Introduction

On September 28, 2012, Southern Air Holdings ("Southern Air" or "Debtor"), along with various related entities, filed chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.  As stated in its Declarations in Support of Chapter 11 Petitions and First Day Relief (the "Declaration" or "Decl."), Southern Air describes itself as a "long-haul, wide-body air cargo" provider for governments and commercial users.  Decl.

Introduction

Introduction

On March 5, 2012, Pemco World Air Services ("Pemco"), filed chapter 11 petitions for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.  According to the Declaration of Pemco's CFO (the "Declaration"), Pemco describes itself as "an industry leader in maintenance, repair and overhaul for wide and narrow body aircraft and regional jets from around the world."  Decl. at *2.  In addition to maintenance and repair, Pemco also is one of the leading providers of narrow body aircraft cargo conversions. Id. 

Background

While bankruptcy law and tort law may not seem related, it is important to know if your client has ever gone through a bankruptcy and, if so, the terms of its plan of reorganization. A recent Eighth Circuit decision confirmed the importance of knowing the ins and outs of a client’s bankruptcy and the terms of the applicable plan.

What are the principal types of insolvency proceedings?

Background

Shortly after the last ever Monarch Airlines flight landed at Manchester Airport in the early hours of Monday morning, the airline entered administration, prompting the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to launch its "biggest ever peacetime repatriation" to bring home the 110,000 Monarch customers stranded abroad.

The impact on those travellers should be minimal, but an estimated 750,000 customers' future flights and holidays have been cancelled. Where they stand primarily comes down to whether their booking is protected by the UK's Air Travel Organisers' Licence (ATOL) scheme.

Background

In 2009, the Calgary Airport Authority (CAA) entered into a construction agreement with Iona Contractors Ltd. for Iona to improve CAA’s north airfield. By October 2010, the work was substantially complete; however CAA withheld further payment to Iona on the basis that some of Iona’s subcontractors remained unpaid. Iona assigned into bankruptcy and a dispute arose over the entitlement to the withheld amounts (the Funds).