Hawaiian Airlines files Chapter 11 bankruptcy HONOLULU (Reuters) =97 Hawaiian Airlines Inc. said Friday it filed for=20 Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to win lease concessions=20 from its aircraft lenders. The 73-year-old Honolulu-based carrier, the 12th= =20 largest in the United States, listed more than $100 million of assets and=20 more than $100 million of debts in its voluntary petition filed with the=20 U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii. Hawaiian, which has been= =20 trying to restructure for several months, said it hopes to exit bankruptcy= =20 in the fall. Its parent, Hawaiian Holdings Inc., did not file for=20 protection from creditors. "Despite our best efforts and extensive=20 negotiations...we have been unable to reach agreement with certain of our=20 aircraft lessors on reducing our lease rates to market levels," Chief=20 Executive John Adams said in a statement. The carrier "had no choice" but=20 to file Chapter 11, he said. The carrier listed Wells Fargo Bank as trustee as its largest unsecured=20 creditor, with a $10.3 million claim. Air travel has slumped because of the= =20 weak economy and war fears. United and U.S. Airways sought Chapter 11=20 protection last year, and analysts said others might follow. Colombian=20 airline Avianca and its U.S. unit filed for Chapter 11 on Friday. Hawaiian= =20 Airlines said on March 14 it had been seeking $15 million in lease=20 concessions from Boeing, the world's largest commercial aircraft maker. The= =20 company plans to have 16 wide-body 767-300ERs in its fleet this year. The=20 airline did not specify whether the Boeing leases were a factor in its=20 bankruptcy filing,. Boeing was not immediately available for comment. Talks= =20 with lessors will continue, Adams said. Hawaiian Airlines plans to honor=20 all tickets and pay vendors normally, and said the bankruptcy filing should= =20 not affect code-sharing agreements. Hawaiian shares traded Friday afternoon= =20 on the Nasdaq unchanged at $1.48. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.thehummingbirdonline.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************