Shuttle America to restore some routes

By Kerry Drohan, Globe Staff, 9/16/2001

BEDFORD - Shuttle America will use cash from its bankruptcy bailout to lease
two planes and restore some of its suspended flights from Hanscom Field, a
company spokesman said last week.

The company planned to add five departures daily to its existing four,
beginning yesterday, said Mark Cestari, vice president of marketing for the
airline.

''The first plane will be in service on Sept. 15, and we'll be back at seven
departures to Trenton (N.J.) and two to Buffalo,'' Cestari said. ''The
second plane will be in service on Sept. 30, and we will use it to increase
frequency in our existing markets.''

Shuttle America, a regional airline based in Windsor Locks, Conn., started
flying from Hanscom in September 1999. The company had been up to 18 daily
departures from Hanscom in February, but had scaled back service before
seeking bankruptcy protection on April 17.

Cestari said that under the terms of its reorganization plan, Wexford
Capital LLC of Greenwich, Conn., will use $1.4 million to pay off creditors
immediately and add more money to lease aircraft.

''Wexford has filed preliminary papers in federal court, and they will
become the new owners of Shuttle America, subject to the machinations of the
bankruptcy process,'' Cestari said. ''Wexford's plan is to satisfy the needs
of our creditors, to secure new aircraft by Sept. 15 and allow us to add
back service that we have abandoned, and to provide transitional funding to
get us from here to when the deal closes.''

He said the process should be completed by the end of November. A spokesman
for Wexford declined to comment on the plan.

''It seems like the perfect fit,'' said Cestari, ''in that Shuttle America
has a strong operating business and franchise, and that Wexford is a $900
million investment firm with extensive experience in the airline industry.
Our missing link has been the capital.''

This story ran on page W11 of the Boston Globe on 9/16/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.
==========
**NOTICE: In accordance with 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.**
==========