America West Airlines Pass-Thru Trust Certs Rated by S&P.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standard & Poor's CreditWire 6/12/97 --Standard & Poor's today has assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. various ratings to America West Airlines America West Airlines was one of the United States' ten major airlines. The airline was based in Tempe, Arizona, and is now a part of US Airways Group. At the time of its integration into US Airways, the airline maintained two hubs, one at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Inc.'s 1997-1 pass-through trust certificates (see below). The certificates, totaling approximately $95 million, will be serviced by cash flows from equipment notes financing four A320-231 jet aircraft used by America West (corporate credit rating single-'B'-plus). The aircraft were originally leased by GPA GPA abbr. grade point average Noun 1. GPA - a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted Group plc to America West and subsequently sold to new investors through leveraged leases. The refinancing Refinancing An extension and/or increase in amount of existing debt. involving the rated pass-through certificates Pass-Through Certificates (PTCs) are instruments that evidence the ownership of two or more Equipment Trust Certificates. In other words, Equipment Trust Certificates may be bundled into a pass-through structure as a means of diversifying the asset pool and/or increasing the size removes GPA Group; the leases now run from America West directly to various owner trusts, with amounts owed on the leveraged lease debt (equipment notes) now passing through to certificate holders. Standard & Poor's ratings are based on the published criteria for "enhanced equipment trust certificates." The criteria provide for ratings higher than an airline's normal equipment trust certificate rating when aircraft financing is structured to include: -- A dedicated liquidity facility (provided in this transaction by Kredietbank N.V. and available to the class A, B, and C, but not class D certificates) sufficient to service rated debt for 18 months in the event that the underlying aircraft leases are rejected by an airline in bankruptcy bankruptcy, in law, settlement of the liabilities of a person or organization wholly or partially unable to meet financial obligations. The purposes are to distribute, through a court-appointed receiver, the bankrupt's assets equitably among creditors and, in most ; and -- Conservative overcollateralization by modern technology jet aircraft to increase the probability of repaying debt principal, if necessary by selling repossessed equipment. The loan-to-value on the various classes of debt, assuming depreciation per Standard & Poor's criteria and at the maximum point during the life of the rated securities, is as follows: -- Class A Certificates: 39.8%; -- Class B Certificates: 54.7% (cumulative, including above); -- Class C Certificates: 69.6% (cumulative, including above); and -- Class D Certificates: 81.9% (cumulative, including above). OUTLOOK: Stable. Standard & Poor's anticipates that these ratings would change if and as the equipment trust certificate rating of America West (currently double-'B', stable outlook) changes. Accordingly, the long-term rating outlook on these securities is also stable. However, ratings are not expected to change with variations in the prices of jet aircraft, since the criteria assume periodic cyclical cyclical Of or relating to a variable, such as housing starts, car sales, or the price of a certain stock, that is subject to regular or irregular up-and-down movements. changes in aircraft values. -- CreditWire RATINGS ASSIGNED $45.8 mil An Internet address domain name for a military agency. See Internet address. (networking) mil - The top-level domain for entities affiliated with US armed forces. . America West Airlines 1997-1 Pass Through Trusts Class A Certificates due 1/2/2010 AA- $17.0 mil. America West Airlines 1997-1 Pass Through Trusts Class B Certificates due 1/2/2007 A- $17.1 mil. America West Airlines 1997-1 Pass Through Trusts Class C Certificates due 7/2/2005 BBB- $14.2 mil. America West Airlines 1997-1 Pass Through Trusts Class D Certificates due 7/2/2001 BB CONTACT: Betsy R Snyder, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of (1) 212-208-1585 Philip Baggaley, New York (1) 212-208-1309 |
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