ATA Airlines

Airline infobox
airline = ATA Airlines

logo_size = 150
fleet_size = 29
destinations = 13
IATA = TZ
ICAO = AMT
callsign = AMTRAN
parent = Global Aero Logistics, Inc.
company_slogan = Go Easy. Go ATA.
founded = 1973 (Ambassadair)
ceased = April 3, 2008
headquarters = Indianapolis, Indiana
key_people = J. George Mikelsons (Founder) John G. Denison (CEO)
hubs =

*Chicago Midway International Airport
Closed in 2008
*Indianapolis International Airport
Closed in 2005

focus_cities =

*Honolulu International Airport
*Oakland International Airport

frequent_flyer = ATA Travel Awards
lounge =
alliance =
website = [http://www.ata.com/ www.ata.com]

ATA Airlines, Inc., formerly known as American Trans Air, was an American low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights throughout the US mainland and Hawaii, as well as military and commercial charter flights around the world. The airline maintained focus cities at Chicago Midway International Airport, Honolulu International Airport, and Oakland International Airport.

The airline's parent company, New ATA Holdings, Inc. (the successor to ATA Holdings Inc. which was also once known as Amtran), recently changed its name to Global Aero Logistics, Inc. and purchased World Air Holdings, Inc. for $315 million in an all cash transaction with the financial backing of the Matlin Patterson Investment firm. World Air Holdings, Inc. owns and operates North American Airlines and World Airways as two separate US-certified air carriers. ATA was North America's largest charter airline, and until its shutdown transported more troops for the United States Military than any other commercial airline.

On April 2 2008, ATA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. ATA then announced it was ceasing all services, effective 4:00 AM EDT, Thursday April 3, 2008, [Matthews, Jim. " [http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=comm&id=news/ATA04038.xml&headline=ATA%20Airlines%20Shuts%20Down ATA Airlines Shuts Down] ". "Aviation Week". 2008-04-03. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.] citing the unexpected loss of a major contract for its military charter business, as a subcontractor of FedEx Express [Raine, George; DeBare, Ilana; Baker, Ilana. " [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/04/MNP8VVGGQ.DTL ATA bankruptcy strands many fliers in Oakland] ". "San Francisco Chronicle". 2008-04-04. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.] , along with recent increases in jet fuel prices. [cite press release |url=http://www.globalaerologistics.com/News/tabid/1380/ctl/ViewPressRelease/mid/3283/PressReleaseID/662/Default.aspx |title=ATA Airlines Files for Chapter 11 and Discontinues Operations Following Cancellation of Key Military Charter Agreement |publisher=ATA Airlines |date=2008-04-03 |accessdate=2008-04-04 ] Red-eye flights in the air at the time of the announcement proceeded to their destinations. Flight 4586 from Honolulu to Phoenix was the last ATA flight, departing almost 2-hours late at 12:10am (HDT) arriving April 3rd, 2008 at 8:48am (MST).

History

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 707s based in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1983, American Trans Air introduced its first DC-10, a series -10, and was followed in 1984 by another, a series -40. Amtran, Inc., was founded by owner J. George Mikelsons in 1984, as the holding company for Ambassadair, ATA, and any future subsidiaries. The airline replaced the 707s with Boeing 727-100 trijets in 1984, and added Rolls-Royce powered Lockheed L-1011s (most of which were ex-Delta Air Lines and TWA) in 1985, and Boeing 757-200s in 1989. Scheduled service flights began in 1986 between Indianapolis, Indiana (Indianapolis International Airport) and Fort Myers, Florida (Southwest Florida International Airport).

Expansion

In 1990, ATA began scheduled service from New York Kennedy to Belfast continuing to Riga, Latvia using Boeing 757-200 aircraft. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9C0CE6D9163FF93AA15754C0A966958260 ATA begins flights to Latvia (1990)] ] The founder of ATA is of Latvian ancestry. The service was unprofitable and was discontinued after a few years.

ATA performed services for the United States Department of Defense and US military during the 1991 Gulf War, transporting 108,000 military personnel on 494 missions for Operation Desert Storm and yet again during Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom with the activation of the (CRAF) Civil Reserve Air Fleet. During these periodic activations, ATA flight crews often and routinely spent as many as 19 hours aboard ATA aircraft in support of U.S. troops and the overall national defense missions.

