FLOAT Alaska LLC: 363 Sale and Insider DIP

FLOAT Alaska LLC, the parent of regional carrier Ravn Alaska and charter operator New Pacific Airlines, filed chapter 11 on January 26, 2026 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The debtors listed estimated assets between $1 million and $10 million and estimated liabilities between $10 million and $50 million, and said the filing seeks a section 363 sale of substantially all assets while leaving open a sponsor-backed plan path if a bid materializes. In its first day declaration, management said the group had already ceased operations on November 26, 2025 after a missed charter payment created a payroll shortfall, leaving limited liquidity to fund a sale process.

The case combines a regional air carrier, a charter-only Boeing 757 operator, and a blockchain-based loyalty platform under one holding structure. The debtors said their Anchorage hub plan was disrupted by airspace closures, and that the 2022 crypto market collapse undercut FlyCoin's partner network and banking relationships. They also described pilot shortages and new competition in key Alaska routes, factors that contributed to losses and route reductions in the months before the shutdown. Those dynamics now frame a sale process financed by an insider DIP facility with milestones tied to a 363 timetable and aircraft dispositions.

Debtor(s)	FLOAT Alaska LLC (lead debtor) and six affiliates including Corvus Alaska Holdings Inc., FLOAT Alaska Holdings LLC, FLOAT Alaska IP LLC, New Pacific Airlines, Inc., FlyCoin, Inc., and FLOAT Shuttle Inc. first day declaration
Primary Brands	Ravn Alaska; New Pacific Airlines; FlyCoin first day declaration
Industry	Regional aviation, charter airline, travel technology first day declaration
Petition Date	January 26, 2026
Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware
Case Number	26-10075 (CTG) voluntary petition
Judge	Craig T. Goldblatt voluntary petition
Assets (est.)	$1 million to $10 million
Liabilities (est.)	$10 million to $50 million
DIP Facility	Proposed $3.23 million term loan from Jones Holding LLC, with interim funding and roll-up of secured debt, priced at 5.00% over WSJ Prime DIP financing motion
Claims Agent	Stretto claims and noticing agent application

Restructuring

The debtors state that they intend to run a section 363 process for substantially all assets while remaining open to a going-concern transaction or a plan sponsor if one emerges. The strategy is described in the first day declaration and mirrors reporting that the filing seeks a rapid asset sale but leaves reorganization on the table if a bidder appears. In practice, the relief requested in the early filings focuses on financing the sale, preserving remaining asset value, and keeping the estate operational while the marketing process unfolds.

DIP facility structure. The debtors seek a term loan facility of up to $3.23 million from Jones Holding LLC, an insider and prepetition secured lender. The DIP financing motion lists pricing at 5.00% over the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate, with a default premium of 2.00%, and a maturity tied to the earliest of May 22, 2026, plan effectiveness, dismissal or conversion, or termination and acceleration events. The facility includes a roll-up of prepetition secured obligations, with an interim roll-up and a further roll-up at final order, and grants DIP liens on substantially all assets, subject to a carve-out. The motion also specifies adequate protection for the prepetition secured lender in the form of replacement liens and superpriority claims junior to DIP liens and the carve-out.

Funding cadence and fees. The debtors request interim funding of $250,000, plus an additional $400,000 after a guarantor mortgage condition, with the balance available upon entry of a final order. The DIP financing motion also describes a 2.50% upfront fee on the commitment amount, payable in kind initially and in cash at maturity. The DIP declaration states the debtors had about $184,200 in cash at the petition date and projected that cash net of accrued administrative costs would be effectively zero within a week without DIP proceeds. That filing also estimates that $3.23 million in funding is required to run the sale process and cover administrative expenses, and that approximately $411,600 was needed to bridge to the petition date.

Milestones and sale process. The proposed financing includes a requirement that an interim DIP order be entered within two business days of the petition date and that a sale of substantially all assets be approved within 60 days of filing. The DIP financing motion also references a Boeing 757 sale process targeted to conclude within the later of 75 days after the petition date or 90 days after an agreement with NFS Capital. In the first day declaration, management identified Sage Popovich, Inc. as the sales agent for aircraft and Sherwood Partners, Inc. as the firm coordinating the broader asset sales process and evaluating going-concern alternatives.

