I did some due diligence on Songbird and Frank J. Visconti, its current President/CEO. He also happens to be the President/CEO of Xtra Airways, which has a fleet of 737-400 and 737-800 aircraft. If you visit the two websites below, you'll notice they're very similar, with a few minor differences. Logo colors are almost identical.
http://www.songbirdairways.com/
http://xtraairways.com/
While Frank is CEO of both companies, Xtra has a fleet of 10 aircraft, while Songbird currently has 1. Both companies can fly to international destinations. Both companies are owned by the same parent company (AerLine Holdings, LLC). A very interesting fact is that Xtra Airways was the company that Hillary Clinton used for her campaign. She chartered one of their 737-800 planes. You can look this up if you don't believe me, just go to Xtra's Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xtra_Airways
We may never know exactly why Frank and Aerline Holdings chose to sell Songbird to USGlobal, but my guess is that Xtra is doing quite well as a charter airline, so Songbird may be an unnecessary cost when they can focus instead on Xtra. However, I did find this, which may be the true reason after all:
Songbird, which has been in business for 25 years and formerly known as Sky King, was purchased by its existing shareholders following a successful reorganization from bankruptcy in November 2014. The company was started in 1980 by one of the founders of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, hence the former name Sky King. Songbird was found "fit, willing and able" in October 2014 by the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct supplement charter operations both domestically and internationally with up to ten aircraft. Following the change in ownership, the company rebranded itself as Songbird Airways.
Songbird operates a single 150-seat Boeing 737-400 passenger aircraft, and recently agreed to acquire a 230-seat Boeing 767-200ER. Songbird has seen a steady increase in business flying charters for casinos, sports teams, tour operators and to Cuba. "As soon as we decided to add the 767 we started receiving a significant number of offers to buy the airline from parties interested in flying everything from charters to scheduled service with a variety of aircraft types," commented Frank Visconti, Songbird's President & CEO. "We are analyzing a number of these offers to determine what is in the best interest of our employees and shareholders and will likely decide whether to divest, merge or stay the course over the next 30 days." [This was from an article in 2015, see link below.]
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/songb...47242.html
It was a very unique opportunity for Tony to acquire them, and I'm glad he capitalized on it. As far as we can tell, according to SEC filings and the recent PR, it seems like Songbird is clean as a whistle. Songbird's Part 121 is probably worth more having been sold than the income it generated as a company. However, in the hands of USGlobal, a Part 121 is very lucrative. Now it simply remains to be seen if the audit can get done by 09/15 and the remaining capital raised to finish the acquisition. Once these two items are completed, we can know with a reasonable amount of certainty that USGlobal will have a much easier time attracting large investors, considering how little debt they have and how the acquisition of Songbird was a cash deal, not a debt deal (in all likelihood).
It is also probably the case that Xtra will be a business partner with USGlobal because, according to the recent PR, it seems like Tony wants to operate Songbird without changing the name for the time being. Once larger aircraft are added, those will fly as USGlobal Airways. Smart idea, IMO. It's like a proof of principle sort of scenario, and if they can successfully charter the 737 and lease several more quickly (for either charter or short international flights) then we're golden.
On an unrelated note, if anyone is still looking for proof that Songbird has a Part 121, see here: Songbird Airways is a charter airline, operating Boeing 737 aircraft under Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 with roots dating back to the 1990's.
http://www.songbirdairways.com/new-page-1/
http://www.songbirdairways.com/
http://xtraairways.com/
While Frank is CEO of both companies, Xtra has a fleet of 10 aircraft, while Songbird currently has 1. Both companies can fly to international destinations. Both companies are owned by the same parent company (AerLine Holdings, LLC). A very interesting fact is that Xtra Airways was the company that Hillary Clinton used for her campaign. She chartered one of their 737-800 planes. You can look this up if you don't believe me, just go to Xtra's Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xtra_Airways
We may never know exactly why Frank and Aerline Holdings chose to sell Songbird to USGlobal, but my guess is that Xtra is doing quite well as a charter airline, so Songbird may be an unnecessary cost when they can focus instead on Xtra. However, I did find this, which may be the true reason after all:
Songbird, which has been in business for 25 years and formerly known as Sky King, was purchased by its existing shareholders following a successful reorganization from bankruptcy in November 2014. The company was started in 1980 by one of the founders of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, hence the former name Sky King. Songbird was found "fit, willing and able" in October 2014 by the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct supplement charter operations both domestically and internationally with up to ten aircraft. Following the change in ownership, the company rebranded itself as Songbird Airways.
Songbird operates a single 150-seat Boeing 737-400 passenger aircraft, and recently agreed to acquire a 230-seat Boeing 767-200ER. Songbird has seen a steady increase in business flying charters for casinos, sports teams, tour operators and to Cuba. "As soon as we decided to add the 767 we started receiving a significant number of offers to buy the airline from parties interested in flying everything from charters to scheduled service with a variety of aircraft types," commented Frank Visconti, Songbird's President & CEO. "We are analyzing a number of these offers to determine what is in the best interest of our employees and shareholders and will likely decide whether to divest, merge or stay the course over the next 30 days." [This was from an article in 2015, see link below.]
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/songb...47242.html
It was a very unique opportunity for Tony to acquire them, and I'm glad he capitalized on it. As far as we can tell, according to SEC filings and the recent PR, it seems like Songbird is clean as a whistle. Songbird's Part 121 is probably worth more having been sold than the income it generated as a company. However, in the hands of USGlobal, a Part 121 is very lucrative. Now it simply remains to be seen if the audit can get done by 09/15 and the remaining capital raised to finish the acquisition. Once these two items are completed, we can know with a reasonable amount of certainty that USGlobal will have a much easier time attracting large investors, considering how little debt they have and how the acquisition of Songbird was a cash deal, not a debt deal (in all likelihood).
It is also probably the case that Xtra will be a business partner with USGlobal because, according to the recent PR, it seems like Tony wants to operate Songbird without changing the name for the time being. Once larger aircraft are added, those will fly as USGlobal Airways. Smart idea, IMO. It's like a proof of principle sort of scenario, and if they can successfully charter the 737 and lease several more quickly (for either charter or short international flights) then we're golden.
On an unrelated note, if anyone is still looking for proof that Songbird has a Part 121, see here: Songbird Airways is a charter airline, operating Boeing 737 aircraft under Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 with roots dating back to the 1990's.
http://www.songbirdairways.com/new-page-1/
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