Ultimate Jet LLC, the holding company for Ultimate Jetcharters LLC, the private jet charter company based at Akron-Canton Airport in Green, Ohio, has joined its operating unit in bankruptcy court, the Cleveland Business Journal reported. Late last week, Ultimate Jet filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Akron. As was true for Ultimate Jetcharter's bankruptcy filing in October, the charter airline intends to keep operating as usual while its holding company restructures in bankruptcy court. Ultimate Jet "is an associated entity with Ultimate Jetcharters, and the matters are related," the company's president and CEO, Stephen West, said in an emailed response to questions. "Ultimate Jetcharters is still conducting business as usual." Ultimate Jetcharters filed for bankruptcy protection in October "to address challenges from the previous management group," West said at the time. Those challenges include at least $10 million in debt for which Ultimate Jetcharters became responsible after the airline's founder, John Gordon, sold a controlling interest in the company in early 2020, according to a bankruptcy court filing by CEO West. Through his investment company, Wooster Ohio Investments LLC, Gordon then purchased the remaining 15% of Ultimate Jetcharters from several minority unit holders. The bankruptcy filing of Ultimate Jet was triggered last week after it was discovered that promissory notes issued by Wooster Ohio to its former minority unit holders were guaranteed not by Ultimate Jetcharters, the airline already reorganizing in bankruptcy court, but by its holding company, Ultimate Jet.
