Posted on: Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Aloha gets $3.3 million in new round of airline aid
By John Hughes
Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON — Aloha Airlines was among several carriers yesterday that received second-round financing under a U.S. aid plan stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Aloha Airlines' total under the federal aid package climbed yesterday to nearly $7.7 million. The first installment, received in October, was for $4.4 million, according to Aloha spokesman Stu Glauberman. A third installment is expected early next year, Glauberman said.
"We estimate our total will be right around $10 million under this program," he said.
The money comes from a $15 billion airline relief bill passed by Congress shortly after Sept. 11 to stay the heavy losses of the country's hardest-hit industry.
Hawaiian Airlines has not yet received its second installment, said company spokesman Keoni Wagner. The company got $8.5 million in the first round. Wagner said he did not know how much the company expects to receive altogether.
UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. have received the most money so far.
United got $644 million, including $253.4 million in the second round, the Department of Transportation said. American received $583 million, with $223.8 million in the second round, while Delta got $529 million, including $201.9 million in the latest distribution. The three are the largest U.S. carriers.
Midway Airlines Corp., which received no money in the first round, got $10.1 million in the second round.
Twenty-three airlines received about $1.3 billion in second-round payments so far, and once the latest distribution is complete the total to all carriers will be about
$4.25 billion. Congress in September approved an airline aid plan that includes $5 billion in cash and $10 billion in loan guarantees after the terrorist attacks reduced air-travel demand.
Airlines will receive the final installment early next year after they document final year-end losses. The amount to each carrier is based on capacity or actual loss, whichever was less.
