Regional airline Peninsula Airways Inc. filed for bankruptcy over the weekend, blaming its financial decline on money-losing hubs in Portland, Ore., and Denver that it plans to shut down.

Alaska-based Peninsula, which does business as PenAir, will wind down the Portland and Denver hubs while maintaining operations at its more successful hub in Boston, according to a bankruptcy document submitted by Chief Operating Officer David M. Richards. He said the bankruptcy was necessary after a “rapid deterioration” in financial results.

...</s>PenAir initiated (07-Aug-2017) the process of filing chapter 11 reorganisation with the State of Alaska. The carrier plans to retain scheduled air service operations in southwest US, Alaska and Boston areas, however its Portland and Denver hubs will begin the process of shutting down scheduled service over the next 90 days. The carrier will suspend all Portland but the Crescent City EAS route on 07-Aug-2017, impacting services from Portland to Klamath Falls, North Bend, Redding and Eureka. CEO and chairman Danny Seybert stated: "The steps we are taking today will allow PenAir to emerge as a stronger airline, while continuing our focus on safe operations". [more - original PR - I] [more - original PR - II]</s>DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL - PenAir, an Alaska-based airline that provides service at Denver International Airport to small cities in Nebraska and Kansas, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The airline said it has filed a request with the Department of Transportation to end essential air service and shut down its Denver hub that provides DIA service to Liberal and Dodge City, Kansas and North Platte, Kearney and Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

"Once approved, this transition usually takes 30 to 90 days until a new carrier can be secured in the market," the airline said in a statement.

PenAir just arrived at DIA. It took over service to the Kansas and Nebraska cities from Great Lakes Airlines in late 2016, the Denver Business Journal reported.

Read more at the Denver Business Journal: http://bizj.us/1p9xde</s>The Scottsbluff, North Platte, and Kearney airports will likely be losing their essential air service provider.

Alaska-based PenAir has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization with the state of Alaska. PenAir’s Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado hubs will begin the process of closing scheduled service over the next 90 days.

“The steps we are taking today will allow PenAir to emerge as a stronger airline, while continuing our focus on safe operations,” said PenAir CEO and Chairman Danny Seybert. “We will be working with a restructuring officer to present a reorganization plan that will allow the management team to focus on our employees, safe operations, retiring debt and taking care of our customers.”

PenAir says once approved, this transition usually takes 30-90 days until a new carrier can be secured in the market.

The Scotts Bluff County Airport Authority had asked the Department of Transportation to request proposals for a new EAS carrier for the Scottsbluff to Denver route, but the announcement Tuesday was a surprise to Western Nebraska Regional Airport Manager Darwin Skelton.

Skelton says it will be difficult for PenAir to do everything necessary with DOT to withdraw and have a replacement carrier approved in 90 days. Skelton said ” PenAir is under contract with the Department of Transportation and they are not going to let them just pull out. They are going to have to find a new carrier and get that situated. So while 90 days may work for PenAir, I don’t know they can get it done that quickly.”

Skelton says it was disappointing that all of the promises and optimism surrounding PenAir’s arrival in the Scottsbluff market failed to materialize.</s>ANCHORAGE — An air carrier based in Alaska says it’s filing a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

PenAir announced Monday it’s closing its Denver hub pending approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The move would end essential air service routes between Denver and Liberal and Dodge City in Kansas, and the Nebraska cities of North Platte, Kearney (CARN’-ee) and Scottsbluff.

The company says a transition to a new carrier usually takes 30 to 90 days.

 PenAir had previously announced it was ending Portland, Oregon, regional routes. All but an essential air service route between Portland and Crescent City, California, are to be shut down after Monday.

Operations in Alaska and Boston will not be affected.

PenAir CEO Danny Seybert in the announcement says the reorganization will allow the company to emerge as a stronger airline.</s>Regional airline Peninsula Airways Inc. filed for bankruptcy over the weekend, blaming its financial decline on money-losing hubs in Portland, Ore., and Denver that it plans to shut down.

Alaska-based Peninsula, which does business as PenAir, will wind down the Portland and Denver hubs while maintaining operations at its more successful hub in Boston, according to a bankruptcy document submitted by Chief Operating Officer David M. Richards. He said the bankruptcy was necessary after a "rapid deterioration" in financial results.

