Ruan Offers $13 Million to Ailing AccessAir

Des Moines-based Ruan Inc. plans to provide the $13 million that AccessAir, which had provided daily service from LAX to the Midwest and New York, needs to resume passenger airline service. A reorganization plan filed last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Des Moines said Ruan would provide all the investment the start-up airline needs to resume commercial service. Julie Evans, an AccessAir spokeswoman, said the plan involved a “working relationship” with American Trans Air, a 26-year-old charter airline based in Indianapolis that flies to more than 400 destinations worldwide. If the plan is not approved at a bankruptcy court hearing Thursday, the airline will have to sell its assets and go out of business. Liquidating the company would generate $3.2 million, court papers said. AccessAir has two full-size passenger jets and would resume service from Des Moines to Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla. Plagued by low ridership after 10 months of operation, the airline filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Nov. 29. AccessAir’s court papers said the airline estimates its 1999 losses at $30 million.