MARKAIR, the financially troubled scheduled airline based at Denver International Airport (DIA), has gone out of business following repossession of two of its four aircraft by Boeing. It had been operating under bankruptcy court protection since April and now plans to liquidate.
MarkAir flew to several US cities, including Seattle, Anchorage, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago, with six leased 737s.
It began offering flights a decade ago. During the 1980s, it profitably confined its activities to ferrying passengers and cargo within Alaska. In 1991, however, it decided to grow in the continental USA. A year later, MarkAir filed for bankruptcy-court protection. It emerged in 1994, but filed for Chapter 11 protection again.
The US Airline Pilots Association, which represents MarkAir's pilots, and the airline's unsecured-creditors' committee, are trying to rescue the carrier. A group headed by USAir Shuttle president Terry Hallcom is reportedly interested in acquiring the carrier.
MarkAir's shutdown is a blow to the new Denver airport. Continental and Southwest drastically curtailed operations to Denver when the old Stapleton International was shut. Only United Airlines is maintaining a major hub at the new airport.
Source: Flight International
