STN Ramp Rat;
You have summed it up very well. While the TUI Sunwing deal was the death blow, Gibralt's highly leveraged purchase of SSV in 2007 put the patient on permanent life support (a corporate raid worthy of Carl Icahn, IMHO). It made the business unsustainable in any sort of economic downturn or difficulty with a primary customer. TUIs troubles, i.e their $40 + million CDN loss in FY 2008 left them no choice but to make their move on Sunwing in an effort to curb their losses. As we now know from the court documents, that deal set the final wheels in motion. It would have ended sooner had TCCI not agreed to assume the debt from Roynat Capital.
To your question regarding point # 3, the court documents mention that Gibralt's secured debt took precedence over that taken by TCCI. They probably had to agree to that to save the winter season. They also had to agree to keep SSV's financial difficulties in strict confidence. Their numbers aren't in yet, but it sounds like this turned a small winter loss for them into a significant one. The documents show that they are owed just north of $12 million CDN.
No one in the charter market made money in Canada this winter, but TCCI may end up with the smallest loss when all is said and done. As to their plans for next winter, they need someone to fly their lift. They have brought in a mix of A320s and 757s for several years now and I don't think they can change that very quickly. No charter operator here currently operates both types. They will probably want to take a similar stake in their lift provider like TUI has done (49%). How that will eventually play out is the big question.