PenAir posted a pretax loss of almost $8 million in the fiscal year that ended in March on revenue of $99 million, according to draft financial statements. From April through May, the company lost an additional $577,000.

"PenAir management is currently analyzing the reasons for this deterioration of financial performance," Mr. Richards said.

Chairman Daniel P. Seybert owns a controlling stake of about 57% in the company, while founder Orin D. Seybert, who started the business with a single two-seater in 1955, is the second-largest shareholder, with a 17.6% stake.

The airline expanded its footprint outside of Alaska in 2012. But its new hubs in Portland and Denver "have not lived up to expectations" and would be wound down in favor of the "very successful" operation in Boston, Mr. Richards said.

On Friday, PenAir stopped taking reservations on routes from Portland to North Bend and Klamath Falls, Ore., and to Eureka and Redding, Calif.

The company participates in a U.S. Transportation Department program known as Essential Air Service designed to provide small communities a minimum level of scheduled air service.

PenAir, which employs about 700 people, owes between $10 million and $50 million to its creditors, according to bankruptcy documents. The company plans to cut its fleet of 19 aircraft after reducing its footprint under bankruptcy protection.</s>PenAir (Peninsula Airways, INC.) operating out of Kearney, North Platte, and Scottsbluff has filed for bankruptcy.

According to bankruptcy court documents, the Alaska-based airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday night.

According to court documents, "PenAir's hubs in Portland and Denver have not lived up to expectations. For this reason, PenAir has decided to wind down its operations at those two hubs."

And according to those documents, Kearney, North Platte, and Scottsbluff flights will be discontinued to Denver.

"The federal Department of Transportation is responsible for managing the Essential Air Service contract with PenAir to provide air service in our community. With the departure of PenAir, the City of Kearney will pursue immediately, with the DOT, a re-bid process to secure a new air carrier," according to a statement released by the City of Kearney.

PenAir has been operating in Kearney since November of last year.

Approximately 700 people are currently employed by PenAir, according to court documents.

Now city leaders are dealing with the uncertainty it has left them.

"This impacts the service of the Nebraska and Kansas communities that PenAir presently serves."

On Monday morning the city was notified that PenAir plans to discontinue service in the next 90 days.

"Well I really haven't had discussions with PenAir. This kind of caught us off guard a little bit and of course those are some of the discussions we'll be having in the next few days. But at this point they just made their announcement and we're trying to regroup internally here at city hall to determine what our options are," City of Kearney Mayor Stan Clouse said.

The federal Department of Transportation is responsible for managing the Essential Air Service with PenAir.

The city will pursue immediately with the DOT for a rebid process to secure a new air carrier.

"It gives them the opportunity to reorganize, to figure out what their debt looks like and how do they manage their debt going forward and stay in business. Based on their preliminary plans they don't believe that they can continue to operate the Portland, Oregon and Denver hubs," said Clouse.

A passenger I spoke with says she is shocked.

"I'm flying out Wednesday and they never mentioned it nor said a thing when, at any time we flew with them today. I'm also flying to Alaska in a couple of weeks on them and no one said a word about it either.," PenAir passenger Kaye Kamp said.

"It enables your rural areas to connect with the larger hub and that's what were faced with now with the DOT managing the Essential Air Service program, so they can get a reliable carrier so they can connect with the larger hub," said Clouse.

The mayor of Kearney plans to talk to the DOT and PenAir for more details.

“Today’s news regarding PenAir is concerning for Nebraskans, especially those in our state’s rural areas and the Panhandle," Deb Fischer released in a statement Monday. "Reliable air service connects our families, businesses, and communities to the rest of our country and the world. As Congress considers the FAA reauthorization this year, I will continue to shore up support for the Essential Air Service program. I will also work to reduce burdensome regulations that harm Nebraska’s small and community airports by reducing the number of available pilots and increasing service costs.”</s>Alaska-based PenAir has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization with the state of Alaska. This action will not affect scheduled air service operations in Alaska or Boston. PenAir’s Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado hubs will begin the process of closing scheduled service over the next 90 days.

“The steps we are taking today will allow PenAir to emerge as a stronger airline, while continuing our focus on safe operations,” said PenAir CEO and Chairman Danny Seybert. “We will be working with a restructuring officer to present a reorganization plan that will allow the management team to focus on our employees, safe operations, retiring debt and taking care of our customers.”

