Pinnacle Airlines Files for Bankruptcy under Chapter 11

Pinnacle Airlines, the regional carrier whose primary customer is Delta Air Lines, has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. It is struggling to deal with high fuel prices and weak demand. The airline said that it wants to restructure itself so it can return to profitability.

Its initiatives include restructuring its key operating agreements with Delta Air Lines, winding down its operations with United Airlines, completing the wind-down of its Essential Air Service (EAS) flying with US Airways, achieving cost savings from its workforce, identifying additional opportunities across the organization to reduce costs, and ensuring that it has the appropriate fleet, staffing levels and network to operate profitably on an ongoing basis.

“Quite simply, our current business model is not sustainable, as increasing operating expenses, liquidity constraints, business integration delays and difficulties associated with combining our operations have hindered our ability to maximize our growth potential,” said Sean Menke, president and CEO of Pinnacle.