In re US Airways Group, Inc.

Full title: In re: US AIRWAYS GROUP, INC., et al., Chapter 11, Debtors

Court: United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria Division

Date published: Mar 2, 2003

Case No. 02-83984-SSM, (Jointly Administered) (Bankr. E.D. Va. Mar. 2, 2003)

Opinion

Case No. 02-83984-SSM, (Jointly Administered)

March 2, 2003

ORDER

STEPHEN S. MITCHELL, United States Bankruptcy Judge

Upon consideration of the Debtors' Motion Seeking (1) A Determination That They Satisfy the Financial Requirements for a Distress Termination of the Retirement Income Plan for Pilots of US Airways, Inc., and Approval of Such Pension Plan's Termination and (2) Approval of a New Defined Contribution Plan for Pilots (Doc. #2204), the objections thereto, the evidence taken and arguments presented in open court on February 21, February 24, February 28, and March 1, 2003, and for the reasons stated orally on the record at the conclusion of the hearing, it is

ORDERED:

1. The motion is granted in part and denied in part.

2. The court finds that the financial requirements set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 1341(c)(2)(B)(ii)(IV) for a distress termination of the Retirement Income Plan for Pilots of US Airways, Inc. ("the Plan"), have been met, and in particular, that unless the Plan is terminated, the debtors will be unable to pay all of their debts pursuant to a plan of reorganization and will be unable to continue in business outside the chapter 11 reorganization process.

3. The court declines to make a ruling as to whether the termination of the plan would violate the collective bargaining agreement between the debtors and the Air Line Pilots Association.

4. The court approves termination of the Plan, subject to a determination, under the arbitration procedures established by the collective bargaining agreement and the Railway Labor Act, that the proposed termination does not violate the collective bargaining agreement between the debtors and the Air Line Pilots Association.

5. If the Plan is terminated, the debtors are authorized to establish, effective as of the date of termination, a follow-on defined contribution retirement plan for the pilots of US Airways, Inc., on terms consistent with the letter agreement of December 13, 2003, between the debtors and the Air Line Pilots Association. This order is not intended to limit the right of the parties to negotiate the terms of a follow-on plan but simply to eliminate the need for the debtors to return to this court for approval if the terms are consistent with the letter agreement.

6. The court reserves the right to supplement its oral ruling with written findings of fact and conclusions of law.