And The Bankruptcy Trustee Wants To Know What It Is

This is no time to play “I’ve Got A Secret.”

That’s the gist of a complaint by the trustee in UAL’s epic bankruptcy. Ira Bodenstein wants to know why the airline should be allowed to sell an undisclosed number of planes to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed price.

United says the sale would help solve some of the issue surrounding aircraft leases as the carrier tries to avoid losing planes. But Bodenstein’s complaint says the deal is shrouded in mystery.

 "The motion does not even disclose the number of aircraft to be sold or the purchase price," the complaint said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The US Banking Association is equally miffed. "If there is precedent for obtaining court approval of a secret agreement with unnamed parties on undisclosed terms relating to unspecified property, the trustees are unaware of it," the banks said in their court filing.

But the airline isn’t in the mood to tell.

"We believe the information is proprietary and, therefore, want to keep it confidential," United spokesman Jeff Green told the Tribune.

United filed a request to enter the deal on July 1st. Under its terms, the unnamed partner would either grant new leases on the aircraft in question or would sell some of the planes in a lease-back deal.

Bodenstein says he wants to know the whole story. After all, there could be another customer willing to pay more, he said.

FMI: www.united.com