PenAir recently announced the termination of the Portland-area regional routes as part of an immediate cost-cutting plan in the Pacific Northwest. All, but the essential Air Service (EAS) route between Portland and Crescent City, California, will be shut down effective close of business on Monday, August 7. This impacts scheduled flight operations between Portland and Klamath Falls and North Bend/Coos Bay, Oregon and Redding and Eureka/Arcata, California.

Today, PenAir announced the additional closing the Denver hub pending approval from the Department of Transportation.

PenAir is filing a request with the DOT to end EAS routes between Crescent City, CA and Portland and all regional routes served from its Denver hub. This will impact EAS routes operating between Denver and Liberal and Dodge City, Kansas and North Platt, Kearney and Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Once approved, this transition usually takes 30 to 90 days until a new carrier can be secured in the market.

PenAir serves eight destinations within Alaska, including Dutch Harbor, Cold Bay, Sand Point, King Salmon, Dillingham, St. Paul, St. George and McGrath; and three routes in the Boston area including Bar Harbor and Presque Isle, Maine and Plattsburgh, New York. Passengers in both the Alaska and Boston markets can expect continued operations with no changes to scheduled flight service. Employees in these markets will play a critical role in the reorganization process.

“Our employees are a key part of our success, and we are doing everything we can to keep our PenAir family intact,” said Seybert.

Passengers scheduled to fly out of the Portland market may contact the airline their travel was originally booked on, or PenAir at 800-448-4226.

About PenAir – PenAir was founded in 1955 by Orin Seybert in Pilot Point, Alaska. It is one of the oldest family-owned airlines in the United States. The airline is also one of the largest regional airlines in Alaska and the Northeast U.S., and one of the largest operators of Saab 340 aircraft in the US. System-wide, PenAir has 700 employees and serves 25 destinations.</s>The largest air carrier in southwest Alaska has filed for bankruptcy protection.

“PenAir filed for reorganization under Chapter 11,” said CEO Danny Seybert on Monday. “There’s a number of reasons for this. I won’t go into all the reasons, but we’re going to reorganize the company.”

Seybert said the filing will not affect scheduled flights in Alaska, where the company serves eight communities: Unalaska, Cold Bay, King Salmon, Sand Point, Dillingham, St. Paul, St. George, and McGrath.

PenAir’s Boston flights won’t be affected either, but the airline is closing operations in Portland and Denver.

Seybert expanded to those markets in an effort to turn the regional carrier into a wider-ranging airline.

“That isn’t working out for us,” he said. “We have to reorganize and focus on what made us successful in the past, which is the state of Alaska.”

The Chapter 11 filing comes two months after PenAir canceled daily freight service to Unalaska, citing declining revenue from its contract with the U.S. Postal Service.

It also comes two years after PenAir spent $27 million on a fleet of Saab 2000s, which replaced the smaller Saab 340s in most of the region.

Seybert said PenAir is committed to serving southwest Alaska in the long term. Beyond that, the company’s next steps are still up in the air.

“There might be some equipment changes,” said Seybert. “You might see more 340s in the market versus the larger planes, but that hasn’t been decided yet.”

Since flying the 2000s, the company has announced a slew of mechanical cancellations and posted the worst reliability rates in its history.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.</s>The largest air carrier in southwest Alaska has filed for bankruptcy protection.

In a statement released Monday, PenAir officials said the Chapter 11 reorganization won’t affect scheduled flights in Alaska, where the company serves eight communities: Unalaska, Cold Bay, King Salmon, Sand Point, Dillingham, St. Paul, St. George, and McGrath.

PenAir’s Boston flights won’t be affected either, but the airline is closing operations in Portland and Denver.

The bankruptcy filing comes two months after PenAir canceled daily freight service to Unalaska, citing declining revenue from its contract with the U.S. Postal Service.

In a spring visit to the island, PenAir CEO Danny Seybert said he’s committed to serving southwest Alaska in the long term. He’s also pledged to improve passenger service after a slew of mechanical cancelations over the winter.

“The steps we are taking today will allow PenAir to emerge as a stronger airline, while continuing our focus on safe operations,” said Seybert in the statement. “We will be working with a restructuring officer to present a reorganization plan that will allow the management team to focus on our employees, safe operations, retiring debt and taking care of our customers.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Air carrier PenAir declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, and ends service to Denver, Colorado, and Portland, Oregon.