AWA Bows Out

[mhermann596]

America West Declines Opportunity to Submit Bid for ATA Assets
Thursday December 9, 3:00 pm ET

PHOENIX, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- America West Holdings Corporation (NYSE: AWA - News), parent company of America West Airlines, Inc., today announced it does not plan to submit a bid to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to purchase ATA Holdings Corp. (OTC: ATAHQ - News). America West had previously announced it was considering acquiring ATA through that airline's Chapter 11 restructuring process.

America West Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said, "We have stated from the beginning of this process that we would not proceed with any transaction that would put undue risk on America West's employees, customers or stockholders. While we believe there is some value in a combined America West/ATA operation, we do not believe the potential value justifies the anticipated cost.

"Our interest in ATA encompassed acquiring the entire company as opposed to only a few select assets, which meant we needed most of the aircraft and employees to stay with the company. During this process we found we were able to attract sufficient capital to support a competitive bid and we are grateful to our partners for their offers of support. We particularly appreciate the support we received from the employees of ATA. We are hopeful that whoever ends up owning ATA will recognize the value of this dedicated and experienced workforce. Unfortunately, we were unable to come to acceptable lease terms on enough aircraft with ATA's existing aircraft lessors.

"We feel very good about the decision to refrain from this bidding process. As the nation's second largest low cost carrier we are well positioned for long-term success in a rapidly evolving airline environment. Because our current aircraft orders satisfy our near-term growth plans, we are not compelled to stretch to find places to fly. We feel confident there will be future growth and acquisition opportunities for America West as our industry evolves. While we have chosen to pass on this particular transaction, we look forward to playing a role in the continued consolidation of the airline industry."

America West Airlines is the nation's second largest low cost airline and the only carrier formed since deregulation to achieve major airline status. America West's 13,000 employees serve nearly 55,000 customers a day in 96 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the future of the airline industry, growth plans and our prospects for success. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results and financial position to differ materially from these statements, including, but are not limited to, the duration and extent of the current soft economic conditions; the impact of global instability including the continuing impact of the continued military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the potential impact of future hostilities, terrorist attacks, infectious disease outbreaks or other global events; limitations on our ability to obtain additional financing due to high levels of debt and the financial and other covenants in our debt instruments; changes in federal and state laws and regulations; changes in prevailing interest rates and the availability of and terms of financing to fund our business; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the cyclical nature of the airline industry; competitive practices in the industry; the impact of changes in fuel prices; relations with unionized employees generally and the impact and outcome of the labor negotiations and other factors described from time to time in our publicly available SEC reports. We caution you that these risks may not be exhaustive. We operate in a continually changing business environment, and new risks emerge from time to time. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release.

 

[Cactus73]

I really hope that the ATA employees are treated fairly by Air Tran or Southwest.

My prayers go out to all of you and your families.

Hopefully things will work out for the better.

Good luck guys, hold your heads high.

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

I wonder if Doug and the gang are waiting for an Airways blue light special?

Good luck to all those at ATA, I always enjoyed flying on you. I'm sorry it has come down to this; hang in there.

 

[Daedalus]

America West Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said, "We have stated from the beginning of this process that we would not proceed with any transaction that would put undue risk on America West's employees, customers or stockholders. While we believe there is some value in a combined America West/ATA operation, we do not believe the potential value justifies the anticipated cost.

Will this turn out to be AirTran's Waterloo?

 

[CMonBoard]

While it hasn't been stated publicly, I would like to think that AirTran would need qualified crews for the 100 737's they have on order and what better place to get them than from ATA. Preferential interviews are at least something, isn't it? I know it's not the best solution though.

Is there any precedence within the FAA to allow some sort of transition from one carrier to another and have shorter classes?

 

[UM#1]

Airtran is holding a "Job Fair" for ATA pilots next week. I would assume it's a - give them your resume and chat for a few minutes...and then a few might get a call....

 

[ATA717Pilot]

Nice move by Air Tran giving a whole 4-days heads-up notice and only one day for ATA pilots to be "considered" as future FL aviators.

Pretty transparent action on Air Tran's part which speaks volumes re: how ATA Professionals are viewed as potential assets to the organization.

ATA Furlough Committee Bulletin - Thursday, December 9, 2004
FROM: XXXXXXXXXX, Furlough Committee Chairman
TO: All ATA Flight Crew Members

AirTran Airlines has announced it will hold a hiring fair for ATA
pilots
this coming Monday, December 13, at Midway Airport. We believe the
interviews are being conducted at the MDW crew room, although this has
not yet been confirmed. Interviews will be held from 9:00am to 12:00pm
and from 2:00pm to 6:00pm on Monday. For a review on how AirTran
conducts some of its interviews, check out the following link:

http://www.willflyforfood.cc/Airtran.htm

We encourage everyone to polish up those resumes and take advantage of
this opportunity. The committee will continue to provide information on
other interview possibilities as we learn about them. Good luck!

 

[IAHERJ]

Am I the only one who finds the timing of AWA's announcement a bit fishy? Any chance this was posturing for a better lease deal on existing aircraft in ATA's fleet with the possibility of a last minute deal? They have until tomorrow.

I did notice Parker's tone towards this deal was a bit of a shot at AirTran. It's almost as if he is trying to start a labor problem by firing up ATA employees against AirTran or SWA; neither of which has stated that it will take pilots with a deal. If his deal was so good, lets hear it. All we've heard from AWA publicly from the get go was repeated rhetoric about purchasing the entire company thus motivating the ATA employees to endorse the AWA "deal", whatever it was supposed to be. It is a business deal, period. For Parker to act as if his deal would have been some sort of humanitarian releif package for all ATA employees was a cheap shot in my eyes. I would have been happy to see them purchase the entire company thus keeping all employees working. I have a friend there with a newborn child. But if you're not serious about the acquisition, don't through pot shots at the other carriers.

IAHERJ

 

[CMonBoard]

Hey TZ, F9 is Frontier. I presume you mean FL. As opposed to WN.

 

[FarginDooshbahg]

All we've heard from AWA publicly from the get go was repeated rhetoric about purchasing the entire company thus motivating the ATA employees to endorse the AWA "deal", whatever it was supposed to be. It is a business deal, period. For Parker to act as if his deal would have been some sort of humanitarian releif package for all ATA employees was a cheap shot in my eyes..

IAHERJ

It sure seemed to work. All you hear on this board is how ATA pilots are/were "hoping" for the AWA deal to go through because they believed this would somehow "preserve" not only their jobs but their seniority, their seats, their aircraft, their whole world. Now, all you see in venom in their posts directed at the "other" airline. I guess they forget it was their own company that put them in the position they now find themselves.

Oh yea, and ATA717Pilot. You're right. If you don't make this "one day" group interview that you were given "4 days" notice of, you have ZERO chance of EVER applying to Air Tran again. GMAFB...

I hope everything works out the best way possible for EVERYONE involved. But at the same time, it is very easy when you are the "victim" to point fingers at all those who are to blame. Just make sure you know who your enemy is before pulling the trigger. After you shoot, it's too late to change your mind.