Looks like Airtran cleared one hurdle. I have a question? Does this mean Airtran will take all employees?
AirTran clears jobs hurdle
October 30, 2004
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
AirTran Airways has agreed to retain 3,200 Chicago-based employees when it acquires bankrupt ATA Airlines' local assets, Mayor Daley said Friday, paving the way for City Hall to approve the transfer of ATA's 14 gates at Midway Airport.
Daley said he received the job guarantees he was looking for -- but not in writing -- during a City Hall meeting Thursday with George Mikelsons, chairman, president and CEO of ATA Holding Corp., and Mikelsons' counterpart at AirTran.
"This will help Chicago," Daley said. "We're not gonna lose any jobs. I talked to both of them about that. We're gaining the same strength we had before. [AirTran] will do more international flights so, in the long run, it'll be a win situation both for Midway and the employees."
Earlier this week, ATA filed for bankruptcy and announced it was selling most of its Chicago operations to Orlando-based AirTran for $87.6 million.
The sale must be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge in Indianapolis, where ATA is headquartered, and by the city of Chicago, which runs Midway Airport. ATA is Midway's second-largest carrier behind flagship Southwest Airlines.
On the day after the bankruptcy filing, Daley established two pre-conditions for approving the gate transfer: That ATA's 3,200 Chicago employees would keep their jobs with AirTran and that the takeover airline would at least consider building the $100 million training center that ATA had planned near Midway.
Now that he's received those assurances, the mayor said he's prepared to approve the gate hand-over, and he's confident that Midway Airport, still basking in the glow of a $927 million reconstruction project, won't miss a beat.
Even if Chicago survives ATA's demise, Daley warned of more airline bankruptcy filings unless the federal government does something to assist an industry reeling from skyrocketing fuel prices. He suggested dipping into strategic petroleum reserves.
"This industry was created by America," the mayor said. "We can't lose this industry. This industry is too important for our country to give away."
AirTran clears jobs hurdle
October 30, 2004
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
AirTran Airways has agreed to retain 3,200 Chicago-based employees when it acquires bankrupt ATA Airlines' local assets, Mayor Daley said Friday, paving the way for City Hall to approve the transfer of ATA's 14 gates at Midway Airport.
Daley said he received the job guarantees he was looking for -- but not in writing -- during a City Hall meeting Thursday with George Mikelsons, chairman, president and CEO of ATA Holding Corp., and Mikelsons' counterpart at AirTran.
"This will help Chicago," Daley said. "We're not gonna lose any jobs. I talked to both of them about that. We're gaining the same strength we had before. [AirTran] will do more international flights so, in the long run, it'll be a win situation both for Midway and the employees."
Earlier this week, ATA filed for bankruptcy and announced it was selling most of its Chicago operations to Orlando-based AirTran for $87.6 million.
The sale must be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge in Indianapolis, where ATA is headquartered, and by the city of Chicago, which runs Midway Airport. ATA is Midway's second-largest carrier behind flagship Southwest Airlines.
On the day after the bankruptcy filing, Daley established two pre-conditions for approving the gate transfer: That ATA's 3,200 Chicago employees would keep their jobs with AirTran and that the takeover airline would at least consider building the $100 million training center that ATA had planned near Midway.
Now that he's received those assurances, the mayor said he's prepared to approve the gate hand-over, and he's confident that Midway Airport, still basking in the glow of a $927 million reconstruction project, won't miss a beat.
Even if Chicago survives ATA's demise, Daley warned of more airline bankruptcy filings unless the federal government does something to assist an industry reeling from skyrocketing fuel prices. He suggested dipping into strategic petroleum reserves.
"This industry was created by America," the mayor said. "We can't lose this industry. This industry is too important for our country to give away."
