Northwest Airlines today received final court approval for its plan of reorganization and plans to officially exit more than 20 months of bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York judge Allan Gropper signed the order approving Northwest's plan. The carrier said its common stock has been approved for New York Stock Exchange listing and it anticipates regular trading as it exits bankruptcy protection on May 31. "Northwest expects that it will emerge from Chapter 11 once all closing conditions of the Plan have been met and the company's $750 million new equity rights offering has been funded," a Northwest news release said.
"Today's court approval is the realization of the goals that we set for the airline when we entered bankruptcy protection in September 2005," said Northwest president and CEO Doug Steenland. "At that time, we pledged to achieve a competitive cost structure, a more efficient business model and a recapitalized balance sheet. We accomplished those goals, returned the airline to profitability, continued to renew our fleet, while at the same time, providing our customers with reliable service."
Northwest filed for bankruptcy within minutes of fellow SkyTeam airline alliance member Delta Air Lines
(BTN, Sept. 19, 2005). The near-simultaneous filings sparked speculation of a potential merger between the two carriers, but Northwest is poised to exit bankruptcy as a stand-alone carrier, as Delta did late last month after thwarting a takeover attempt by US Airways
(BTN, May 7).