New York – Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines are preparing to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as today, people close to both companies said Tuesday.
Northwest and Delta are finishing the details of their bankruptcy cases, including the financing they will require to operate under bankruptcy protection, these people said. That could cause delays, but the fundamental work of preparing each bankruptcy case is complete, they said.
A spokesman for Northwest, the nation’s fifth-biggest airline, said Tuesday that the company had made no decision on a Chapter 11 filing. Likewise, a spokeswoman for Delta, the third-biggest carrier, said no decision had been made.
Northwest has about 35 daily flights in Denver, including arrivals and departures, and about 105 Denver employees.
In Denver, Delta and its partners have about 42 daily flights and more than 90 employees.
Denver International Airport had about 1,566 flights per day as of July.
Both airlines would file for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York City. Their cases would be assigned to different judges, however. If the filings are made today, the first hearings would be Thursday.
If Northwest and Delta both file, that would mean four of the industry’s seven biggest airlines were operating under bankruptcy protection, reflecting the deep competitive issues that have battered the airlines since 2000.
United, the second-biggest airline behind American Airlines, has been under Chapter 11 protection since December 2002. It has filed a reorganization plan and hopes to emerge from protection next year.
Meanwhile, US Airways, which sought bankruptcy protection last year, expects to emerge from court protection this fall, when it plans to merge with America West.
Those airlines will operate under the US Airways name.
That would leave American; Continental, the fourth-largest carrier; and Southwest, the sixth-largest, as the major airlines operating outside bankruptcy protection.
While a bankruptcy filing by Delta had been expected this week, a filing by Northwest had been thought to be several weeks away.
But Northwest and all the large domestic airlines have been hit hard by the spike in jet-fuel prices after Hurricane Katrina, which interrupted production at refineries.
Surviving turbulence
The bankruptcy status of some airlines operating in Denver:
Continental: Filed in 1983, 1990; no longer in bankruptcy
Northwest: Expected to file soon
United: Filed in 2002; bankruptcy exit plan filed Sept. 6
Delta: Expected to file soon
US Airways: Filed in 2002, 2004; expects to exit soon pending a merger with America West