US judge approves JetSuite parent’s restructuring plan

A little over four months after Superior Air Charter (SAC) LLC, parent firm of JetSuite (Santa Ana, CA), declared bankruptcy in the US state of Delaware, the judge overseeing the Chapter 11 process has confirmed the company’s restructuring plan. The approval came despite opposition from the bankruptcy trustee amid allegations that the private charter operator had become a fraudulent investing scam, Private Jet Card Comparisons reported. However, following a hearing at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on September 4, Ted Gavin, managing director of the corporate recovery firm Gavin/Solmonese, said the reorganisation plan had “received overwhelming support from creditors, [JetSuite card] SuiteKey customers, aircraft lessors, and trade creditors alike.” “The post-confirmation trust established under the plan will shortly get to the business of returning value to unsecured creditors. Most cases are liquidations. I’ve been privileged to be a part of a case where everyone worked together to find a way to reorganise this company and return the best possible value to its stakeholders,” he added. The previous week – on the final day to file comments – two SuiteKey clients filed objections accusing JetSuite of becoming a Ponzi scheme. The trustee also filed an objection on the last day, questioning the company’s intention to restart operations as well as the need for nonconsensual third-party waivers of claims. SAC dismissed the allegations. It partly blamed its woes on a pricey dispute over a fleet of Cessna Aircraft Company Citation CJ3s it had hoped to deploy in a US East Coast expansion. The “defective” aircraft, it said, cost it “upwards of USD24 million” excluding litigation costs. “Nobody was getting any money out of [JetSuite],” Gavin told Private Jet Card Comparisons.