In February 1991, ATA won a contract for daily 727-100 shuttle operations between Nellis Air Force Base and Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, a service that ended in late 1992 when Tonopah F-117 Stealth Fighter operations ceased. The 727-100s were replaced by Boeing 727-200s in 1993.

By the mid-1990s, ATA began focusing on increasing its scheduled service (based on leisure travel) and began using the slogan, "On ATA, You're on Vacation." The airline began operating a sizable hub at Chicago Midway International Airport, and offered scheduled services throughout United States, as well as flights to Hawaii while continuing extensive military and government contract air charter flights.

In 2000, ATA placed a large order for 39 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft and 12 Boeing 757-300 aircraft to expand its fleet for additional flights from Midway. That year, the airline also began scheduled flights to Mexico and was designated as a major carrier by the United States Department of Transportation.

In June 2001, ATA received the delivery of their first new aircraft, Boeing 737-800 registered as "N301TZ". In August of that same year, the airline received the delivery of another new type of aircraft, the Boeing 757-300; ATA's first 757-300 was registered as "N550TZ". The airline introduced a new logo on these new airplanes, replacing ATA as a "vacation airline" and putting more emphasis on ATA as a "business airline."

After 2001 the 737-800 with their ETOPS capabilities became the fleet's mainstay of ATA's medium haul operations from the west coast to and from Hawaii and Mexico.

Chicago Express / ATA Connection

In 2000, ATA and Chicago Express launched ATA Connection, a regional affiliate of ATA Airlines that would link regional mid-western cities with ATA's Chicago hub and Indianapolis focus city; Chicago Express was purchased for $1.9 million on June 1, 1999, and operated as a separate subsidiary. After ATA entered bankruptcy in late 2004, a decision was made to end ATA's regional service and terminate Chicago Express/ATA Connection resulting in the permanent layoff of its entire staff. Chicago Express' assets were auctioned off, ATA terminated turboprop service (ATA Connection), and Chicago Express ceased all operations on March 28 2005.

American Trans Air

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 Corp. In 2003, the name of the airline itself was changed to ATA Airlines, Inc. In 2007, ATA Holdings changed names again; this time to Global Aero Logistics, Inc., immediately after the acquisition of World Air Holdings.

First bankruptcy

On October 26 2004, ATA Holdings and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Eventually, shareholders of ATA Holdings stock lost all their money and received no shares. [ [http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=16162 ATA Moves Closer to Emerging From Bankruptcy] ] The stock, previously traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange as "ATAH", was delisted.

In 2004, AirTran Airways agreed to pay $90 million for ATA's 14 gates at Chicago-Midway. Southwest made a higher bid and AirTran's deal fell apart.

In December 2004, ATA entered into an agreement with Southwest Airlines to transfer six gates at Chicago Midway International 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 Midway International 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 twenty 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 three ex-United Airlines Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Three 737-300s entered service with ATA in late November 2005. Due to high lease rates, the three 737-300s were taken out of service in November 2007, and returned to their owners.

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. 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 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. Later that year, 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, ATA Airlines received court approval to sell its Ambassadair Travel Club division to Grueninger Cruises and Tours.

In a third round of cuts announced on December 6 2005, ATA announced that it would discontinue service to three additional cities. ATA would suspend flights from Chicago Midway International Airport to San Francisco, Orlando, and Fort Myers in late April 2006. Following these cancellations, ATA would have only 18 daily scheduled departures from its former Chicago hub and 52 scheduled departures company-wide. Moreover, the company would be left with only 1 gate at Midway, down from its previous total of 14, 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 would expand codesharing with Southwest Airlines between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and cities in the Southwest system that connect via Chicago Midway International Airport.

