jettypeguy
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2003
- Posts
- 98
Well it took George some time to do some damage control over this whole Midway sell-off mess. Seems like the media got ahold of some unverified info and blew it up out of porportion, as usual...
linky
ATA denies reports it will exit Midway
Airline expanded at Chicago airport in June; Chairman insists company not selling gate space.
By Ted Evanoff
[email protected]
August 25, 2004
ATA Airlines Inc. dismissed news reports Tuesday that it might dispose of gates at its Midway Airport hub in an effort to ease its financial struggle.
Looking for more revenue, the Indianapolis-based carrier expanded at Midway on June 1.
Reuters news service quoted airline analyst Susan Donofrio of Fulcrum Group as saying that ATA has offered its 14 Midway gates to Southwest Airlines.
Late Tuesday, ATA's public relations firm, Hill & Knowlton of New York, rebuffed the report in an e-mail attributed to J. George Mikelsons, ATA chairman.
"We are not abandoning Chicago Midway, nor are we canceling any flights," the brief statement said, noting ATA also is restructuring its finances.
Hammered by rising jet fuel prices and high aircraft leases, ATA has restructured debt, postponed pay raises and received $43 million in salary cuts from its 1,138 pilots.
About $8.9 million in concessions also are being sought from flight attendants.
Financial Times, a newspaper, reported that an unidentified banker suggested the Midway gates would fetch $200 million to $300 million, though ATA wants $500 million.
ATA pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, have not been told the carrier intends to sell jets or scale back at Midway, said pilot Erik Engdahl, chairman of the union's ATA master executive council.
"I've always thought George Mikelsons is good to his word," Engdahl said. "I think what they were probably doing is checking to see what the market will bear (on the Midway gates) so if they ever get to the point where they need to downsize, they'll know where to go. I trust George if he says they are not getting ready to jump ship."
Airport gates include passenger boarding areas and are revenue producers that determine how many passengers an airline can handle.
ATA lost $90.7 million in 2004's first half, compared with a $32.3 million profit in the same months last year.
The airline has 7,900 employees, including 2,500 in Indianapolis.
It also is the largest carrier at the Indianapolis airport, with 945,057 passengers in the year ending June 30 -- about 24 percent of the airport's total.
Call Star reporter Ted Evanoff at (317) 444-6019.
linky
ATA denies reports it will exit Midway
Airline expanded at Chicago airport in June; Chairman insists company not selling gate space.
By Ted Evanoff
[email protected]
August 25, 2004
ATA Airlines Inc. dismissed news reports Tuesday that it might dispose of gates at its Midway Airport hub in an effort to ease its financial struggle.
Looking for more revenue, the Indianapolis-based carrier expanded at Midway on June 1.
Reuters news service quoted airline analyst Susan Donofrio of Fulcrum Group as saying that ATA has offered its 14 Midway gates to Southwest Airlines.
Late Tuesday, ATA's public relations firm, Hill & Knowlton of New York, rebuffed the report in an e-mail attributed to J. George Mikelsons, ATA chairman.
"We are not abandoning Chicago Midway, nor are we canceling any flights," the brief statement said, noting ATA also is restructuring its finances.
Hammered by rising jet fuel prices and high aircraft leases, ATA has restructured debt, postponed pay raises and received $43 million in salary cuts from its 1,138 pilots.
About $8.9 million in concessions also are being sought from flight attendants.
Financial Times, a newspaper, reported that an unidentified banker suggested the Midway gates would fetch $200 million to $300 million, though ATA wants $500 million.
ATA pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, have not been told the carrier intends to sell jets or scale back at Midway, said pilot Erik Engdahl, chairman of the union's ATA master executive council.
"I've always thought George Mikelsons is good to his word," Engdahl said. "I think what they were probably doing is checking to see what the market will bear (on the Midway gates) so if they ever get to the point where they need to downsize, they'll know where to go. I trust George if he says they are not getting ready to jump ship."
Airport gates include passenger boarding areas and are revenue producers that determine how many passengers an airline can handle.
ATA lost $90.7 million in 2004's first half, compared with a $32.3 million profit in the same months last year.
The airline has 7,900 employees, including 2,500 in Indianapolis.
It also is the largest carrier at the Indianapolis airport, with 945,057 passengers in the year ending June 30 -- about 24 percent of the airport's total.
Call Star reporter Ted Evanoff at (317) 444-6019.
