Missoulian- The decision to kill Big Sky Airlines may not be based entirely on the airline’s profits or losses.
The little company may be a pawn in a larger game by investors to claim the profits of Big Sky’s parent company, Minneapolis-based MAIR Holdings Inc.
Some of the giant hedge funds buying stock in MAIR have no interest in running Big Sky, but want to sell off the airline and distribute MAIR’s holdings, which could approach $150 million.
MAIR bought the Billings-based Big Sky in 2002. That same year, MAIR merged with Mesaba Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy three years later and now is owned by Northwest Airlines.
A decision last year to expand Big Sky’s territory to include East Coast routes out of Boston failed due to lack of customers, skyrocketing fuel prices and severe weather.