In January 2006, Matlin Patterson and certain pre-bankruptcy creditors invested over $100 million in ATA and took the company private, also taking over ATA Holdings, Inc. Following the transaction, on February 28, 2006, ATA Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. However, the airline was still shrinking. ATA continued to return more aircraft, including the 1,500th Boeing 737 Next Generation produced, [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0578884/M/ N333TZ] , which was delivered new to ATA on May 14, 2004. [ [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0578884/M/ TZ receives 1,500th 737NG] ]

Final years

Following its first emergence from Chapter 11 protection ATA made several efforts to return to profitability, but due to the rising cost of fuel and negative pressures on ticket price ATA was unable to recover and ended operations on April 2 2008. These late efforts included:

2006

* ATA commenced service between Houston's William P. Hobby Airport (KHOU) and New York's LaGuardia Airport (KLGA).
* ATA initiated new flights out of Oakland, CA, Ontario, CA and Hilo, HI on April 28, 2006.
* In support of its codeshare agreement with Southwest Airlines, ATA moved its operations in the greater San Francisco area from San Francisco International Airport to Oakland International Airport
* ATA introduced several new flights from the West Coast of the United States to and from Hawaii including the only nonstop service between Hilo, HI and the mainland United States.
* ATA announced they would purchase nine of Northwest Airlines remaining DC-10-30s. These aircraft were be used on military troop charters, replacing ATA's aging L1011-500 fleet. ATA planned to enter seven of the planes into service, mothballing the remainder for parts.

2007

* ATA Airlines announced that Subodh Karnik would become ATA's new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) replacing John G. Denison, who continued as ATA's Chairman of the Board of Directors.
* ATA for the first time in three years added several flights to and from its Chicago (MDW) hub.
* ATA's parent company, ATA Holdings, announced on April 5 2007 that it would change its name to Global Aero Logistics, Inc., in a move that, according to then-CEO Subodh Karnik, "better reflects the company's diverse, worldwide operations." [ [http://ata.com/about_ata/news/20070405.pdf ATA Holding changes its name] ] That same day, Global Aero Logistics, Inc. announced an agreement to acquire World Air Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries, World Airways and North American Airlines, for $315 million in cash. Each airline, as stated in the official announcement, was to keep operating independently. [ [http://ata.com/about_ata/news/20070405a.pdf Global Aero Logistics acquisition of World Air Holdings] ] With the acquisition of World Airways, and the holding companies organizational name change to Global Aero Logistics, it was decided 3 of the planned 9 DC-10s acquired by ATA, would be transferred directly to World Airways' operating certificate, resulting in employee layoffs at ATA.
* Starting in October 2007, ATA announced they would terminate service on several routes affecting, Chicago, IL Chicago Midway International Airport, Washington, D.C. (Washington National Airport), New York, NY (LaGuardia Airport), and Ontario, CA (LA/Ontario International Airport) These service cuts left ATA operating to 4 destinations from its former Chicago Hub.

2008

* In March 2008, Subodh Karnik resigned as CEO, former CEO and current Chairman of the Board John G. Denison served as acting CEO until ATA's demise. No public reason was given for Karnik's departure, but the airline's financial problems coupled with the poor execution of the purchase of several DC-10s for use as military charters was rumored to have been a factor.

econd bankruptcy and the end of ATA

On April 2 2008, ATA declared bankruptcy and ceased all operations. This sudden end came about due to the loss of a key contract with military charter operations. It was the third of four U.S. airlines to announce a complete shut down in the week of March 30 2008 after Aloha Airlines did so on March 30, Minnesota-based charter Champion Air did so March 31, and Skybus Airlines terminated service on April 5. The shutdown of ATA took effect at 4:00 AM EDT, Thursday April 3, 2008, [ [http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=comm&id=news/ATA04038.xml&headline=ATA%20Airlines%20Shuts%20Down ATA Airlines Shuts Down] ] although some flights were airborne at the time and continued to their destinations, with the final arrival being ATA flight 4586 from Honolulu to Phoenix, which landed at 8:46 AM, MST, or seven hours and 46 minutes after the announced shutdown. [ [http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AMT4586 ATA Flight 4586] ] At the time of the shutdown ATA employed around 2,300 people all of whom were permanently laid off. According to press reports, up to 10,000 passengers were affected and many of them had to scramble for help on several airlines. Most of them, however, had to pay for new tickets.As of April 10th, some Computer reservations system such as Amadeus and Sabre still had valid reservations showing for ATA Flights, making the situation worst for those passengers with Interlining.

