Victory Jet LLC, a fledgling charter-airline company once based at Piedmont Triad International Airport, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
The Greensboro company, founded in February, said in its Oct. 24 filing that it had liabilities of $3.47 million and assets of $7,833 in personal property. All 54 creditors were listed as unsecured.
It had at least seven former Pace Airlines Inc. officials on its management team.
Jeff Erickson was listed as president and chief executive, with a 75 percent ownership stake. Christopher Barnes was listed as chief operating officer, with a 12.5 percent ownership stake. Neither could be reached for comment and neither worked for Pace, which collapsed in September 2009, four months after William Rodgers Sr. acquired the airline.
Victory Jet had leased 16,000 square feet of cargo, office and ramp space at PTI until shutting down in August and halting its bid for Federal Aviation Administration certification. It also was unable to gain approval of a U.S. Department of Transportation application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
Victory Jet was listed as owing PTI $30,074, primarily in back rent. Kevin Baker, PTI's director, said in August that he understood the company was having cash-flow problems, possibly with its financial backer.
Victory Jet operated as a charter broker for a Boeing 737-300 through a partnership with Swift Air of Phoenix. Victory Jet converted the 141-seat jet into one with 64 first-class seats.
The company provided services to VIP groups and college and professional sports teams. It listed among its customers N.C. State University, Notre Dame, the University of Connecticut, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Swift Air was listed as the largest creditor at $1.3 million. Other top creditors were RMP Capital Corp. of Islandia, N.Y., which was owed $888,000, and Airtrust Capital of Salt Lake City, which was owed $656,000 for a leased plane that has been repossessed.
Among other local creditors listed were: Graham Personnel Services of Greensboro (owed $41,664), North State Aviation of Winston-Salem ($31,000) and Highwoods Properties of Greensboro ($24,187) for lease of office space.
According to its FAA application, it had plans to expand its fleet within 12 to 18 months, including buying at least one plane similar to the Boeing 737-300. It expected to have revenue of $7.72 million in its first year of operations.
The management ties to Pace are extensive, and some of the executives were on Rodgers' management team.
The former Pace executives include (in their Victory Jet jobs): Eric Winberg, vice president of technical services; Herman Gillis III, operations director; Tom Cartwright, maintenance director; Michele Burdick, director of in-flight services; Ellis Nelson, director of flight safety and security; Barry Blumquist, quality director; and James Brown, chief pilot. All but Nelson worked for Pace for at least eight years.
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