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ATA Airlines is an American low-cost and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operates scheduled passenger flights from a hub at Midway Airport in Chicago, Illinois, and charter flights across the globe. Its Boeing customer number is 3N.
Early years ATA was established in August 1973 as American Trans Air (ATA) to provide aircraft for the Ambassadair travel club. Its first aircraft was a Boeing 720 named "Miss Indy", with a second Boeing 720 ("Spirit of Indiana") being added in 1978. ATA received its common-air carrier certificate in March 1981. Operations started as a charter carrier in 1981, with a fleet of eight Boeing 707's based in Indianapolis. Amtran, Inc., was formed by owner J. George Mikelsons in 1984, as the holding company for Ambassadair, ATA, and any future subsidiaries. The airline replaced the 707's with Boeing 727-100's in 1984, and added Lockheed L-1011s (most ex-TWA) in 1985, and Boeing 757-200's in 1989. Scheduled service flights began in 1986 between Indianapolis and Fort Myers, Florida. Expansion ATA performed services for the US military during the 1991 Gulf War, transporting 108,000 military personnel on 494 missions for Operation Desert Storm. The 727-100's were replaced by Boeing 727-200's in 1993. By the mid-1990s, ATA operated a sizable hub in Chicago and offered scheduled services throughout continental USA, as well as flights to Hawaii and extensive military air charter contracts. ATA and Chicago Express launched ATA Connection, linking regional midwestern cities with ATA's Chicago operation; Chicago Express was purchased in 1999 and operated as a separate subsidiary. In 2000, ATA placed a large order for new Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 757-300 aircraft to expand its fleet for additional flights from Midway. That year, it also began scheduled flights to Mexico and was designated as a major carrier by the United States Department of Transportation. The similarity of the American Trans Air and Airtran Airways names to those of other airlines caused confusion among customers and the general public. The airline had been known informally as ATA from early in its history, and from the mid-1990s on had been advertised as such, so in 2002 the name of the holding company was changed to ATA Holdings, Inc., and in 2003 the name of the airline itself was changed to ATA Airlines, Inc. Restructuring On 27 October 2004, ATA Holdings and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In December 2004, ATA entered into an agreement with Southwest Airlines to transfer six gates at Chicago Midway Airport and 27% of non-voting stock in exchange for a cash influx and codeshare agreement. In the beginning of 2005, the airline drastically reduced flights at its Indianapolis hub to only three destinations and centered scheduled flights at Chicago's Midway Airport in order to complement Southwest Airlines codeshare flights. ATA also focused on serving markets that are business oriented and do not have Southwest service, such as San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth, and New York-LaGuardia. Additionally, ATA began offering point-to-point service not connecting to its Midway Hub, as to benefit other Southwest Airlines hubs, such as Las Vegas, Orlando, and Phoenix, with connections to non-destinations such as Denver and Hawaii. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said that revenues were up nearly 20% due to the new codesharing agreement. In March 2005, ATA shut down its commuter airline service, Chicago Express, and later sold the assets to a private buyer. In attempt to reduce operating costs, the airline downsized its fleet by returning nine Boeing 737-800 and eight Boeing 757-300 aircraft, along with numerous Boeing 757-200 aircraft. The eight 757-300 airframes were subsequently refurbished by Boeing, the lessor, and leased to Continental Airlines. In mid-2005, ATA entered an agreement to lease four ex-United Airlines Boeing 737-300 aircraft. In September 2005, ATA outsourced all its Heavy Maintenance Checks to overseas and domestic contractors. Also planned was an agreement with Continental Airlines to trade ATA's remaining four 757-300 aircraft for four 737-700 aircraft. However, in early October 2005, ATA terminated these negotiations due to the Boeing machinists strike, which would delay the delivery of the aircraft. On 13 October 2005, ATA announced the first round of many major service reductions, ending flights to Boston, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and Newark. In addition, the planned addition of flights to Miami and Sarasota, Florida was cancelled. This ended Southwest codeshare service to Minneapolis and Newark. On 1 November 2005, a second round of flight cuts were announced, including the suspension of scheduled service to Denver, San Juan, and their headquarters and former hub Indianapolis. On 17 November 2005, the company received court approval to sell its Ambassadair Travel Club division to Grueninger Cruises and Tours. Three 737-300s entered service in late November 2005. In a third round of cuts announced on 6 December 2005, ATA announced that it would discontinue service to three additional cities. ATA would suspend flights from Chicago's Midway Airport to San Francisco, Orlando, and Fort Myers, FL, in April 2006. Following these cancellations, ATA would have only 18 daily scheduled departures from its Chicago hub and 52 scheduled departures companywide. Moreover, the company would be left with only one gate at Midway, surrendering the balance to Southwest or the city. On 15 December 2005, ATA announced an expansion of its code-share agreement with Southwest Airlines. ATA Airlines will expand codesharing with Southwest Airlines between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and cities in the Southwest system that connect via Chicago's Midway Airport. In January 2006, Matlin Patterson invested over 100 million in ATA and took the company private. On 28 February 2006, ATA emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Return to prosperity On 2 April 2006, showing strength, ATA commenced service between Houston Hobby (KHOU) and LaGuardia Airport (KLGA). ATA had not added new service in almost two years. As part of its continued plan of growth, ATA initiated new flights out of Oakland, CA, Ontario, CA and Hilo, HI on 28 April 2006. ATA, in order to now be able to feed passengers from its Southwest Airlines codeshare flights, moved its San Francisco International Airport operations to Oakland International Airport, introducing two daily flights to Honolulu, HI, a daily flight to Maui, HI, and a daily flight to Hilo, HI. This made ATA the only airline to provide nonstop service between Hilo, HI and the mainland United States. The airline also added an Ontario, CA to Honolulu, HI daily, round trip flight, making it the only scheduled passenger carrier to operate that route. On August 31st, 2006, ATA Airlines announced that Gary Ellmer would become ATA's Senior Vice President-Operations and General Manager-Charter. On October 18th, 2006, ATA Airlines announced that Subodh Karnik would become ATA's new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective January 1st, 2007, replacing John G. Denison, who will continue as ATA's Chairman of the Board of Directors. Destinations Fleet As of November 3, 2006, ATA has 29 aircraft in its fleet consisting of: As of November 2006, ATA's average fleet age is 9.5 years old. Trivia | ||||||||
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