ExpressJet Airlines Goes Bankrupt in Wake of Split From United

ExpressJet Airlines, a small regional carrier that was once among the world’s biggest by fleet size, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware.

The airline suspended operations in 2020 when it lost a contract to fly for United Airlines Holdings Inc. but has since resumed flying. United owned almost half of ExpressJet before quietly divesting the stake earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported.

ExpressJet, based in Georgia, listed assets and liabilities of no more than $50 million each in its bankruptcy petition. The company’s largest unsecured debts include a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $10 million and a CARES Act loan of about $4 million, court papers show.

The company earlier this year hired Moore Colson, an accounting and financial advisory firm, to help it fix its financial and labor problems, Bloomberg News reported. The Chapter 11 filing allows ExpressJet to continue operating while it works on a plan to repay creditors.

ExpressJet operates Embraer ERJ145 regional jet aircraft. Its leisure brand, aha!, launched last year and is based in Reno.

ExpressJet didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday morning.

The case is ExpressJet Airlines LLC, 22-10787, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.