The future of Great Plains Airlines may be decided in court on Tuesday

Tuesday could be a make or break day for struggling Great Plains Airlines. <br><br>A leasing company wants to repossess three of Great Plains aircraft. A judge will hear arguments on that Tuesday afternoon.

Monday, February 16th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tuesday could be a make or break day for struggling Great Plains Airlines.

A leasing company wants to repossess three of Great Plains aircraft. A judge will hear arguments on that Tuesday afternoon.

News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says if they lose those 3 planes, which will leave them with the 2 jets they started the company with. And one of those was not flying at last report.

We talked with some local leaders about Great Plains possible demise. From the beginning, Great Plains never quite stayed on course. The original plan was to provide direct, non-stop service from Tulsa to both coasts, to improve business development. But that never quite got off the ground.

Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller voted against the idea when she was on the Tulsa City Council. "I support public-private partnerships, but I support 50-50 partnerships, and I just didn't feel we had that at the time with Great Plains and I was concerned."

Now that concern seems well-placed. It's still too soon to count Great Plains out completely. But Tulsa city councilman Sam Roop says it doesn't look good. Still, he says Tulsa had to try something. "I think we should keep trying to create some direct flights the same as other big cities. I think it's important we do if we want to be a city that stays on the map."

Former State Representative Russ Roach, who was an early Great Plains supporter, agrees. "In this day and age, for business particularly, being that remote and having to go through too many other connections and the extra time delay its very disadvantage for Tulsa and Oklahoma City."

What to do if Great Plains fails though is anyone's guess. Some think that if the market is there, someone will step in. "If this carrier doesn't do it, hopefully someone else eventually will."

We called Great Plains Airlines to see if they can possibly survive with just one or maybe two aircraft. We did not hear back from them.