We are pleased to be able to announce today that North American Airlines has reached an agreement to sell its assets supporting NAA’s Dulles operations to Omni Air International. The transaction meets our goals of realizing the most value from North American’s assets, providing continued employment to as many North American employees as possible, and giving the end customer the smoothest possible transition between operators. We expect the transaction to close this summer.
As you know, the North American and Global teams have been working for months to create a sale that unlocked North American Airlines’ highest and best value. That value was reduced by the military’s dramatic reductions in flying over the past year and Cerberus’ cutting NAA’s funding last month. In response to those changes, NAA transitioned to a single product line – its cash-flow positive Dulles flying. We worked closely with NAA’s customer to keep this flying funded while we pursued a sale of some kind.
Several possible buyers emerged during the past several weeks. Omni won because its offer provided the best ability to close a deal, the best value in the deal, because it preserved jobs, and because it met our customer’s requirements. The deal we’ve signed with Omni provides us much needed liquidity, giving us the ability to meet many of our obligations to our people and our other stakeholders. We began discussions with ALPA over the weekend to ensure we meet our obligations to our pilots.
As part of this transaction we’ve negotiated with Cerberus to keep 3% of the net proceeds from the sale of all NAA and Global assets, if the bankruptcy court approves. We will use these funds for healthcare expenses that were unpaid due to the abrupt closure of the healthcare plans on March 31, 2014. We are working now on how that plan will work.
We’ve also negotiated with Cerberus to keep 2% of the net proceeds to be used as an employee incentive plan. Like the 3% dollars above, the bankruptcy court has to approve this plan. If it does, we will allocate these dollars to non-executive employees who are currently active and part of the transition period.
Omni has agreed to a “first look” process to hire as many NAA people as practicable. Omni’s “first look” process will move NAA applicants to the front of the Omni hiring queue for the next 24 months.
To facilitate a smooth transition in operations, Omni intends to hire as many of the following AECOM security cleared NAA personnel as practicable:
· flight attendants;
· aircraft technicians;
· ground support reps; and
· IAD based administrative staff.
Omni also needs to fill 26 pilot openings within the next 90 days, and will provide “first look” preferential interviews to all NAA pilots for the next 24 months. Our PTC based employees are also eligible for first look preferential interviews during the next 24 months.
The Omni career page is
Omni Air International - Employment Admin.
Omni has set up a process for North American’s people to access the first look process directly. If you want to apply for a position with the Omni team, go to the web site above and find the position you are interested in. Send an email containing the following information to
[email protected]<mailto:
[email protected]>:
· Your full name
· Your telephone number and email address
· Your resume
· The title of the position you want to be considered for
Omni’s process routes your email directly into their HR system for review and follow up. Omni’s commitment to hire employees is subject to the normal hiring process including drug screens and background checks.
A sale of a portion of North American’s assts is not a sale of the airline. Like so many of the choices we’ve faced recently, this transaction had to strike a balance – we needed to be able to close a deal in the time we had available, given our very limited cash resources, at the best price we could get; we needed to keep as many jobs as we possibly could; and we needed to keep our customer’s and lender’s support if any transaction was going to work.
We’ve done those things, and we’ve been able to do them because of the exceptional professionalism, hard work and customer focus of North American Airlines’ people. If you had not created the remarkable performance history for this customer that you have, this deal would never have happened.
The agreement with Cerberus and the Letter of Intent with Omni will be filed in the courts today, and we are requesting a hearing as quickly as possible. The Cerberus agreement will also include some of the terms of the sale of certain assets to Omni.
We have weeks of work in front of us to make this transaction successful. In coming days we will know more about next steps, transition and timing, and will make sure you all know how the process will work.
A successful transition is key to maintaining a future for as many of our people as possible. You have made this outcome possible, and it is critical that you continue performing during the transition. Please keep NAA’s outstanding service record intact. That ensures a future for all those we can.
Jim Casbarro,
SVP and COO
North American Airlines, Inc.
John Graber
CEO
Global Aviation Holdings Inc.
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