Mesa Air Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESA) today announced that it has completed a second closing through its previously disclosed five-year Loan and Guarantee Agreement under the Coronavirus Air, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
The Loan Agreement provided a secured term loan facility of up to $200 million. On October 30, 2020, Mesa borrowed $43 million under the facility and today, completed a second closing to borrow an additional $152 million. These funds may be used for general corporate purposes and operating expenses, to the extent permitted by the CARES Act.
“I’d like to again express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved in making this deal happen. Our people have been working very hard to ensure Mesa and its employees are prepared to weather this storm”, said Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “These additional funds will substantially benefit our airline and the communities we serve as we continue to navigate the obstacles created by the pandemic”.
In connection with the additional $152 million drawn under the facility, Mesa issued warrants to the U.S. Treasury to purchase 3,819,095 shares of common stock, no par value. The Warrants have a five-year term from the date issued, were issued pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, and have substantially identical terms to the warrants issued on the initial closing.
Embraer today announced that the Synthetic Vision Guidance System (SVGS) for the midsize Praetor 500 and super-midsize Praetor 600 business jets was awarded certification by both the civil aviation authority of Brazil, Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), and the civil aviation authority of the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Embraer is the first OEM to receive SVGS certification approval.
The SVGS provides pilots with a dynamic perception of position, trend, and motion, facilitating the transition to utilizing visual references and enabling the safe completion of more missions during inclement weather and lower ceiling approaches. The system allows pilots to operate the aircraft to a decision height of 150 feet (SA-CAT I), as opposed to the regular decision height of 200 feet, increasing operational efficiency and allowing access to several airports during inclement weather and lower ceiling approaches. The SVGS can be used with or without the Head-Up Display (HUD) and is now available for new aircraft and fully retrofittable on all Legacy 450, Legacy 500, Praetor 500, and Praetor 600 aircraft at any Embraer Owned or Authorized Service Center.
“At Embraer, we are committed to continuously improving our already industry-leading products to deliver the ultimate experience in business aviation. Just two months after certifying the electric pocket door and making the HEPA filter standard, we are proud to certify another Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 innovation,” said Michael Amalfitano, President & CEO, Embraer Executive Jets. “Thanks to our unparalleled engineering team and world-class partnership with Collins Aerospace, Embraer is proud to offer business aviation’s first Synthetic Vision Guidance System on the Praetor 500 and Praetor 600, further solidifying their position as the most disruptive and technologically advanced midsize business jets in the market.”
Independent of the Embraer Enhanced Vision System (E2VS), the SVGS is an optional addition to the acclaimed Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion flight deck on the Praetor 500 and Praetor 600. The SVGS can be installed either with or without E2VS, delivering even greater flexibility and safety options. When installed alone, SVGS allows for enviable situational awareness, without the investment required for E2VS. When installed together, the aircraft’s operational efficiency is further improved, allowing for even better utilization of the Praetor’s unparalleled short runway performance.
CHICAGO, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Delta Air Lines said on Monday it is seeking to raise $6.5 billion through new bonds and loans backed by its SkyMiles loyalty program, further bolstering liquidity to weather a drastic downturn in travel demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline said it would use the loyalty program as collateral to secure the new loans and issuance, as it continues to burn through about $27 million in cash each day.
U.S. airlines have cut costs and raised debt to survive what they call an unprecedented industry crisis. The situation is not expected to improve until there is a meaningful recovery in demand.
With its latest financing deal, Delta will not pursue a $4.6 billion federal loan available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, officials said, even as it continues to lobby for a second round of federal payroll grants.
Atlanta-based Delta is among U.S. airlines to have tapped funds under a $25 billion made available primarily in grants under the CARES Act to cover employees’ payroll through September, but not a separate $25 billion package in secured loans.
The loan program has attractive financing terms but restricts executive compensation and share buybacks.
The airline has said it could furlough nearly 2,000 pilots in October without more federal aid, but believes it can avoid any flight attendant furloughs through the winter thanks to strong demand for voluntary departures or leaves.
Delta had $15.7 billion in liquidity at the end of June, which it said equaled about 19 months of financial runway at a daily burn rate of $27 million.
It still has unencumbered assets worth $6 billion to $7 billion, primarily in the form of spare aircraft parts and engines, if needed, officials said.
Delta did not disclose the value of the loyalty program or the terms of the new financing, which mirrors a debt deal by United Airlines in June backed by its $20 billion MileagePlus program.
Delta’s shares, which have lost about 46% this year, closed at $31.70 on Friday.
