Air Australia, the 2-year-old budget carrier that abruptly shut down last month and stranded up to 600 passengers in Honolulu, had $96 million of debt and $470,000 in cash when it stopped flying.

The carrier, now in the U.S. equivalent of bankruptcy, had launched nonstop service to Hawaii just two months earlier from Brisbane and Melbourne. But the airline appeared ill-prepared to have expanded to Hawaii, according to financial data that came out of a creditors’ meeting last week and reported by the Queensland-based Courier-Mail newspaper.

Air Australia continued to sell tickets until its final day, collecting $40 million from the sale of 100,000 now-worthless tickets, according to the Courier-Mail.

Most travelers should be eligible for refunds if they bought the tickets with a credit card, said Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO Mike McCartney. HTA hasn’t had any contact from Air Australia since the Feb. 16 shutdown. However, HTA’s marketing partners said the credit card law in Australia will protect most passengers.

The situation is not as hopeful for Air Australia’s other creditors. About 500 of them would recover nothing from the airline, the newspaper said, quoting Mark Korda, the Air Australia administrator, which is similar to a bankruptcy trustee in the U.S.

ANZ Bank is the largest creditor and is owed about $21 million.

Even with the refunds, passengers might take a financial hit, said airline analyst Robert Mann of Port Washington, N.Y.-based R.W. Mann & Co.

"Just recognize that even getting all your money back for undelivered services can leave you with real financial exposure and a real dilemma — for example, having to buy a moment’s notice high-fare ticket to replace the service that a defaulting carrier will not provide, whether to get home, or possibly losing the cost of your ground arrangements at destination if you choose not to purchase those high fare replacement tickets and don’t travel at all," Mann said.

The introduction of the Brisbane and Melbourne routes had been lauded by Hawaii tourism officials because they opened the islands to two new markets. Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas Airways and Jetstar all fly between Honolulu and Sydney.

McCartney said even though Air Australia failed, there’s "great awareness" for the Hawaii market.

"There is an increase in the number of seats this year even if you take Air Australia out of the equation," McCartney said. "Qantas, Hawaiian and Jetstar all have stepped up and increased seats. We’re going to continue to work to find someone to pursue those routes (Brisbane and Melbourne) in the future. We’re speaking to carriers now, and there is interest."

McCartney said Honolulu-based Australia Consul-General Scott Dewar said the image of Hawaii benefited from the "very positive in the way things were handled and the way people came to the aid of the travelers."

Another creditors’ meeting is scheduled for May 23 in Australia, during which the creditors are expected to vote to liquidate the airline, according to the Courier-Mail.

The carrier had only about $1 million in assets because its jets, office space and other items had been leased, said Administrator Korda.

Air Australia’s 354 employees will be able to salvage about $5 million of the $8 million they are owed because of government compensation, Korda said, according to the newspaper.

Korda said the business now is "not viable" and that it remained "highly unlikely" that it could be sold, according to the Courier-Mail.

Air Australia CEO Michael James and airline spokeswoman Heather Jeffery did not respond to emails from the Star-Advertiser. Jeffery also didn’t respond to a message left on her cellphone.

"We are currently in an uncomfortable financial position due to the backlog of creditors that have accrued over the past 6 months," Air Australia Chief Commercial Officer Damien Vasta told potential investors in an email that the Courier-Mail said was written last October.

"Financial assistance is urgent if the airline is to remain as a going concern. … The airline will require $10 million to trade independently again but our urgent requirement for Monday is $2 million to allow an aircraft leasing company and the Air Navigation authority to be paid.

"Without this commitment we may be forced to ground the aircraft, enter voluntary administration, and lose all the existing goodwill and significant upside this airline has created."

Air Australia was ultimately grounded and put in voluntary administration when Air Australia was unable to purchase fuel in Phuket, Thailand, to refuel planes. The ripple effect was felt systemwide and 4,000 passengers overall were left without a way home.