 A merger agreement was executed to merge Braniff with BIA Acquisitions.The merger of BIA and Braniff was completed on October 24, 1988, with all assets of BIA being transferred to Braniff, Inc. BIA-COR Holdings, formed by the Paine Weber Group who provided a bridge loan for the Braniff, Inc., acquisition, was headed by financier Jeffrey Chodorow, chairman and chief executive officer of Coregroup, an investor company based in Philadelphia.New York real estate developer Arthur G. Cohen, was also a major principal of BIA-COR Holdings, Inc.

A new senior management team, from Piedmont Airlines, Inc., was installed that included William G. McGee as chairman, president, and chief executive officer, W. Howard MacKinnon, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Richard L. James, executive vice president – planning.