The year started with a bleak outlook for Independence Air, as news broke that they had missed an interest payment on some bonds leading to speculation that they were close to a bankruptcy filing. (If they were going to file for bankruptcy there was no reason to make the payment, and they’d want to conserve cash in any case.)

Then they announced plans for job cuts, renegotiated lease payments on aircraft, agreed to return some aircraft, and obtained a loan from GE.

All of this bought some breathing space for the carrier, though did little to improve their revenue outlook. But my opinion of the carrier is somewhat boosted by two big bets being made on the carrier by Wall Street heavyweights.

Regulatory filings late Friday indicate that two major hedge funds have acquired 12.5% of the company’s stock. Surely they know more about the current state of the airline’s finances than I do, and I’m willing to defer to them in a somewhat limited way and say that I don’t see the airline ceasing to operate in the coming weeks.

As with USAirways, I’ll say that it should be safe to book February seats on the carrer.