Travel Agency Files Chapter 11 Petition

Bird Enterprises Inc., which claims to be Ventura County’s largest independently owned travel concern, has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

Chapter 11 is usually a reorganization effort in which the court must approve a company’s plan to pay off its creditors.

The petition, filed in Federal Bankruptcy Court in Santa Barbara, lists the company’s assets and debts at $100 million each.

But Maggie Bird, president of Bird Enterprises, called the move precautionary and maintained that her firm is not having financial problems.

“Actually, business has been pretty good,” she said. “Unfortunately, however, we have litigation pending with some major air carriers. Our attorney advised us to file the petition for our protection.”

Bird said her lawyer has advised her not to disclose the names of the airlines or the nature of the dispute.

Bird said all three of her agencies are operating normally and that all bills are being paid. The units are The Travel Mart in Port Hueneme, Esplanade World Travel in Oxnard and Travel World in Ventura.

Bird said her firm’s bookings exceeded $5 million last year and should amount to at least as much this year.