Bankruptcy is seldom considered a positive development, but One Aviation CEO Alan Klapmeier told AIN the company’s recent Chapter 11 filing represents “very good news toward building a stronger company.

“Many people view exiting bankruptcy as the end result of this process,” he continued. “We're trying to take a very ethical and logical approach to having a successful business in the future. This is all about the future.”

Court documents indicate through June 2018 the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company held $222 million in assets, against liabilities totaling approximately $256 million. The company will remain in business through the bankruptcy process, pending subsequent court decisions and aided by approximately $18 million from Citiking International US LLC, a Delaware-based investment entity backed by several unnamed Chinese interests.

"[Citiking] is investing in what they expect will be their company," Klapmeier said. "They believe aviation will be an extremely large market in the future for China.”

One question still unanswered is the fate of the Kestrel K350 turboprop that Klapmeier brought to the One Aviation merger in 2015. The subsidiary faces lawsuits in Wisconsin and Maine over various state and municipal incentives tied to hiring numbers that never materialized, but Klapmeier emphasized he “still believe[s] in the Kestrel.”