TRANS WORLD AIRLINES (TWA) emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 23 August, having reduced its debt by $500 million and increased its creditors' stake in the carrier from 55% to 65%. TWA filed for Chapter 11 on 30 June with $1.7 billion in debt carried over from its previous re-organisation.
The latest filing was pre-packaged, meaning that creditors had already agreed to forgive the debt in return for an increased stake. The employees' stake in the airline, secured earlier in return for wage concessions, has been reduced from 45% to around 30%.
TWA recently leased three McDonnell Douglas MD-83s, its first new aircraft in two years, and is seeking aircraft to replace its Lockheed L-1011s. The status of the carrier's order for Airbus A330s is still unclear.
Source: Flight International