Only proposal received. The debtors reported that they contacted 27 parties in a search for financing and received only the Jones Holding proposal. That statement appears in the DIP declaration, which also describes Jones Holding as the prepetition lender and majority shareholder. The insider nature of the DIP sets the context for the proposed roll-up, the collateral package, and the accelerated milestones. The filings indicate that the debtors view the facility as the only viable bridge to a near-term sale process.

Milestone pressure and sale optionality. The DIP financing motion ties funding to a compressed timetable, including entry of an interim order within two business days of the petition date, bid procedures and sale approval on a roughly 60-day path, and a parallel Boeing 757 disposition track. The first day declaration emphasizes that the debtors shut down operations in late November 2025 and lacked liquidity to fund even a short runway, which is why the case is framed around a section 363 sale while keeping open the possibility of a sponsor-backed plan if a credible bidder appears. That combination of limited cash, insider funding, and hard milestones effectively front-loads the marketing and diligence work for the aircraft, operating certificates, and IP that underpin value in both the aviation and loyalty platform lines of business.

Business Overview and Corporate Structure

FLOAT Alaska LLC is the operating company for Ravn Alaska, a regional carrier that provides service across the state and in rural communities. The debtors said Ravn's operations are focused on essential air service routes in Alaska, leveraging assets acquired out of the 2020 Ravn Air Group bankruptcy. That acquisition included the FAA Part 121 operating certificate and aircraft, enabling service to resume in late 2020. The relaunch context is reflected in reports that FLOAT Shuttle paid an $8 million purchase price for operating certificates and aircraft, and that Ravn resumed service after FAA approval in October 2020.

Ravn Alaska. The current case traces back to that acquisition. The debtors said Ravn's route network emphasized essential air service and regional connectivity, and the broader market for Alaska air service depends heavily on subsidized routes and small community access. The Alaska Aviation System Plan reports that 82% of Alaska communities are not connected to the road system and rely on aviation, with regional carriers providing 88% of air service. Those data points provide context for why Ravn's operations are considered a critical link for rural communities and for why route reductions can have outsized effects in the state.

FLOAT Shuttle Inc. FLOAT Shuttle was formed to operate short-haul urban air mobility flights in Southern California. Alaska Public Media reported that the company was founded to fly Los Angeles commuters over traffic and that it acquired Ravn assets as a result of the 2020 bankruptcy auction. The first day declaration says FLOAT Shuttle launched service in February 2020 and paused shortly after due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, a timeline that aligns with the startup's initial vision of urban commuter flights and the abrupt shutdown of early operations.

New Pacific Airlines. New Pacific Airlines, originally branded as Northern Pacific, was intended to run transpacific flights using Boeing 757-200 aircraft, with Anchorage as a connecting hub for Asia-U.S. traffic. Industry coverage described a model that would connect Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, and Seoul with a U.S. destination list, and noted that the airline acquired six secondhand Boeing 757-200s for the launch. The carrier later rebranded after a trademark injunction in August 2023 and shifted to domestic scheduled service, before ending scheduled operations and transitioning to charter-only flights in 2024. The first day declaration confirms the shift away from scheduled service and the eventual reliance on charter operations. By 2025, New Pacific was operating three Boeing 757-200s in an all-business-class configuration and flying charter missions only.

FlyCoin. FlyCoin, Inc. sits alongside the airline operations as a blockchain-based loyalty platform. Reports in 2022 described FlyCoin as a crypto points program that raised a $33 million seed round and marketed itself as the first crypto frequent flier program. Coverage also noted that the FLY token was minted on the Ethereum blockchain and that the company planned to expand beyond Ravn to other travel partners. The Points Guy reported that Ravn launched FlyCoin in June 2021, that travelers earned the equivalent of 7 cents per mile with a $10 minimum per flight, and that tokens redeemed toward Ravn flights at a fixed 2-cent per token rate. By February 2022, about 200,000 accounts had been credited. The first day declaration describes FlyCoin as a loyalty platform designed to expand beyond Ravn, but also notes that its business model faced severe disruption during the 2022 crypto downturn.

