SATSair forced to halt operations
October 24, 2009 by Alton K. Marsh, Senior Editor, AOPA Pilot
SATSair, an air taxi operation based in Greenville, South Carolina, has halted operations “due to circumstances.” A recorded message indicates operations are unavailable “…October 24, 25, 26 and beyond.” The company had a fleet of 26 Cirrus Design SR22 aircraft. The suspension of services was not totally unexpected. Reports from sources in the Greenville area indicate five of the aircraft had been repossessed and did not have engines. Some of those may have been sold. Another report indicates 10 additional aircraft are sitting on the ramp without engines.
Callers to the company’s maintenance operation were referred to the SATSair office which did not answer. A third source said many of the aircraft had “timed out,” referring to the engines, and were awaiting not only engines but an upgrade to the newest aircraft systems now available in newer SR22s. Company officials were not available to confirm the information.
AOPA Pilot reported in 2006 that SATSair had placed 50 firm orders for SR22 aircraft, and held options for an additional 50 aircraft.
Tags: Cirrus Design, SATSair
November 4th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hi!!!
I have a client who still has a number of hours (around 30 hours) remaining with SATSAir.. Do you have any idea who will be covering this expense of his?? The value is around 15,000 to 20,000.00 dollars.
Thank you for your reply.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I’m sorry, I have no idea. I did see one report that the company hopes to continue. I have not had a return call from the company.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
In light of the economy and sparse sources of business capital, it seems unlikely that they will mount a successful recovery. Prepaid hours holders are probably in the “unsecured creditor” category; i.e., not much hope to see that money again.
It surprises me that someone would prepay $15,000; their weak financial situation was not a secret.