Destinations

At the time of its shut down, ATA Airlines served 13 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States. All routes were discontinued on April 2, 2008 due to ATA's bankruptcy filing, with the exception of some en route red-eye flights, which arrived on April 3. [ [http://tz.flightlookup.com/routemap/ata_FlashMapping_002.php ATA Route Map ] ] With ATA's additions of Kona and Lihue, Hawaii in June 2007, the airline had served more Hawaiian destinations non-stop from the mainland United States than any other airline in the world. [ [http://ata.com/about_ata/news/20070614.pdf ATA serves most Hawaiian cities nonstop] ]

USALatin Sky

On March 15 2008, ATA was supposed to resume service to Miami International Airport, and fly scheduled flights to Central America for the first time with the addition of flights to Guatemala City and San José, Costa Rica. [ [http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3800094/ ATA to return to MIA; to serve GUA and SJO] ] USALatin Sky was to market the airline's flights to Central American destinations from Miami, Florida. [ [http://usalatinsky.com USALatin Sky] ] As part of the deal, ATA Airlines would have based a single Boeing 737-800 aircraft in Miami to fly the routes to Guatemala City and San José. [ [http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=090000648037b7d1 Regulations.gov ] ] Due to problems with ATA and USALatin Sky, the service was cancelled prior to commencing, and no flights under USALatin Sky ever operated. [ [http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2008/marzo/14/226374.html USALatin Sky to not operate] ]

Fleet

At the time of its shut down, ATA had 29 aircraft (3 owned, 26 leased) in its fleet consisting of: [ [http://www.ata.com/about_ata/news/traffic_releases/2008_february.pdf ATA Airlines Fleet Fact Sheet] ]

As of March 2008, ATA's average fleet age was 12.3 years old. [ [http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/ATA%20Airlines.htm ATA Airlines Fleet Age] ]

ATA's Boeing customer number was 3N.

Fleet details at time of shutdown

The tail numbers of the ATA fleet include the following significant aircraft.
*ATA received delivery of their first 737-800, (N301TZ), on June 4, 2001.
*ATA received delivery of their first 757-200, (N757AT), on November 16, 1989.
*ATA received delivery of their first 757-300, (N550TZ), on August 4, 2001.
*ATA received delivery of their first L-1011-500, (N163AT), on July 28, 1998.
*ATA received delivery of their first DC-10-30, (N701TZ), on December 29, 2006.

Previously retired fleet

ATA ExecuJet, a Part 135 air taxi subsidiary of ATA Holdings, the parent company of ATA Airline, also retired the following aircraft in 2001: [http://web.archive.org/web/20040602191520/www.ataexecujet.com/aircraft.html ExecuJet fleet page] .]
* Bell 206B Long Ranger, owned by ATA's founder, J. George Mikelsons
* Cessna Citation II
* Learjet 35

Affinity programs

ATA Travel Awards

Launched in 2003, ATA's frequent flyer program, ATA Travel Awards, offered one of the lowest thresholds for earning travel, with the added benefit of allowing reward redemtion free of blackout date restrictions. After two roundtrips booked on the company's website, customers earned a coach companion ticket on any flight operated by ATA Airlines throughout the continental United States. All tickets booked online received double credit toward that particular trip versus purchasing through a telephone or travel agent. While award availability to Hawaii was very limited, travelers did earn twice the normal number of credits when they purchased airfare on Hawaii-bound flights. With the shutdown of operations, ATA's frequent flyer programs were suspended and all earned points voided. As a result of the recent enhancements in ATA's codeshare agreement with Southwest Airlines, those purchasing flights directly from ATA reservations and ata.com were given the option of earning points toward either ATA Travel Awards, or Southwest's Rapid Rewards. When ATA ceased operations, the relationship with Southwest Airlines was effectively terminated.

