LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22240 posts, RR: 51 Posted (5 years 1 week 5 days 22 hours ago) and read 3016 times:
Tradewinds Airlines Cargo on Friday grounded its 747 fleet, and furloughed associated members. The 4 active aircraft are being returned to owners.
Tradewinds intends to continue its A300 service with primarily focus serving Puerto Rico.
This is the 2nd US B747 freighter operator to exit the market, with Focus Air having stopped flying in January. Suppose it says something about the economics of the 747 classic in todays fuel environment.
LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22240 posts, RR: 51 Reply 2, posted (5 years 5 days 22 hours ago) and read 2435 times:
Seems like there were all types of interesting behind the scenes deals going on with Tradewinds.
Now two Detroit employee pension funds seems to be out $30mil for having attempting to buy an ownership stake in Tradewinds.
Quote: Pension venture turns sour
DETROIT -- Two city employee pension funds may be out as much as $30 million in loans that helped a member of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal defense fund buy a freight airline company.
A mayoral appointee on the pension boards -- city Treasurer Jeff Beasley, a former fraternity brother of Kilpatrick's -- late last year proposed the investment in Donald Watkins' purchase of TradeWinds Airlines. At the time, a pension board researcher called the venture "very risky," in a report.
"We lost $30 million in a month," said George Orzech, a pension trustee and Detroit Fire Department captain who voted against the deal.
LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22240 posts, RR: 51 Reply 4, posted (5 years 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 1753 times:
No but if you go to the Tradewinds web site, you can see they have removed references to the 747 in their fleet, and the online schedule no longer list any of the 747 flying, only the Caribbean A300 stuff.
From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California
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