Path to Bankruptcy: Converging Shock Events

The debtors' filings outline a multi-factor decline rather than a single triggering event. The decline begins with a strategic aviation plan that relied on transpacific routing over Russian airspace, then moves through a crypto downturn that undercut the loyalty platform, and ends with a liquidity crisis following charter losses and a missed payment. The combined narrative is reflected in the first day declaration, which identifies specific operational and market events across 2022 to 2025.

Russian airspace closure and the transpacific plan. In 2022, Russia closed its airspace to airlines from 36 nations in response to bans on Russian carriers. NPR reported the timing and scope of those closures and noted that the restrictions disrupted established routes. IATA reported that the resulting airspace closures forced carriers to reroute flights and increase fuel consumption. The first day declaration states that the debtors' transpacific model was derailed by the Russian airspace closure and that the airline lacked ETOPS certification, preventing its planned routing alternatives. The combination of restricted airspace and certification gaps meant that the Anchorage hub model for Northern Pacific could not proceed as designed.

Crypto crash and FlyCoin disruptions. FlyCoin's loyalty model launched into an industry downturn. NPR's 2022 recap described the crypto market's decline and the cascade of failures involving Terra/Luna, Voyager, Celsius, and FTX. A Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago report placed the market-cap decline at $2.9 trillion to $798 billion by end-2022 and estimated nearly $2 trillion in consumer and investor losses. In the first day declaration, management said the crypto crash disrupted FlyCoin's partner relationships and banking arrangements. The filings link that disruption to FlyCoin's stalled rollout and its loss of traction with potential airline partners.

Pilot shortages and competitive entry. The debtors also cited labor constraints and competitive pressure in Alaska. A local news report noted that Alaska carriers were struggling to recruit pilots and that Ravn had expanded recruiting and offered retention bonuses. The Regional Airline Association reported that major airlines hired more pilots than were newly qualified in 2022, with a shortfall and hundreds of regional jets grounded by spring 2023. The first day declaration adds that Aleutian Airways entered the Dutch Harbor market in 2022, intensifying competition in a key route and contributing to high attrition in pilot ranks. The same first day declaration reported that pilot attrition reached roughly 80% over a year, highlighting how labor shortages translated into operational instability.

Route pullbacks and sustained losses. The filings describe route reductions in Alaska and losses in the 757 business. The first day declaration says Ravn ended service to Kenai and King Salmon in fall 2023 and that New Pacific's scheduled 757 operations were losing money before the shift to charter flights. Those losses narrowed the runway for a sale or recapitalization.

Charter losses and shutdown. By late 2025, New Pacific's charter work with Private Jet Services produced losses on each flight due to incidental and extraordinary costs, according to the first day declaration. A missed PJS payment of $315,187.50 on November 25, 2025 caused a payroll shortfall and led the debtors to halt operations on November 26, 2025. The filing explains that after the shutdown, the debtors pursued a structured liquidation and a sale process under court protection.

Operations, Assets, and Market Context

Ravn Alaska's operations have historically been tied to Alaska's geographic isolation and the Essential Air Service system. The Department of Transportation reports that the EAS program was created to guarantee air service to communities that were served before deregulation, and the Alaska Aviation System Plan notes that 82% of Alaska communities are not connected to the road system. These facts provide context for why a regional carrier can be central to rural connectivity and why route reductions can have broader effects beyond the carrier's immediate financials.

Essential air service scale. The Department of Transportation reports that EAS subsidizes service to 65 Alaska communities and 112 communities in the contiguous states, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, with 177 communities receiving $591.7 million in subsidies in 2024. The Alaska Aviation System Plan reports that Alaska alone received more than $41 million in EAS subsidies in 2024. These figures provide scale for the subsidy structure that underpins many regional routes and helps explain the sensitivity of Alaska operators to changes in subsidy levels and contract awards. Regional service footprint. The earlier Ravn Air Group bankruptcy case provides a reference point for the scale of the business and the asset base that FLOAT acquired in 2020. The debtors said they reactivated the FAA Part 121 certificate and restarted service for a subset of those routes, with a focus on essential air service and medical travel.

Ravn Alaska shutdown context. By August 2025, Ravn Alaska was facing fleet reductions and lease disruptions. Airways Magazine reported that the carrier operated its final flight on August 5, 2025 and attributed the shutdown to Avmax declining to extend Dash 8 leases, which led to a sudden fleet reduction. The same reporting noted that Ravn's network had shrunk to six destinations by early 2025, compared with a peak of more than 115 destinations. The first day declaration links the shutdown to lease repossessions and shortfalls in essential air service subsidies.