(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) – RavnAir Group, the largest regional carrier in Alaska, filed for bankruptcy Sunday and grounded all of its 72 planes as it waits on a decision from U.S. Treasury for government assistance.
The Trump administration is weighing applications from numerous airlines as it considers how to disburse $25 billion in passenger airline grants, $4 billion for cargo carriers and $3 billion for airport contractors. Congress approved the bailout funds to help air carriers cover payroll costs.
RavnAir, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, said Sunday it was suspending all operations and laying off all employees.
“We took these actions to ensure our airline has a future, and to give us time to ‘hit pause'” while it seeks Treasury grants and “other sources of financial assistance that will allow us to weather the coronavirus pandemic and emerge successfully once it has passed.”
In a letter posted Sunday, RavnAir Chief Executive Dave Pflieger said the airline was working to “resume the vital air service you depend on to get home to your families, to your businesses, to medical appointments, and to other duties that are essential to our communities and the state of Alaska.”
Delta Air Lines Inc, American Airlines Group Inc , Spirit Airlines Inc, Southwest Airlines Co , United Airlines Holdings Inc and JetBlue Airways Corp are among the airlines that confirmed they filed before a Friday deadline set by Treasury to get speedy consideration.
On Sunday, top Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Charles Schumer urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to move quickly and not impose unreasonable conditions on the grants. Airline unions and many Democrats object to Treasury demanding significant equity or warrants as a condition to the grants.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish airliner skidded off a runway, crashed into a ditch and broke apart while landing in bad weather in Istanbul Wednesday, killing three people and injuring dozens more. Passengers had to scramble through the split fuselage to escape.
The aircraft, operated by low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines, was arriving at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport from the western Turkish city of Izmir with 183 passengers and crew on board when it had what the Transportation Ministry described as a “rough landing.”
Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said the plane failed to “hold onto the runway” and skidded some 50-60 meters (yards) before it dropped into the ditch from a height of about 30 meters (98 feet.)
“We are deeply saddened … (But) we are very happy that we escaped a greater accident,” Yerlikaya said, adding that the plane could have burst into flames.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported early Thursday that three people had died and 179 required care at multiple hospitals.
Emergency workers, assisted by an excavator, recovered one body from beneath the wreckage before the rescue mission ended.
The airport was shut down after the incident, which occurred at around 6:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT), and flights were diverted to Istanbul’s main airport.
The sports world was in mourning following news Sunday that Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people died died in a helicopter crash. Weather is believed to have been a contributing factor in the accident, as the conditions at the time were poor. The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team of investigators to the site.
The helicopter reportedly departed John Wayne Airport in Orange County at 9:06 a.m. local time. The group was heading to the Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that no flight plan had been filed. The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter was flying in low clouds and fog, and was operating under “special VFR” (special visual flight rules) status, requiring the pilot to be responsible for determining safe flying requirements in challenging weather conditions..
The helicopter crashed in foggy conditions on steep terrain in the mountains near Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas, California. The crash was reported to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The crash set off a small brush fire in the area. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze, but were not able to find any survivors.
Kobe Bean Bryant, born 23 August 1978; died 26 January 2020
The folding wingtip of an unpainted 777X is pictured at Boeing’s facility in Everett
(Reuters) – Boeing Co <BA> said on Wednesday it was delaying 777X airplane’s first test flight, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday, due to bad weather.
Boeing said it was currently assessing the possibility of conducting the test flight on Friday.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
(Reuters) – Teams combing the wreckage of a Hawaii sightseeing helicopter that crashed on Kauai island found no sign of survivors on Friday and recovered six sets of human remains before suspending the search due to bad weather, police and fire officials said.
The grim announcement came in a news conference almost 24 hours after the aircraft, first reported missing on Thursday evening, went down in a remote area of rugged terrain near the end of a tour flight over the island’s famed Na Pali Coast.
The crash was at least the ninth, and by far the deadliest, involving sightseeing helicopters in Hawaii over the past five years, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) records.
The confirmed manifest of the ill-fated aircraft, flown by Kauai-based tour operator Safari Helicopters, consisted of six passengers, two of them children, and one pilot, Kauai County fire battalion chief Solomon Kanoho told reporters.
The identities of the dead were being kept confidential until next of kin could be notified, authorities said.
“We are heartbroken by this tragedy and we continue to ask the public to consider the sensitive nature of this devastating situation,” Mayor Derek Kawakami said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of all victims during this extremely difficult time.”
The Kauai fire department called off its search-and-recovery efforts late Friday afternoon due to fog and poor visibility but planned to resume the operation at daybreak on Saturday, Kanoho said.
