Flyi Tells Workers It Could Close Jan. 7

Airline Has Been Hunting for Investor

Employees unload baggage from an Independence Air plane at Dulles International Airport. (By Dennis Brack -- Bloomberg News)

Flyi Inc, the parent company of Independence Air, will cease operating Jan. 7 if it is unable to find a major investor or buyer, the airline said in a letter received by its employees this week.

In the letter to its unionized workers, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, the Dulles-based airline said that without "significant external investment," it would stop flying in 10 days and lay off workers at all of its locations from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21.

Flyi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. At that time, the financially struggling carrier said it was searching for a major investor, and absent that would sell off its assets.

The airline mailed the letter to comply with labor agreements requiring it to serve notice of intent to furlough its workers. The carrier employs 2,800 people.

Despite the letter, Independence spokesman Rick DeLisi said that the airline's fate was far from sealed and that the carrier still had a "number of ongoing discussions" and was still "exploring" a number of options.

"No definitive decision has been made," he said. DeLisi declined to comment further.

Independence Air pilot Patrick J. Devney, who has worked for Flyi and its predecessor, Atlantic Coast Airlines, since the company was formed in the late 1980s, received his furlough letter by regular mail Tuesday.

"I lost my mother on Dec. 11, so I had been dealing with that," said Devney, who lives in Jefferson, Md. "I was anticipating this letter, but it's still kind of stressful."

Devney, who said he earns a minimum of $9,000 a month as an Airbus captain, is making plans for another job. But it may not be in the airline industry.

"The problem is I'm 47 years old and I have 13 years left to fly legally, before mandatory retirement," he said. "But when an airline goes bye-bye your seniority usually doesn't transfer with it. We have guys who are 58 years old and will have to take a 60 to 70 percent pay cut if they want to start all over at another airline."

Meanwhile, the airline continued to accept advance bookings from travelers for as far out as April.

Michael J. Boyd, an analyst at the Denver-based consulting firm the Boyd Group, said it was unlikely Independence would find an acquirer that would be willing to keep the airline afloat. Instead, Boyd said it was more likely that any potential investors would buy some of the airline's assets.