Thanks to Westhawk for his lucid explanation of Chapter 11 of the bankrupty code and its effects on the competitive environment.
It's tempting for some to believe that Chapter 11 is some piece of American trickery invented to protect their national carriers.
I think it's important to point out that Chapter 11 is used by many kinds of companies to prevent a needless winding-up of a business that, given time, could be recovered.
The equivalent in the UK is Administration. An important difference is that Chapter 11 leaves the management in place whereas an Adminstrator may know little or nothing about the business he has to run. The result is that a company that is put into Administration seldom survives the experience, usually having its assets sold quickly to get what can be got for the creditors and, er, to pay the Administration costs.
Regards to all
DerekL