ATA Airlines
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| ATA Airlines | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA TZ | ICAO AMT |
Callsign AmTran |
| Founded | 1973 | <tr><th colspan="2">Focus cities / secondary hubs</th><td>Chicago Midway Airport|
| Fleet size | 29 | |
| Destinations | 17 | |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, Indiana | |
| Key people | J. George Mikelsons (Founder) John G. Denison (CEO) Douglas F. Yakola (CFO) Subodh Karnik (COO) | |
| Website: http://www.ata.com | ||
ATA Airlines, Inc. (IATA: TZ, ICAO: AMT, and Callsign: AmTran) <ref>Airline Codes</ref> is an American low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operates scheduled passenger flights throughout the US mainland and Hawaii, as well as military and commercial charter flights around the world. ATA's Boeing customer number is 3N.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years
ATA was established in August 1973 as American Trans Air (ATA) to provide aircraft for the Ambassadair travel club. Its first aircraft was a Boeing 720 named "Miss Indy", with a second Boeing 720 ("Spirit of Indiana") being added in 1978. ATA received its common-air carrier certificate in March 1981. Operations started as a charter carrier in 1981, with a fleet of eight Boeing 707's based in Indianapolis. Amtran, Inc., was formed by owner J. George Mikelsons in 1984, as the holding company for Ambassadair, ATA, and any future subsidiaries. The airline replaced the 707's with Boeing 727-100's in 1984, and added Lockheed L-1011s (most ex-TWA) in 1985, and Boeing 757-200's in 1989. Scheduled service flights began in 1986 between Indianapolis and Fort Myers, Florida.
[edit] Expansion
ATA performed services for the US military during the 1991 Gulf War, transporting 108,000 military personnel on 494 missions for Operation Desert Storm. The 727-100's were replaced by Boeing 727-200's in 1993. By the mid-1990s, ATA operated a sizable hub in Chicago and offered scheduled services throughout continental USA, as well as flights to Hawaii and extensive military air charter contracts. ATA and Chicago Express launched ATA Connection, linking regional midwestern cities with ATA's Chicago operation; Chicago Express was purchased in 1999 and operated as a separate subsidiary. In 2000, ATA placed a large order for new Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 757-300 aircraft to expand its fleet for additional flights from Midway. That year, it also began scheduled flights to Mexico and was designated as a major carrier by the United States Department of Transportation.
The similarity of the American Trans Air and Airtran Airways names to those of other airlines caused confusion among customers and the general public. The airline had been known informally as ATA from early in its history, and from the mid-1990s on had been advertised as such, so in 2002 the name of the holding company was changed to ATA Holdings, Inc., and in 2003 the name of the airline itself was changed to ATA Airlines, Inc.
[edit] Restructuring
On October 27, 2004, ATA Holdings and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In December 2004, ATA entered into an agreement with Southwest Airlines to transfer six gates at Chicago Midway Airport and 27% of non-voting stock in exchange for a cash influx and codeshare agreement.
In the beginning of 2005, the airline drastically reduced flights at its Indianapolis hub to only three destinations and centered scheduled flights at Chicago's Midway Airport in order to complement Southwest Airlines codeshare flights. ATA also focused on serving markets that are business oriented and do not have Southwest service, such as San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth, and New York-LaGuardia. Additionally, ATA began offering point-to-point service not connecting to its Midway Hub, as to benefit other Southwest Airlines focus cities, such as Las Vegas, Orlando, and Phoenix, with connections to non-Southwest destinations such as Denver and Hawaii. Southwest CEO, Gary Kelly, said that revenues were up nearly 20% due to the new codesharing agreement.
On March 28, 2005, ATA shut down its commuter airline service, Chicago Express (ATA Connection), and later sold the assets to a private buyer. In attempt to reduce operating costs, the airline also downsized its fleet by returning nine Boeing 737-800 and eight Boeing 757-300 aircraft, along with numerous Boeing 757-200 aircraft. The eight 757-300 airframes were subsequently refurbished by Boeing, the lessor, and then leased to Continental Airlines.
In mid-2005, ATA entered an agreement to lease four ex-United Airlines Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
In September 2005, ATA outsourced all its Heavy Maintenance Checks to overseas and domestic contractors.
Also planned was an agreement with Continental Airlines to trade ATA's remaining four 757-300 aircraft for four 737-700 aircraft. However, in early October 2005, ATA terminated these negotiations due to the Boeing machinists strike, which would delay the delivery of the aircraft.
On October 13, 2005, ATA announced the first round of many major service reductions, ending flights to Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Newark. In addition, the planned addition of flights to Miami and Sarasota, Florida was cancelled. This ended Southwest codeshare service to Minneapolis and Newark.
On November 1, 2005, a second round of flight cuts were announced, including the suspension of scheduled service to Denver, San Juan, and their headquarters and former hub Indianapolis.
On November 17, 2005, the company received court approval to sell its Ambassadair Travel Club division to Grueninger Cruises and Tours.
Three 737-300s entered service in late November 2005.
In a third round of cuts announced on 6 December 2005, ATA announced that it would discontinue service to three additional cities. ATA would suspend flights from Chicago's Midway Airport to San Francisco, Orlando, and Fort Myers, FL, in April 2006. Following these cancellations, ATA would have only 18 daily scheduled departures from its Chicago hub and 52 scheduled departures companywide. Moreover, the company would be left with only one gate at Midway, surrendering the balance to Southwest or the city.
