29 Jan 2003 18:23 ET DJ US Air Asks Court For More Time To File Plan Unopposed
By Deborah Eckert
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--US Airways Group Inc. (UAWGQ) has asked the court handling its Chapter 11 case to extend by two months the airline''s exclusive periods for filing a reorganization plan, according to court papers filed late Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Va.
The airline, which has been in Chapter 11 since August, filed a reorganization plan in late December and says it''s seeking the exclusivity extension as a protective measure.
This is merely a protective measure that the debtors are taking so that, in the event that the plan is not confirmed or does not ultimately go into effect, the debtors will have an opportunity to continue to work with parties in interest to propose a plan that will be confirmed and will allow the debtors to successfully emerge from these Chapter 11 proceedings, US Airways said.
As reported, the court recently authorized the airline to seek creditor votes for its plan. The court scheduled a plan confirmation hearing for March 18.
Companies in bankruptcy have an exclusive right to file reorganization plans for themselves for up to the first four months of their cases. If they file a plan during this initial period, they retain this exclusive right to file a plan in their case for another two months to allow them time to solicit plan votes from their creditors.
But companies routinely ask, and courts almost grant, extensions of these periods.
In mid-December, the court extended these periods through Jan. 31 and April 1 for US Airways, which filed its plan on or around Dec. 21.
In Wednesday''s request, US Airways asked the court to further extend the periods through March 31 and May 30.
-Deborah Eckert; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-628-7675;
[email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-29-03 1823ET