New Pacific's charter fleet. New Pacific's fleet centered on Boeing 757-200 aircraft configured for all-business-class charter service. Aerospace Global News reported that New Pacific operated three 757-200s in a 78-seat configuration and that the airline shifted to charter-only operations in April 2024. That coverage also noted a permanent shutdown on November 26, 2025 and reported that 564 Boeing 757s remained on operator registries in late 2024, underscoring the limited commercial role for the aircraft type. The first day declaration describes the charter program and the losses associated with it, while the DIP financing motion ties the sale timetable to a near-term Boeing 757 sale process.

Asset base and sale focus. The debtors' asset base includes aircraft, engines, operating certificates, and intellectual property. The 2020 Ravn acquisition included the corporate name, Part 121 certificates, and the primary hangar and training facility in Anchorage. That asset base now underpins the contemplated 363 sale, with the debtors retaining Sage Popovich as aircraft sales agent and Sherwood Partners as the sale coordinator. The sale process is designed to monetize both aviation and non-aviation assets within a compressed timeline.

Capital Structure and Creditor Landscape

The debtors' capital structure is dominated by secured aircraft financing and insider debt, with unsecured trade and convertible note claims forming the remainder. The first day declaration provides the most complete summary of these obligations, and the DIP motion frames the roll-up and collateral priorities for the proposed financing.

Facility / Creditor	Amount	Notes
NFS Capital	~$22.4 million	Secured by three Boeing 757 aircraft and four engines. first day declaration
Jones Holding secured notes	~$11.3 million principal	Prepetition secured promissory notes as of the petition date. first day declaration
Insider convertible notes	~ $22 million	Held by Josh Jones and family trusts. first day declaration
General unsecured creditors	$10 million+	Trade creditors and New Pacific convertible noteholders. first day declaration
Large unsecured claims (examples)	$778,000 to $1.6 million	Includes VT San Antonio Aerospace, Cephas Trust, Lone Star Friends Trust, Intelsat Alliance. top 30 list

Secured debt and collateral. The largest secured obligations relate to the Boeing 757 fleet and prepetition insider lending. The first day declaration places NFS Capital's secured aircraft debt at approximately $22.4 million as of January 16, 2026 and lists prepetition secured promissory notes owed to Jones Holding at $11.3 million principal. The debtors also reported that Jones had forgiven more than $50 million in secured and unsecured debt owed by New Pacific Airlines as of December 31, 2024, which reduced the funded debt burden at the operating subsidiary but did not eliminate the overall liquidity constraints at the group level.

Unsecured trade and note exposure. The debtors listed general unsecured creditors in excess of $10 million, composed largely of trade claims and convertible noteholders tied to New Pacific Airlines. The top 30 unsecured creditors list includes VT San Antonio Aerospace, Cephas Trust, Lone Star Friends Trust, and Intelsat Alliance. Those claims anchor the top end of the unsecured pool, while the remainder is dispersed across vendors and service providers tied to charter and regional operations.

Equity and insider dynamics. Jones Holding and related parties also occupy key roles in the capital structure, serving as the prepetition secured lender, DIP lender, and a major equity holder. The DIP declaration describes the outreach to 27 potential lenders and notes that Jones Holding's proposal was the only formal offer. That insider dynamic is reflected in the proposed roll-up and in the milestone-driven sale process, which would define the path for recoveries across the creditor stack.

First-Day Motions and Operating Relief

The first-day package focuses on financing, cash management, insurance, and employee-related relief designed to preserve the estate while the sale process begins. The motions also reflect the fact that the debtors ceased operations before filing, which limits near-term operating complexity but still requires funding to preserve assets and complete an orderly sale.

Cash management. The debtors seek authority to continue their prepetition cash management system and existing bank accounts, including accounts at JPMorgan and Column N.A. The cash management motion lists six accounts across the debtor group, notes that several are inactive due to the shutdown, and requests authority to open or close accounts as needed under U.S. Trustee depository requirements. The motion also seeks a 30-day extension to comply with section 345(b) for Column N.A. accounts and authority to pay up to $1,000 in prepetition bank fees.

