Did ATA lose the Gov't Contract?

[HarleyGuy]

Adding to the rumor mill....

We've got all the military flying we can handle. Some military flying (the Japan shuttles) is going away in about 2 years- DoD's not gonna pay for them anymore- but that doesn't affect us in the short term. I've heard this is all due to our leadership's decision to slow growth, and difficulties getting the 75 we just bought online. Here's a good rumor: the 76 deal is all but done, waiting only on the pilot contract aspects. I hear the company is trying hard to get those wrapped up quickly, to get the jets on the property asap. Perhaps then the bid will be reopened to include the 76's, and that will reopen the vacancies for new hires. I keep hearing how much money we're not making because we only have 6 L-10s (retiring 1 more in 6 months or less), so I imagine the company is anxious to start using the 76's to get some of it. I also heard two good L-10 rumors: we're going to retire them early because the D-checks are due early because we've been flying them so much, and I also heard we're going to do the D checks and fly them until at least 2010 because they're making so much money (unlikely). All of the above is likely to be fiction, so pick your favorite and hope. Personally, I just hope the guys left hanging after the class cancellations are rescheduled really soon.

 

[crashpad]

At a time when all the LCCs' are growing like wildfire, why is'nt ATA?

 

[CCDiscoB]

Some military flying (the Japan shuttles) is going away in about 2 years....I've heard this is all due to our leadership's decision to slow growth, and difficulties getting the 75 we just bought online.

I highly doubt that the AF is cutting back its AMC missions because of ATA's decision to slow growth.
I'll believe the AF will cut back as much as they're saying when I see it. How many other times has AMC said they were cutting back? Troops will still need to get to the garden spots of the world. Sure it would be cheaper to buy a bunch of ticket to FRA on USAir two weeks out but the military doesn't work two weeks out. It works two hours out. Especially the Army. After a few months of buying last minute tickets, because all the mil tickets are sold out, AMC will go back to the cheaper option of leasing ACFT from World, ATA and NAA.
ATA has to get the 767. The competition has them. Two engines across the pond is much cheaper than three.

 

[LAZYB]

Patriot Express ending flights

Patriot Express ending flights
by Cynthia Bauer
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AFB, Ill. (AFPN) - Fiscal realities and limited use have led U.S. Transportation Command to restructure Patriot Express.

Patriot Express is the military's chartered commercial air service for transporting servicemembers on permanent-change-of-station orders and their families to and from overseas locations. Air Mobility Command, the air component of USTRANSCOM, manages the Patriot Express program on behalf of the Department of Defense.

Since the 1960s, Patriot Express, or a similar program, has provided regular passenger service from the United States to 27 locations in European Command, Central Command and Southern Command areas of operation. The system handles more than 340,000 passengers annually; however, more than two-thirds of the seats on the contracted aircraft are filled by passengers on PCS orders.

The Patriot Express system has four contracted U.S. gateway international airports: Atlanta-Hartsfield, Baltimore-Washington, Los Angeles and Seattle-Tacoma, and four passenger reservation centers, or PRCs, in Germany, Japan, Hawaii and the continental United States.

Beginning next fiscal year through fiscal 2008, the restructure will lead to fewer flights and leave only one gateway, at BWI. Duty passengers will be able to travel on commercial airlines through the General Service Administration's City Pair program.

"Customer trends have led to this restructuring," said Capt. Billy Webb, chief of AMC passenger operations. "We made our prices comparable to the commercial airlines and launched several customer-service improvements to attract more riders and offset costs. The number of riders did not increase. And even though DoD requires PCSing passengers to use Patriot Express, the department has paid about $67 million more each year than what it would cost for official PCS travel through the City Pair program."


The restructure will not only save the government millions of dollars annually, PCS travelers will gain more flexibility in planning their overseas moves.

"The restructure brings several advantages to those PCSing overseas," Capt. Webb said. "Commercial airlines fly into most locations served by Patriot Express, and they fly more frequently, so there are more options in scheduling flights. And, with Patriot Express, travelers need to get to a gateway terminal, which may be far from where they live. Then they have to make the connection with a Patriot Express flight. With the City Pair program, travelers, in many cases, will be able to get direct flights to their new duty location."


All Patriot Express routes, except for those into locations with no commercial service or where there are force protection considerations, will be phased out over a four-year period.

"Phasing out Patriot Express allows military services and contract carriers time to adjust," Capt. Webb said.

In fiscal 2005, the Atlanta gateway will close, and Patriot Express flights to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, will end. The military will also adjust the frequency and size of flights to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Keflavik, Iceland.

In fiscal 2006, service to Osan and Kunsan air bases, Korea; Kadena AB, Japan; Keflavik, Iceland; and Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, will end. The reservation center at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and the gateway at Los Angeles International Airport will close. Fiscal 2007 marks the end of service to three American bases in Japan: Yokota and Misawa air bases and the Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, as well as the Japan passenger reservation center. The Seattle gateway will also close, and AMC's main PRC here will increase its operating hours. In the last phase, slated for fiscal 2008, service to Lajes Field, the Azores; Aviano AB, Italy; Rota, Spain; and Sigonella, Sicily, will end, the PRC in Germany will close, and AMC's center will begin continuous operations.

The restructure of Patriot Express will mean a reduction in the number of space-available seats, but space-A travel is still available at many AMC passenger terminals on military transports.

"Even though Patriot Express will phase out, opportunities for space-A travel still exist on our own airlift aircraft, although not as frequently," Capt. Webb said.

Information on space-A travel is available at http: //public.amc.af.mil/SPACEA/spacea.htm. The GSA has Travel and City Pair program information on their services link at www.gsa.gov.

(Courtesy of AMC News Service)

 

[MDP727]

ATA grew by 23% for 03'. It appears things will slow a bit for 04', more 737's(7) are on the way for 05'. Our CEO's motto is airlines don't go out of buisness because of under-expanation.