In its attempt to auction itself, FlyI [FLYI], the bankrupt parent of Independence Air, has received notice that an undisclosed number of parties are interested in bidding for the carrier or its assets.

In a court-approved auction process, Dec. 1 was the deadline for those parties interested in bidding for the company to file their intent. The parties must prove to the court that they are qualified to handle the transaction and then enter into non-disclosure agreements to review FlyI's books. As part of the qualification process, the interested parties were required to state their intent: invest new capital in the company, purchase the carrier or buy specific assets.

"The company has received a number of indications of interest, which is what the December deadline was designed to create," said FlyI spokesman Rick DeLisi. He declined to provide any more specific information on the actual number of potential bidders or if anyone wants to provide FlyI with cash so it can continue its operations.

The potential bidders were required to send their notices to either FlyI's New York or Delaware attorneys. They were not required to tell the bankruptcy court in Delaware - thus these notices are not part of the public docket at this time.

The next step in the auction process is for those serious about buying FlyI to submit a bid by Dec. 16. If necessary, there will be an auction on Jan. 3. The court will hold a hearing on Jan. 5 to confirm the winning bid.

When it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 1, FlyI disclosed that in its earlier search for new capital it had signed non-disclosure agreements with 21 prospective strategic or financial investors. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, some of these parties continued to talk with Miller Buckfire, FlyI's investment banker. However, none of them has stepped forward with an offer for the company.

With $24 million in cash on hand, FlyI has said that it can continue operating on its newly reduced schedule until the Jan. 5 hearing. The carrier has shifted the bulk of its Airbus 319 flying to East Coast routes with only two daily flights to Las Vegas to continue after Dec. 1. On Nov. 1, it pulled its RJ routes out of a number cities in a move that grounded all but 30 Bombardier [BBD] CRJ 200s. When Independence Air released it November traffic report late last week, the impact of the new schedule was dramatic. While the carrier's capacity was down 29.4 percent in November, the decline in passengers was much steeper - 37.7 percent. Last November, Independence had 83 RJs flying and it had yet to begin flying the Airbus routes.