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Pilot, Flying J to merge travel center operations

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. and OGDEN, Utah — Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J have reached a merger agreement to merge the two company's travel centers into a single operation, The Trucker learned late Monday.

Details of the agreement are scheduled to be announced this morning, sources told The Trucker.

Only Flying J truck stop locations are part of the merger. Other Flying J entities are not involved, sources have told The Trucker.

The merger would seemingly free up cash that could be used to help Flying J in its effort to reorganize certain aspects of its company under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Flying J announced in December that Flying J Inc. and its Big West refining and Longhorn Pipeline subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11.

The scope of the filing is limited to those operations only, Flying J officials said, noting that the filing did not not apply to other business units or affiliates, or the company's Canadian operations, including truck stop locations.

Last month, Flying J announced it was closing restaurants at seven of its locations in the U.S. in a cost cutting move.

“The reality of our country’s struggling economy requires those entrusted with the immediate and long term welfare of our company to prudently evaluate measures that will best sustain us through challenging times,” Virginia Parker, director of marketing, said at the time the closings were announced. “Like any successful business, we regularly review the long-term potential of each property and evaluate the performance required for each location to continue operating.”

Parker said after careful evaluation, Flying J recently made the decision to close the following restaurant locations: Commerce, Ga; Bessemer, Ala., Lubbock, Texas; Cokeville, Wyo., Evanston, Wyo.; Payson, Utah, and Casper, Wyo.

She said the Flying J stores at those locations would continue to provide hot and cold deli items.

Whether those seven restaurants remain open under Pilot management is not known.

Pilot traditionally has not operated full-service restaurants at its locations, preferring to lease space to established food vendors such as Wendy's, Subway, and Arby's among many others.

However, published reports have indicated that some of the Pilot locations that are being remodeled will feature a Denny's restaurant.

Also not known until the formal announcement is made is the status of Comdata at Flying J locations.

Flying J presently does not accept Comdata cards.

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