On December 15, 2005, ATA announced an expansion of its code-share agreement with Southwest Airlines. ATA Airlines will expand codesharing with Southwest Airlines between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and cities in the Southwest system that connect via Chicago's Midway Airport.
In January 2006, Matlin Patterson invested over $100 million in ATA and took the company private.
On February 28, 2006, ATA emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
[edit] Return to prosperity
On April 2, 2006, showing strength, ATA commenced service between Houston Hobby (KHOU) and LaGuardia Airport (KLGA). ATA had not added new service in almost two years.
As part of its continued plan of growth, ATA initiated new flights out of Oakland, CA, Ontario, CA and Hilo, HI on April 28, 2006.
ATA, in order to now be able to feed passengers from its Southwest Airlines codeshare flights, moved its San Francisco International Airport operations to Oakland International Airport, introducing two daily flights to Honolulu, HI, a daily flight to Maui, HI, and a daily flight to Hilo, HI. This made ATA the only airline to provide nonstop service between Hilo, HI and the mainland United States.
The airline also added an Ontario, CA to Honolulu, HI daily, round trip flight, making it the only scheduled passenger carrier to operate that route.
On August 31, 2006, ATA Airlines announced that Gary Ellmer would become ATA's Senior Vice President-Operations and General Manager-Charter.
On October 18, 2006, ATA Airlines announced that Subodh Karnik would become ATA's new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective January 1st, 2007, replacing John G. Denison, who will continue as ATA's Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In mid-November 2006, ATA announced they would purchase seven of Northwest Airlines remaining DC-10-30's. These aircraft will be used on military troop charters, and will replace ATA's aging L1011-500 fleet. The DC-10's are slated for service by summer 2007, and the L1011's are set to retire between March 2007 and October 2007.[citation needed]
On November 20, 2006, ATA Airlines announced new nonstop service to the Hawaiian cities of Kona, and Lihue. Also announced was the addition of a daily nonstop flight between Las Vegas and Maui, and increased frequency between Oakland and Honolulu. The flights slated to begin in mid-June, 2007.
[edit] Southwest Airlines Codeshare
Southwest Airlines, one of ATA Airlines' main competitors in the Chicago market, operates out of Chicago-Midway Airport alongside ATA. When ATA declared bankruptcy in 2004, Southwest injected capital into ATA that (among other things) would have resulted in Southwest's 27.5% ownership stake in ATA upon their exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
ATA also entered into its first domestic codesharing arrangement with Southwest, which enabled ATA to serve Southwest Airlines markets throughout the United States.
In late 2005, ATA secured $100 million in additional financing from the firm of Matlin Patterson, and Southwest's original deal with ATA was modified such that Southwest no longer retained the 27.5% stake (or any other financial interest) in ATA. The codeshare arrangement, however, continues to remain in place and has expanded, with some internal controversy, to include codesharing between all of ATA's 17 destinations and all of Southwest's 63 destinations.
[edit] Destinations
ATA Airlines currently flies to 15 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States. This number will increase to 17 destinations when the the airline adds Lihue and Kona in June, 2007.
[edit] New service
New Nonstop Service
- Oakland - Kona = new nonstop (3 flights per week)
Increased Nonstop Service
- Oakland - Honolulu = Incr from 2 to 3 daily nonstops
New Nonstop Service
- Las Vegas - Maui = new daily nonstop
- Oakland - Lihue = new nonstop (4 flights per week)
[edit] Fleet
As of November 3, 2006,<ref>http://ata.com/about_ata/news/traffic_releases/2006_october.pdf</ref> ATA has 29 aircraft in its fleet consisting of:
| Type | Number | Passenger Capacity | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 3 | <center>138<center> | Medium Haul | ATA received delivery of their first 737-322 (N401TZ) on July 11, 2005 |
| Boeing 737-800 | 12 | <center>175<center> | Medium - Long Haul | ATA received delivery of their first 737-83N (N301TZ) on May 31, 2001 |
| Boeing 757-200 | 6 | <center>197<center> | Long Haul / Charters | ATA received delivery of their first 757-23N (N757AT) on November 16, 1989 |
| Boeing 757-300 | 4 | <center>247<center> | Long Haul / Charters | ATA received delivery of their first 757-33N (N550TZ) on August 4, 2001 |
| Lockheed L-1011-500 Tristar | 4 | <center>283<center> | Long Haul Charters | ATA received delivery of their first L-1011-500 (N163AT) on July 28, 1998 [All L-1011-500s are Military-Charter use only] |
As of December, 2006, ATA's average fleet age was 9.5 years old.<ref>http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/ATA%20Airlines.htm</ref>
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[edit] Trivia
- An American Trans Air Boeing 727 is seen in the 1990 film Die Hard 2: Die Harder, the only non-fictional airline seen in the film.
- An ATA L-1011 was the first aircraft to touchdown on U.S. soil bringing troops home from the Gulf War.
- ATA is North America's largest charter airline, and transports more troops for the United States Military than any other commercial airline.
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
| Members of the Air Transport Association | |
|---|---|
| ABX Air | Alaska Airlines | Aloha Airlines | American Airlines | Astar Air Cargo | ATA Airlines | Atlas Air | Continental Airlines | Delta Air Lines | Evergreen International Airlines | FedEx | Hawaiian Airlines | JetBlue Airways | Midwest Airlines | Northwest Airlines | Southwest Airlines | United Airlines | UPS Airlines | US Airways | |
| Associate Members: Aeroméxico | Air Canada | Air Jamaica | Mexicana | |
