Skybus Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Petition Filed
Columbus based Skybus Airlines, Inc. (which is a Delaware corporation) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, Case No. 08-10637-CSS. Judge Christopher S. Sontchi will be presiding. Click here for the story by Bloomberg.com. Also read the initial story on the shut down as reported by the Columbus Dispatch. The Columbus Regional Airport Authority is listed among the Twenty Largest Creditors (having unsecured debt) with a debt in the amount of $200,000.00.
Skybus is the third airline to file for bankruptcy protection in the last three weeks.
UPDATE: The Docket Sheet for the first week of the Skybus Chapter 11 shows relatively little activity for a case this size.
On April 8, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann provided this advice for Skybus customers, including a sample letter to send to your credit card company.
On April 15, 2008, a Class Action Adversary Proceeding Complaint (Adv. Pro. No. 08-50570) on behalf of Skybus employees was filed seeking damages consisting of 60 days' pay and ERISA benefits. The putative (i.e. not yet certified as a class action) class action asserts that approximately 450 individuals are affected and contends that Skybus violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (aka and better known as the "WARN Act") in the way it ended operations. The action also seeks to obtain "administrative priority" for the claims pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 503(b)(1)(A) which would put them in the same category as the lawyers and other professionals working on the case for Skybus. This is a smart move because, if successful, it would require Skybus employees to be paid ahead of other unsecured creditors, including Skybus ticketholders unable to obtain a refund from their credit card company.
