Wiskey Driver
Return of the Hub Raider
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October 22, 2004
[font=Verdana,Arial]Report: ATA Could Be Headed for Bankruptcy Court[/font]
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By Rick Hightower
(Indianapolis) - After cutting over 200 jobs Thursday, ATA is said to be charting a course for bankruptcy court.
The Financial Times in London is reporting two carriers in the United States are vying to obtain some of ATA's assets.
The report in the Financial Times says America West and Air Tran are both interested, with Air Tran eyeing ATA’s 737 aircraft and some of its gates at Chicago's midway airport. Right now it's reportedly a consolidation race in preparation for landing in bankruptcy court.
Inside ATA's Indianapolis headquarters, serious talks are taking place and costly considerations are being made. One scenario is bankruptcy.
The Financial Times reports Air Tran and America West are both interested in the cash-strapped carrier.
People involved in the discussions say ATA is trying to put together a pre-arranged bankruptcy filing with one of those airlines as a strategic partner.
“America West wants more of the assets; may want employees; may want more of the aircraft leases where I think Air Tran would be less interested in employees and more interested in specific routes where they could compete head to head with Southwest,” said Brent Adams, Indianapolis Business Journal.
But some business experts still don't think bankruptcy is the way to go, since ATA leases more planes than it owns.
“The way they've structured their leases that probably isn't what they'll do. It's more likely they'll shrink the airline to almost nothing,” said Matt Will, University of Indianapolis business director.
A London business report says ATA could file for bankruptcy within the next few days. That's leaving some passengers at Indianapolis International feeling a bit uneasy about flying with the airline in the future. Others say they're confident at will stay in the air.
Joe Siler says he hopes he wouldn’t get stuck with a useless ticket, “but you never know nowadays.”
Some say there's no way ATA is going away. “Absolutely not. I've been here about 40 years. ATA has been here about 30 years. I've never had any problems with them. George Mikelsons and the whole group, they'll pull it out,” said Gary Eyler, ATA passenger.
ATA reportedly owes the federal government millions of dollars in unpaid loans and also owes the City of Chicago money for improvements made at its Midway hub.
The Financial Times report points out that Air Tran might be the front runner in struggle since it would like to have some of ATA's Midway gates to compete with Southwest.
Meantime, Ambassadair Travel continues to make a profit for the parent company, ATA Holdings Corporation.
[font=Verdana,Arial]Report: ATA Could Be Headed for Bankruptcy Court[/font]
Email to a FriendPrinter Friendly Version
Learn more about Chesapeake Place downtown.
More >>
By Rick Hightower
(Indianapolis) - After cutting over 200 jobs Thursday, ATA is said to be charting a course for bankruptcy court.
The Financial Times in London is reporting two carriers in the United States are vying to obtain some of ATA's assets.
The report in the Financial Times says America West and Air Tran are both interested, with Air Tran eyeing ATA’s 737 aircraft and some of its gates at Chicago's midway airport. Right now it's reportedly a consolidation race in preparation for landing in bankruptcy court.
Inside ATA's Indianapolis headquarters, serious talks are taking place and costly considerations are being made. One scenario is bankruptcy.
The Financial Times reports Air Tran and America West are both interested in the cash-strapped carrier.
People involved in the discussions say ATA is trying to put together a pre-arranged bankruptcy filing with one of those airlines as a strategic partner.
“America West wants more of the assets; may want employees; may want more of the aircraft leases where I think Air Tran would be less interested in employees and more interested in specific routes where they could compete head to head with Southwest,” said Brent Adams, Indianapolis Business Journal.
But some business experts still don't think bankruptcy is the way to go, since ATA leases more planes than it owns.
“The way they've structured their leases that probably isn't what they'll do. It's more likely they'll shrink the airline to almost nothing,” said Matt Will, University of Indianapolis business director.
A London business report says ATA could file for bankruptcy within the next few days. That's leaving some passengers at Indianapolis International feeling a bit uneasy about flying with the airline in the future. Others say they're confident at will stay in the air.
Joe Siler says he hopes he wouldn’t get stuck with a useless ticket, “but you never know nowadays.”
Some say there's no way ATA is going away. “Absolutely not. I've been here about 40 years. ATA has been here about 30 years. I've never had any problems with them. George Mikelsons and the whole group, they'll pull it out,” said Gary Eyler, ATA passenger.
ATA reportedly owes the federal government millions of dollars in unpaid loans and also owes the City of Chicago money for improvements made at its Midway hub.
The Financial Times report points out that Air Tran might be the front runner in struggle since it would like to have some of ATA's Midway gates to compete with Southwest.
Meantime, Ambassadair Travel continues to make a profit for the parent company, ATA Holdings Corporation.
