Legend Airlines Files for Bankruptcy

D A L L A S, Dec. 4 -- Legend Airlines announced Sunday that it has filed for bankruptcy. The announcement came one day after the struggling airline shut down operations after losing $44.7 million since 1996.

T. Allan McArtor, Legend’s president and chief executive officer said, “Filing for Chapter 11 will facilitate our reorganization process. We are doing our best to assemble the necessary resources to get our airline back in the air with service for our customers.”

Legend had to fight a three-year legal battle just to get off the ground.

American and the city of Fort Worth tried to block Legend’s long-haul service from Love Field in Dallas, citing restrictions approved by Congress to protect Dallas-Fort Worth International. Legend won in court, however, and began flying from Love Field on April 5th.

McArtor, a former director of the Federal Aviation Administration, said the airline was hurt by high costs of fuel and retrofitting its planes.

He declined to identify potential sources of a cash infusion. He did not rule out selling the airline but said he hoped to avoid that option.