Although the remains of just six of the seven people who were aboard the ill-fated aircraft have been recovered, Kanoho added: “There are no indications of survivors.”
TOURISTS FROM TWO FAMILIES
Kanoho previously said the passengers on board the helicopter had been in two groups – a party of two from one family and a party of four from another.
Kanoho declined to describe details of the wreckage out of respect for the victims’ loved ones.
While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, Kanoho said the area where the helicopter went down had experienced “some very bad weather” beforehand, adding that the chopper had crashed within its prescribed flight route.
The NTSB, which said it was sending a three-member team to investigate the crash, reported in May that there had been eight accidents involving Hawaii tour helicopters over the past five years, with four deaths and 18 injuries.
The agency made that report after a tour helicopter went down in a residential neighborhood on the island of Oahu in April, killing three people.
The latest crash was in Koke’e State Park in an area called Nu’alolo, a steep-sided valley north of Waimea Canyon State Park, according to a statement posted by the Kauai police department on Facebook.
Waimea Canyon is a tourist destination known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” and police said the helicopter was last heard from at about 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, when the pilot radioed that the aircraft was just departing that area.
A search was launched a short time later, after Safari alerted authorities that the helicopter was 30 minutes overdue on its flight back to the airfield in Lihue on the island’s southeast end, officials said.
A U.S. Coast Guard cutter vessel and helicopter search crew were immediately dispatched. The search was expanded at daybreak on Friday to include air, sea and ground teams from the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, police, fire department and other agencies.
The missing aircraft was equipped with an electronic locator beacon, but no signals were received after it disappeared, the Coast Guard said.
According to its website, Safari offers aerial sightseeing excursions to Kauai’s major attractions over the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon. The Na Pali Coast, known for jagged green cliffs laced with towering waterfalls, is one of the most visited attractions on Kauai, the fourth-largest island in the Hawaiian chain.
Reporting by Maria Caspani and Peter Szekely in New York and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Leslie Adler
An Ethiopian Airlines aircraft has suffered a runway excursion at Juba International Airport this evening. Wet conditions are being blamed for the accident, which has caused extensive damage to the aircraft. All passengers and crew are said to have deplaned safely.
The Dash 8 can be seen on the grass away from the runway. Photo: Twitter with permission
What happened?
Images are circulating online of a worrying incident in South Sudan. An Ethiopian Airlines aircraft has ended up some way off the runway, embedded in a grassy field and listing to one side. Close up images appear to show some damage to the landing gear and fuselage.
Damage can be seen to various parts of the plane. Photo: Garanovich PuTin
– Features night-vision goggle compatibility, Head-Up Displays and Synthetic Vision for mission success
– Advanced human-machine interface will reduce pilot workload
– Touch-screen capabilities to increase ease of operation
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Airbus’ new C295 tactical aircraft will come equipped with Collins Aerospace System’s state-of-the-art Pro Line Fusion™ flight deck, significantly advancing the capabilities of C295 operators. The selection marks the first fixed-wing search and rescue platform to include Pro Line Fusion among its standard equipment. Collins Aerospace is a unit of United Technologies Corp.
The Pro Line Fusion flight deck designed for the C295 includes key features to help operators during search and rescue, and other tactical missions, being equipped with:
Four 14.1-inch (35.8 cm) touchscreen displays to provide a more intuitive interface for pilots to interact and customize their information on the flight deck
Night-vision goggle capability to help ensure successful missions in low light conditions
Head-Up Displays that enable the pilot to keep their eyes up for enhanced situational awareness
Enhanced Vision System (EVS) sensor that allows pilots to see through low-visibility conditions
Overlaid weather radar that shows a graphical depiction of weather along the flight plan for easy viewing
Integrated Terrain Awareness and Warning System that enables high-resolution 3D obstacle depiction and enhances mission safety
Fully integrated Mission Flight Management Systems supporting Search and Rescue patterns, Computed Air Release Points and High Altitude Release Points
In addition, the flight deck was designed to meet evolving airspace and regulatory requirements, future-proofing it for years to come.
“This flight deck implementation is a great example of how Collins Aerospace is able to apply the latest commercial avionics technology and integrate it with military functions and capabilities to create the perfect fit for our customers,” said Dave Schreck, vice president and general manager for Military Avionics and Helicopters at Collins Aerospace. “Our Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system will reduce pilot workload and increase ease of operation for all future C295 operators.”
Canada’s Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will serve as the launch customer for the C295 with the first delivery expected before the end of the year.
