| Hawkair asks for more time | to re-organize its finances THE COMPANY charged with re-arranging struggling air carrier Hawkair’s finances has asked a Supreme Court justice to extend its creditor protection to provide it with more time to come up with a plan. _ « Representatives from Campbell, Saunders Ltd. of Van- ‘couver said talks with major creditors are going well and ‘that a successful conclusion is anticipated. Hawkair received protection from creditors in October ‘and a first extension was granted in November. It’s second -request for an extension, this time for 60 days, was heard in _court Dec. 19. ‘- The company says a combination of high fuel prices, loan payments for the aircraft it flies and competition meant it could no longer pay its bills. OS ~In particular it must satisfy two companies, ‘Field Avia- tion and IMP Group Ltd., who lent Hawkair the money to buy the three Dash 8-100 aircraft it flies. Those loans stand at more than $12 million but in today’s market the aircraft ‘tare worth only approximately $7.5 million. Speaking i in advance of the court hearing, David Gray of Campbell, Saunders said talks with the two companies are progressing. “My sense is there are. good meaningful nego- ‘tiations underway,” he said, Reaching a deal with the two lending companies is cru- cial to Hawkair’s survival as the loan amounts form the vast majority of its obligations. Gray said an agreement with Field and IMP will lead to.a restructuring plan to be voted upon by the other creditors. “Creditors may be offered a variable return depending upon their willingness to defer payments for a period of time,” reads the Campbell, Saunders report filed with the court last week before the hearing. ~ Hawkair has already decided to pay back a $92, °370 loan “from the federal Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) by selling a Bristol freighter aircraft now on loan to. an Alberta museum. “The minimum sale price has been set at (US) $90,000 which would result in the BDC loan paid in full. The bro- ker believes the aircraft will sell for between $100,000 and ~ $300,000 within a three-month period,” the monitor’ s report ’ states. Selling the Bristol, a 1950s front-end loading aircraft, -would sever the company *s connection with its start in the mid-1990s as an air cargo company. It began passenger ser- vice between Terrace and Vancouver with one Dash 8-100 in September 2000, That was followed by expanding service to * Prince Rupert and then to northeastern B.C. and the acquisi- tion of more aircraft. % Service to Smithers was started but stopped as were flights to Prince George and to Victoria. Weight regs hamper airline HHAWKAIR MAY be forced into carrying fewer people ‘which in turn might cut the money it can earn per trip because - ‘of new federal weight restrictions. The Possibility stems from a Transport Canada regulation ‘which increases the weights for men and women that must ‘be used by airlines when calculating how much people and ‘freight they can carry. It’s particularly critical for aircraft ‘such as Hawkair’s Dash 8-100s because they ‘carry only 37 ‘people in the first place. Any reduction in the number of seats will cut the airline’ Ss ‘revenue, says Hawkair operations manager Garry Meier. , “If you knock off eight passengers at $400 each, that’s a ‘lot of money,” he said: The old weight for men was 188 pounds and for women _ it was 141 pounds. That’s now been increased to 200 pounds for men in the summer and 206 pounds in the winter to take. ‘into account winter clothing. For women the new weights are “165 pounds.in the summer and 171 pounds in the winter. “At these calculations we would have to restrict passenger ‘baggage to 20 pounds or take out seats,” said Meier based on .a Hawkair Dash 8 flying at full seating capacity. The new weight regulations came into effect in January -2005, but airlines such as Hawkair have been given time to= ‘come up with their own weights by weighing passengers ‘when they check in. “: Transport Canada will approve an airline’ s own weight ‘calculations if they come within guidelines. 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ASTTBC... a self-governing professional association of ~ 8,500 technology professionals, is promoting careers in technology. Check out ‘Shaping Our Future’, our € » wwwaasttbe, Org: 8 - January 12th + 13th quality where it counts ' * 4-800-663-0298 accentinns.com ‘Canadian owned and operated. o cy _ Victoria * Vancouver * Kamloops ° Kelowna The Best Years \( Oe opyoun likey Pere" EU RAE pase oR aE STN ts ay MATA Fe A OPUS CHAS DOA SCENES thE SS ones cree em Mare Pet ctr ann hee Sy and Anne Evans after surgery. \ beleive Alice Troelstra is back home after recouperating, —. and a rest in Terraceview Lodge. Jean Cunningham Is in Mills and quite ill. Cecilia McGladery some improved. Our President Cliff Best Is back -after several trips to Vancouver, and surgery down there, he says everything went well but he is still very weak. Barbara Nelson has been down with. “the Flu“ for a couple of weeks. For all those | have missed, sorry! “We wish you. all Season's greetings. and a> Mappy Healthy New Year - ; The month of November just seems to have disappeared, though a-bit chilly at times, over all it was a pretty good month weather wise. The beginning of the month, there was Pancake Breakfast and the Bazaar both successful, followed by the usual round of lunches, crib, Glee club, whist t etc. During the month there were at least two ‘special birthday parties, the first for Otto Lindstrom and one for Betty Campbell both beautifully set up and well attended. _ Our sick list has” been quite Jong. It is good to see Fern Gagnon back after a rest in ICU On Christmas morning, your wife cant believe it. She swears she'll wear it every day, for the rest.of her life. And she does. “You remember her eyes, and her tears. BORO “Your daughter tries it on for what must be the. - J,OOOth time. “But now its hers to keep. She swears to wear it forever -- and does. “It was my best gift ever? Mom always said as she began the story. ZOFG “Your granddaughter slides onto her finger that precious old . ring her Moms worn forever. "This was a very special gift Grandma got from Grandpa’ Mom would ay. And as she slips it on, she feels a history coming alive . | 635-5225 -Lazelle Mini Mall arial be Ol te Se od et Sey The Metis Christmas Party was &) held on December 10, 2005 and {| we would like to announce the _ winners in our Christmas raffle, First prize of the Metis quilt _ was won by Inez Dahl of | Prince George. his month we have chosen Vicki Nordstrum. Vicki was born in Terrace and took her schooling “here. She was one of the younger members of a fairly. large family. Her Father and several .. Uncles came this way from the Northern United ‘States, prospecting and looking for land, liked. the area, and her father settled on the banks . of the Skeena River, where she still lives. After a couple of years her mother and | believe, - five older children joined him. One of her older | brothers was Joe Hipp, he and his wife Olga were very active members of the Happy Gang for years and some of our best Carpet Bowlers. Vicki works in the kitchen, plays crib, she is a quiet, always smiling member. °o S second prize of a 20 minute "helicopter ride for 4 was won by Gena Williamson of Hazelton. ' The fine jewelry you give your wife this Christmas is -only' the beginning of its magical journey of touching _ womens lives. So give the best to your wife . . . and to those other special women in your life. “Third prize of a DVD player was won by Amy Leclerc of Terrace. Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to all the people who pougit tickets. sh i ie ae ae ae