Pinnacle Airlines Corporation (Memphis) has announced a leadership transition under which John Spanjers, currently chief operating officer of the company, will succeed Sean Menke as chief executive officer, effective on June 1, 2012. Spanjers has been COO at Pinnacle since September 2011, and was president of Mesaba Aviation prior to joining Pinnacle.
According to the company, Menke has chosen to resign from the company on June 1 and will work closely with Spanjers and the other members of Pinnacle’s leadership team to support a seamless transition over the next five weeks. Pinnacle does not anticipate this transition will impact the timeline of the company’s Chapter 11 proceedings or Pinnacle’s ability to successfully restructure and emerge from Chapter 11.
Sean Menke was the former CEO of Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver).
As of Menke’s departure on June 1, Pinnacle expects to have achieved a number of important restructuring objectives during the initial 60 days of its Chapter 11 proceedings, including having:
- Renegotiated key business agreements with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and EDC;
- Obtained final approval of its debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing;
- Completed the Section 1110 aircraft process;
- Received final court approval of its “First Day motions” to help the company continue to operate in the ordinary course; and,
- Initiated a collegial and collaborative relationship with the Unsecured Creditors Committee and its advisors.
Read the analysis of the move by Bloomberg Businessweek: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough.
Delta Connection-Pinnacle Slide Show: CLICK HERE