Miami's Arrow Cargo closes, cites debt, rising fuel bills as cause

MIAMI's largest air freight carrier, Arrow Air Holdings, better known as Arrow Cargo, has closed shop having laid off several hundred employees and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it liquidates assets.

"Like many companies in our industry, Arrow Air has experienced significant operating losses as a result of increasing operating costs and declining revenues," the company said in a statement.

"The decision to wind down the company's scheduled service operations was a difficult one. This decision was not made lightly, and was a last resort after the company exhaustively searched for other options including financing or a sale of the business," said the statement.

Arrow has a fleet of DC-10s and Boeing 757 narrow-body aircraft which served the United States, the Caribbean, and South and Central America.

It reported US$72 million in debt. The airline blamed high fuel costs last year for creating an operating deficit from which it never recovered, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Arrow said it will maintain its operating authority and could be available for charter flights in the event a purchaser can be found in bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg News.
(Source:www.schednet.com)