Markair Pilots Try To Rescue Airline

Financially troubled MarkAir Inc. has grounded itself, but the airline’s pilots have requested an emergency court hearing in an attempt to salvage the company.

In a telephone recording, Christopher Paul, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association master executive council, says the union’s attorneys, the unsecured creditors committee and committee members will fight MarkAir’s liquidation in bankruptcy court.

MarkAir, which became Denver’s only long-haul discount carrier when it moved from Anchorage, Alaska, in June, was operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy since April. The company on Tuesday said it would convert the bankruptcy to a Chapter 7, which would allow it to liquidate its assets.

MarkAir shut down after The Boeing Co. decided to repossess two of the airline’s four jets.