unable to operate its entire flight schedule in the past month, Butler said.

Midway, which flew 30 daily round trips, parked its eight aircraft Wednesday night, pending the bankruptcy hearing. Customers were being rerouted onto other flights, US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said Thursday.

"We will accommodate customers on other US Airways flights or those of other airlines," he said. "There are other options for customers to get to their destinations."

Midway chief executive officer Robert Ferguson did not immediately return a call early Thursday.

Three weeks ago, Small postponed a decision on whether to convert the company's Chapter 11 reorganization case to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would require Midway to shut down and sell off its assets.

At the time, Midway said it made a last-minute deal with members of the Air Line Pilots Association on concessions demanded by an unidentified investor who had expressed interest in investing more than $5 million in the airline. Midway would use the money to pay off creditors when it exits bankruptcy.

The pilots say that Ferguson has since informed them that the deal had been rejected by the investor.

Ferguson said in September that the union needed to agree to extend its contract from six to 10 years and agree to fly planes larger and smaller than the current fleet of 50-seat Canadair regional jets. Pilots subsequently agreed to fly different planes but not to extend their contract.

A new proposal was offered to the pilots union over the weekend, but it failed to include a detailed business plan explaining how the proposed concessions by pilots would result in the airline's survival, Capt. Mark Stewart, chairman of the Midway pilot's unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a recorded message to members.

"Once again, management, US Airways and the mysterious investor are dictating terms" for a third round of concessions in less than two years, Stewart said.

In a required monthly report to the bankruptcy court, Midway said it lost $144,000 in September due to $269,000 in interest and reorganization expenses.

The airline formerly had a 40-plane fleet and 130 daily departures from Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Midway filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2001, listing assets of $318 million and liabilities of $232 million. The company posted losses of $15 million in 2000 and another $15 million in the first six months of 2001.

Midway continued flying until Sept. 12, 2001 - the day after terrorist attacks in the United States - and the company laid off 2,400 workers.

The airline returned to the air two months later thanks to $10 million from the national airline bailout program passed by Congress in response to the attacks.

The airline was grounded again and ended its days as an independent carrier in July 2002. It received a cash infusion from US Airways and began operating a year ago under the US Airways Express banner.