An eleventh hour bid to rescue Pan American Airways was being shaped at presstime, but the chances of success seemed remote. The airline looked set to become just another US startup destined for the history books.
In a flurry of last minute activity in a Miami bankruptcy court, two potential investors offered new hope to Pan Am.
The first was Carl Icahn, former chairman of Trans World Airlines, who offered US$43 million to restart Pan Am. But on 16 March Icahn withdrew his bid after it received an icy reception from the bankruptcy judge.
Then up stepped an industry outsider - Miami investor Milan Mandaric. 'One fish is off the hook, but another is possibly on the hook,' says a Pan Am spokesman. The airline admits, however, that time is 'definitely' running out.
Mandaric and Pan Am negotiated a deal they hoped might be more palatable to the bankruptcy court than Icahn's. The airline admitted it had only until 20 March to find a solution. 'But with $60,000 a day disappearing on aircraft lease payments, the court was in no mood to allow Pan Am more than a few days' breathing space', says the spokesman.
Pan Am says that if Mandaric's bid is successful, it would most likely be based on a plan for a trimmed-down airline operating a single aircraft type on a few routes out of Florida.
But analysts are severely sceptical about whether Pan Am, which began operations in September 1996 as a low cost airline cashing in on the old Pan Am name, can ever get back on its feet.
'The name was the only thing that was different about this startup and it wasn't enough,' says one New York analyst.
Source: Airline Business
