Island Air sees $6.5M infusion in its future

Island Air said in a bankruptcy filing Friday it is in discussions with multiple prospective investors to obtain about $6.5 million in financing.

The state’s second-largest airline, which filed for Chapter 11 reorganization Oct. 16 to prevent its three remaining planes from being seized by its aircraft lessor, did not identify the investors.

Island Air’s disclosure was included in its cash budget projections that were filed Friday to meet the Bankruptcy Court’s deadline. The airline said its October unrestricted cash balance — money not being withheld by credit card companies — was $413,649. But the airline projected that its unrestricted cash balance in November would top $5.7 million based on its forecasts, passenger revenue assumptions and receiving the $6.5 million in financing.

The budget projections extend through the first quarter of next year with Island Air forecasting its unrestricted cash balance to be $6.2 million in December, $5.6 million in January, $4.9 million in February and $4.5 million in March.

Island Air also is projecting that it will receive $3.4 million in passenger revenue, excluding fees, in October, with its revenue increasing to $4.2 million in November, $4.7 million in December, $5.6 million in January, dipping slightly to $5.3 million in February and then topping $6 million in March, which would be nearly double its October figure.

The airline revealed in commentary accompanying its budget that it expects to pay $165,000 in lease deposits in both January and February for additional aircraft it expects to be delivered in February for increased service in March. The airline said the number of aircraft would be subject to the level of financing it obtains, but did not disclose from whom it would obtain the aircraft.

Island Air attorney Ted Pettit, airline CEO David Uchiyama and Jeffrey Au, who manages the two investment groups that collectively own two-thirds of the airline, did not respond to emails.

Island Air, which hasn’t made any lease payments to Ireland-based Elix Assets 8 Ltd. since the end of June, has argued that there has been “no material default” under a deferral agreement it signed with Elix on Sept. 15. Elix, which on Tuesday sued Island Air in Bankruptcy Court to repossess the planes, said Island Air violated several terms of the deferral agreement, and its lease was terminated Oct. 12 — four days before Island Air filed for bankruptcy.

The deferral agreement provided that if Island Air satisfied certain conditions, rent payments and aircraft maintenance reserve payments would be deferred and paid in 24 equal monthly installments on each rent date under the leases from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019.

Elix claims Island Air filed for bankruptcy “presumably in an attempt to continue to use, operate and derive revenue from the … aircraft even though (it) has absolutely no entitlement to do so.”

Elix has said in its filings that Island Air owed the lessor $4.58 million for rent and aircraft maintenance reserve payments at the time it filed for bankruptcy in addition to the amounts that have accrued since that date.

The airline said in its budget filing that the money owed to Elix prior to the bankruptcy doesn’t need to be paid until January based on the terms of the deferral agreement. Island Air said if the approximate $4.6 million needs to be paid prior to January, then it will be paid from the $6.5 million it plans to receive from financing.

Island Air lists the rent for its three Bombardier Q400 aircraft as being $612,000 for November, $1.02 million for December, $742,050 for both January and February, and just under $1.1 million for March. The airline projects its aircraft maintenance reserve payments to be $650,439 in January, $594,322 in February and $631,352 in March.

The airline’s semimonthly payroll expenses from October through March range from $600,000 to $830,230.