GAO Report Backs Checchi Claim: Los Angeles...

GAO Report Backs Checchi Claim: Los Angeles investor Alfred A. Checchi should be able to repay Northwest Airline’s $3.1-billion debt from its cash flow and proceeds from sale-leaseback arrangements on aircraft, a General Accounting Office study says. The airline should have $1.8 billion in cash available this year. After servicing debt and paying expenses, the airline would have $166 million left over, according to the GAO report. The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, prepared the report for the chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), who planned a hearing this fall on Checchi’s $4.05-billion buyout of Northwest. The leveraged buyout will give Northwest one of the highest debt loads in the industry.