CONCORD, MA, February 25, 2009 – Leading Eclipse 500 air-taxi operator Linear Air announced today the formation of Eclipse Services and Support LLC, a cooperative entity designed to enable the owners of the 250+ Eclipse 500 very light jets in operation, to acquire from bankrupt manufacturer Eclipse Aviation Corporation of Albuquerque, New Mexico the intellectual property and other assets relevant to the ongoing technical, maintenance, parts and other support required to upgrade their aircraft to final configuration and keep them flying into the future.
This news follows the filing of a motion by Eclipse Aviation Corporation’s main debtors yesterday to convert their bankruptcy case from reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code to liquidation under Chapter 7.
Eclipse Services and Support LLC will begin contacting Eclipse 500 owners and forming the cooperative immediately, in order to parallel the Chapter 7 process and submit a winning bid to the court for the relevant assets as it proceeds over the next 90 plus days.
Eclipse aircraft owners who join the cooperative will provide the initial funding to acquire the assets necessary to support the fleet going forward. In exchange, they will receive upgrades and ongoing support at the cost of operating the cooperative.
Eclipse Services and Support LLC will be affiliated with Linear Air to leverage Linear’s existing investment and expertise in the maintenance and operation of Eclipse 500 aircraft for charter and air-taxi. Linear Air is the only FAA-certified commercial operator of the Eclipse 500 on the east coast of the U.S. and has extensive experience maintaining
Justin Nihon Linear Air Phone: 978-451-0604 jnihon@linearair.comthe aircraft, training pilots and generating revenue from charter operations for its current base of Eclipse 500 owners.
“Despite the struggles of Eclipse Aviation Corporation, culminating in this Chapter 7 liquidation, it’s clear from our work at Linear Air that the Eclipse 500 VLJ is well-worth supporting and we believe the owners of the several hundred Eclipse 500’s in the fleet will agree” said Bill Herp, CEO of Linear Air. “We believe we can offer a unique set of expertise to owners by leading the formation of Eclipse Services and Support LLC as a cooperative of aircraft owners. The cooperative structure offers the best method for owners to receive the upgrades and support they need going forward at the least cost to them. We’re looking forward to building out the co-op as the Chapter 7 process progresses.”
About Linear Air
Based in Concord, Massachusetts, Linear Air provides point-to-point air taxi service with unprecedented service to more than 750 cities in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and eastern Canada. The Linear Air fleet includes three-passenger Eclipse 500 business jets and eight-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops. Linear Air is a FAA-certified part 135 charter operator that maintains a Gold safety rating from ARG/US, the leading independent safety auditor in the aviation industry. For more information, please visit www.linearair.com or call 1-877-2-LINEAR.
