KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Vanguard Airlines suspended operations Tuesday, saying it would lay off nearly all its employees and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy organization.
The Kansas City-based discount carrier has never shown an annual profit in eight years of operation. A recorded announcement on its reservation line early Tuesday said all Tuesday and Wednesday flights had been cancelled and all other flights scheduled after that have been suspended indefinitely.
"The company is seeking funds in order to resume operations," the announcement said. "The company intends to file for protection under Chaprter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code."
On Monday night, calls to Vanguard headquarters were met by a recording saying all circuits were busy. The airline's Web site had still been accepting reservations earlier in the evening, but by 11 p.m. the site was blank except for a link to another carrier, Frontier Airlines.
By early Tuesday, the Website carried a new message: "I'm sorry our booking server is temporarily down! Sorry for the inconvenience!"
Scott Dickson, Vanguard's chairman and CEO, told The Kansas City Star that the failure to secure the financing it needed was forcing the company to plan the Chapter 11 filing.
"This is a sad day for Vanguard, for its employees and for Kansas City," Dickson said. "Today's events hurt people ... We have done everything in our power to avoid today's actions."
Elizabeth Cattell, Vanguard's vice president or marketing and advertising, said nearly 1,100 employees, including about 915 in Kansas City, will be terminated before the Chapter 11 filing. A skeleton crew of about 60 will stay in hopes that additional financing can be obtained.
Cattell said Vanguard had made arrangements for ticket-holders to buy discounted tickets from Frontier and National airlines, and it is talking to other carriers about similar arrangements.
One of the start-up carriers that proliferated nationwide in the 1990s, Vanguard's last quarterly profit was in 1998.
With a fleet of six Boeing 737s and seven MD-80s, Vanguard has specialized in low fares. Its recent schedules listed 17 destinations.
The Kansas City-based discount carrier has never shown an annual profit in eight years of operation. A recorded announcement on its reservation line early Tuesday said all Tuesday and Wednesday flights had been cancelled and all other flights scheduled after that have been suspended indefinitely.
"The company is seeking funds in order to resume operations," the announcement said. "The company intends to file for protection under Chaprter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code."
On Monday night, calls to Vanguard headquarters were met by a recording saying all circuits were busy. The airline's Web site had still been accepting reservations earlier in the evening, but by 11 p.m. the site was blank except for a link to another carrier, Frontier Airlines.
By early Tuesday, the Website carried a new message: "I'm sorry our booking server is temporarily down! Sorry for the inconvenience!"
Scott Dickson, Vanguard's chairman and CEO, told The Kansas City Star that the failure to secure the financing it needed was forcing the company to plan the Chapter 11 filing.
"This is a sad day for Vanguard, for its employees and for Kansas City," Dickson said. "Today's events hurt people ... We have done everything in our power to avoid today's actions."
Elizabeth Cattell, Vanguard's vice president or marketing and advertising, said nearly 1,100 employees, including about 915 in Kansas City, will be terminated before the Chapter 11 filing. A skeleton crew of about 60 will stay in hopes that additional financing can be obtained.
Cattell said Vanguard had made arrangements for ticket-holders to buy discounted tickets from Frontier and National airlines, and it is talking to other carriers about similar arrangements.
One of the start-up carriers that proliferated nationwide in the 1990s, Vanguard's last quarterly profit was in 1998.
With a fleet of six Boeing 737s and seven MD-80s, Vanguard has specialized in low fares. Its recent schedules listed 17 destinations.