Enterprise Products (nyse: EPD - news - people) is a master limited partnership, a specialized investment vehicle somewhat like a real estate investment trust, which is exempt from corporate income taxes as long as it pays out almost all of its profits to investors.
But distressed-debt buyers, including hedge funds, have been snapping up the airlines' specialized securities, called pooled asset-backed securities and enhanced equipment trust certificates (EETC)--and making out quite well.