Insurance coverage. The insurance motion requests authority to maintain existing aviation insurance programs and pay premium financing obligations. The debtors estimate annual premiums of about $582,950 and seek interim authority to pay up to $10,000 on covered policies. The motion also lists prepetition obligations on terminated policies but notes that the debtors are not seeking authority to pay those amounts as part of the interim relief.

Wages and benefits. The debtors reported that operations ceased on November 26, 2025 and that roughly 115 employees were laid off at the shutdown. The wages and benefits motion seeks interim authority to pay up to $61,000 in prepetition wages and benefits and a final cap of $126,000. The motion estimates monthly payroll taxes of about $12,000 for a reduced workforce, ADP payroll processing fees of $15,000 in the interim period, and health coverage stipends of $8,500 per month for remaining employees. It also budgeted $80,000 in healthcare run-off claims through March 31, 2026 and $31,000 for 401(k) true-up and administrative costs.

Claims agent. The debtors requested that Stretto be appointed as claims and noticing agent. The claims and noticing agent application details Stretto's role in maintaining the official claims register and serving case notices. The application is typically the source for claims agent disclosures in a first-day package, and it supports the claims-agent FAQ in the section below.

Key Timeline

Date	Event
Feb 2020	FLOAT Shuttle launched Southern California operations and paused shortly after due to COVID-19 orders. first day declaration
Feb 2022	Russian airspace closure disrupted transpacific routing plans. airspace closures
Aug 2023	Northern Pacific rebranded as New Pacific after a trademark injunction. rebranded as New Pacific
Apr 2024	New Pacific ended scheduled service and shifted to charter-only operations. charter-only operations
Aug 2025	Ravn Alaska ceased operations after fleet lease disruptions. final flight
Nov 25-26, 2025	Missed charter payment led to payroll shortfall and shutdown. first day declaration
Jan 26, 2026	Chapter 11 petitions filed in Delaware. voluntary petition

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did FLOAT Alaska file for chapter 11?

The debtors cite a combination of operational and market shocks, including Russian airspace closures that undermined the transpacific strategy, a 2022 crypto market collapse that disrupted FlyCoin's partner and banking relationships, labor constraints tied to regional pilot shortages, competitive entry in key Alaska routes, and sustained operating losses that culminated in a missed charter payment and payroll shortfall on November 25-26, 2025. These reasons are laid out in the first day declaration and supported by reporting on the airspace ban, the 2022 crypto crash, and the broader pilot shortage.

When did FLOAT Alaska file for bankruptcy and where is the case pending?

FLOAT Alaska and six affiliates filed chapter 11 on January 26, 2026 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The lead case is docketed as 26-10075, as shown in the voluntary petition.

What is the restructuring plan?

The debtors are pursuing a section 363 sale of substantially all assets, while remaining open to a going-concern transaction or a plan sponsor if one emerges. That stated approach appears in the first day declaration and aligns with reporting that the filing seeks an orderly asset sale while preserving optionality for a reorganization alternative.

Is there DIP financing?

Yes. The debtors seek approval of a $3.23 million term-loan DIP facility from Jones Holding LLC. The DIP financing motion provides the key terms, including pricing at 5.00% over WSJ Prime, a roll-up of prepetition secured debt, and milestones tied to a rapid 363 sale process.

How large are the claims and who are major creditors?

The debtors listed asset estimates of $1 million to $10 million and liability estimates of $10 million to $50 million. The first day declaration identifies secured debt of about $22.4 million to NFS Capital and $11.3 million in Jones Holding secured notes, along with insider convertible notes of roughly $22 million and general unsecured claims exceeding $10 million. The top 30 list reflects unsecured claims in the $778,000 to $1.6 million range.

What happened to Ravn Alaska and New Pacific operations?

Ravn Alaska ceased operations in August 2025 after fleet lease disruptions and service reductions, while New Pacific ended scheduled service in April 2024 and shifted to charter-only operations. The timing is reflected in the Ravn shutdown coverage and the first day declaration, which connects the operational wind-down to the missed charter payment and groupwide shutdown in late November 2025.

Who is the claims agent for FLOAT Alaska?

Stretto serves as the claims and noticing agent. The firm maintains the official claims register and distributes case notifications to creditors and parties in interest.

Read more restructuring updates on the ElevenFlo blog.