WICHITA, Kansas — A
bankruptcy judge sided Monday with a group of current Hawker Beechcraft
customers who balked at a move by the Kansas plane maker to immediately
sell off its inventory of discontinued Hawker 4000 jet aircraft at
substantial discounts as part of the company's bankruptcy proceedings.
Hawker
Beechcraft wants to sell the remaining inventory on "an expedited
basis," without bankruptcy court approval of each sale, because it
believes the value of the discontinued line of planes will continue to
decline as competitors introduce new aircraft and further dilute the
company's share in the business jet industry.
The Ad Hoc
Committee of Hawker 4000 Customers, which is comprised of current
customers, contended in a bankruptcy court filing Monday that the 20
aircraft in question normally retail at about $20 million apiece,
amounting to $400 million in assets. The group objects to Beechcraft
selling those planes for as little as a third of their retail value —
little more than the cost of the engines and avionics.
U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein cited the committee's objection in
rejecting the company's request. The judge wrote that Hawker Beechcraft
failed to identity any imminent sales or how the failure to obtain an
expedited hearing on their motion will affect sales.
Hawker
Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy protection in May and talks to sell its
operations to China's Superior Aviation Beijing Co collapsed last month.
It has said it now plans to emerge from bankruptcy protection as a
slimmed down company in the first quarter of 2013.
The latest
legal dustup comes in the wake of a Thursday filing in which the company
sought court permission to renege on warranty and support obligations
related to the Hawker 4000 and Premier I and IA jets. On Friday Hawker
Beechcraft filed a related motion for an order authorizing it to sell
its remaining Hawker 4000 inventory without warranty or support
commitments.
The current customers also argued that Hawker
Beechcraft has insisted it intends to "act responsibly" in dealing with
them and has assured them it is committed to developing a service and
support solution for the planes they bought. They contend that if Hawker
Beechcraft does that the confidence it would generate in prospective
Hawker 4000 customers should help increase the value of the remaining
inventory of aircraft.
"This process will require a reasonable
amount of time, not an accelerated process," the committee argued in its
filing. "Thus, there is simply no reason to race to sell the Hawker
4000 inventory before those efforts play out."
Source: http://www.dailyjournal.net
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