Hawaiian reports progress on jet leases
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawaiian Airlines has reached tentative agreements to restructure lease payments with two of the three companies it leases airplanes from, but still hasn't paid most of its vendors, a top company official told a meeting of its creditors yesterday.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Hawaiian filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, saying it needed more favorable aircraft leases. Christine Deister, Hawaiian's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said yesterday that Hawaiian has tentative new arrangements with Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services Inc. and International Lease Finance Corp., but has not reached agreement with Boeing Capital Corp.
Hawaiian Airlines flies all Boeing 767-ER aircraft on its long-range flights, a switch from the mostly DC-10 fleet it used until this year. The lease arrangements for some of its aircraft have been restructured in Hawaiian's favor, the carrier said, but not yet with Boeing Capital Corp.
Boeing Capital has asked the federal bankruptcy court to appoint a trustee to replace Hawaiian Airlines' management. A committee of creditors held a six-hour meeting with Hawaiian officials in Los Angeles on Monday. But the creditors could not reach agreement on whether they wanted a trustee to be appointed.
Hawaiian has not filed its financial statement with the court, but Deister said it continues to pay its medical, dental and other employee benefits. Most of the pre-bankruptcy bills, however, are outstanding.
"Quite a bit of it still has not been paid," she said.
More evidence of the economic ripple effects from Hawaiian's move to reorganize emerged yesterday.
One of the local companies owed money by Hawaiian, Starr Seigle Communications, Hawai'i's largest marketing company, has laid off six employees in the past six weeks, bringing its staff down from 99 to 93 employees.
One of the layoffs was unrelated to the estimated $560,000 that Starr Seigle said Hawaiian owes. But "Hawaiian Air is a contributing factor to at least some of the layoffs that we've had," said partner Jim Boersema.
Like other companies owed money by Hawaiian, Starr Seigle scoured its books and said it found the original bankruptcy estimate of what was due low.
"It wasn't accurate," Boersema said. "It was at least $560,000." He declined to be more specific, but said, "no question, it's a lot of money."
