by Michele McDonald
NEW YORK -- Micky Arison is not walking away from Carnival Air
Lines, despite the carrier's acquisition last week by Pan Am.
Arison, the chief shareholder in Carnival Air's parent, Air
Holding Corp., will receive 9.5 million shares in the combined
company.
That will give him a 42% stake in the combined company; he also
plans to make a $30 million capital investment in Pan Am.
Arison also is chairman of the Carnival Corp. cruise empire, but
Carnival Air is not part of that corporation.
Pan Am also plans to raise an additional $30 million.
Carnival has outgrown its original role as a feeder line for
Arison's cruise empire, but it has remained firmly in the leisure
market, primarily between the Northeast and Florida.
Pan Am president Martin Shugrue said the combination of the two
airlines will allow greater growth than either airline could have
achieved on its own.
Pan Am has experienced some delays in taking delivery of its
A300s -- it currently operates four -- forcing it to wet-lease
aircraft from other lines.
Carnival, meanwhile, operates 27 aircraft, including A300s, 727s
and 737s, which Shugrue said are underutilized.
Shugrue said no layoffs are planned because of the growth
potential the acquisition affords.
He noted that Pan Am had attempted to acquire Carnival Air last
year, but the two companies could not come to terms on a price.
"Better late than never," Shugrue said.