ATA Airlines FlightBank

Launched in 2006, ATA created a unique program called FlightBank [ [http://www.ataflightbank.com/loyalty/userProgramDetailsView.do;jsessionid=1F5B7A02AA1DFDDF77A414B3D57F4F0E?ts_=1178520720515 ATA FlightBank] ] , a rewards program for the frequent traveler between the U.S. Mainland and the Hawaiian Islands. For a set "fee", the "bank" provided the traveler with a flexible number of flight credits that could be used over the course of a year, at vastly reduced savings and with no blackout dates for advanced bookings. With the shutdown of operations, ATA's FlightBank program was also suspended.

ervice

Although ATA Airlines was marketed and advertised as a "low-cost airline carrier," it maintained many of the features which marked this airline as full service, at least by the standards American and European travelers have become accustomed to. Unlike many discount airline carriers in Europe, ATA offered complimentary features such as window shades and reclining airline seats on all of its airplanes, leather seats on most of its airplanes, adjustable head rest "wings" on many of its planes, limited AVOD audio visual on demand systems, complimentary assigned seating, complimentary checked luggage, complimentary soft drinks and non alcoholic beverage, complimentary bookings via website reservations, complimentary inter-airline baggage connection transfers, and frequent flyer programs.

ATA sold snacks and snack packs under the label Skyway Café. Upon military and most charter flights, ATA provided fully complimentary airline meals or depending upon flight length, snacks. On some flights ATA provided in-flight entertainment such as documentaries, comedies, "classic television," music videos, and music. ATA aircraft included up to eight audio channels. Some flights over five hours included films. [" [http://www.ata.com/traveler_resources/inflight_services/meals.html In-flight Services] ." "ATA Airlines".]

Codeshare agreements

At the time of its shutdown, ATA Airlines had a codeshare agreement with Southwest Airlines. As far back as 2001, ATA explored a passenger sharing agreement, with a now defunct airline called Access Air which also had midwestern United States flight operations. This agreement was short lived due to the tedious economic condition of this post deregulation "start up" carrier. [ [http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=CE2CDD78-D484-4031-A75B3ED232AB9004 Radio Iowa: Iowa airline looks to start again ] ] [ [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/FEATURE%2FCoast+to+Coast+on+Corporate+Coach:+AccessAir+Targets+the...-a055748768 FEATURE/Coast to Coast on Corporate Coach: AccessAir Targets the Business Traveler with No Advance Purchase and Reasonable Fares. - Free Online Library ] ] [ [http://www.allbusiness.com/operations/shipping-air-freight/545040-1.html Ruan Inc. offers funding for AccessAir's return to passenger services. | Transportation > Air Transportation from AllBusiness.com ] ] [ [http://media.www.eraunews.com/media/storage/paper917/news/2000/11/27/UndefinedSection/Industry.Comment.11.27.00-1651064.shtml Industry Comment 11.27.00 - Undefined Section ] ]

ATA was not involved in an alliance.

Southwest Airlines

ATA Airlines, one of Southwest Airlines' main competitors in the Chicago market, historically operated out of Midway Airport alongside Southwest. ATA declared bankruptcy, and 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.

In a departure from its traditional "go it alone" strategy,Fact|date=July 2007 Southwest entered into its first domestic codesharing arrangement with ATA, which enabled Southwest Airlines to serve ATA markets in Hawaii, Washington D.C., and New York City. Some years earlier, Southwest had a short-lived traditional codeshare arrangement with Icelandair at Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

In late 2005, ATA secured $100 million in committed 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 was expanded, with some internal controversy, to include all of ATA's domestic destinations and more than 60 of Southwest's 63 destinations. In 2006, Southwest's pilot union approved a codeshare sideletter to their contract with limitations on the growth of this and other codeshare agreements. While these restrictions today are minor, outsourcing remains a growing concern in the unions' current contract negotiations.

In 2006, Southwest Airlines (Flight Code WN) began marketing ATA's two-letter TZ Coded Flights. ATA's dependence on the Southwest network continued to grow in 2006 to where ATA offered over 70 flights a week to Hawaii from Southwest's focus cities in PHX, LAS, LAX, and OAK. Additional connecting service was available to many other cities across the United States. Plans had been announced for ATA to offer exclusive international service for Southwest by 2010. In 2006, ATA announced its intention to purchase nine widebody DC-10 aircraft from Northwest Airlines. Southwest took over all ground operations for ATA at MDW, OAK, PHX, LAX, and LAS. These contracts provided that Southwest ramp personnel would now handle all ground operations for ATA, (loading of aircraft, ground servicing, etc.). The details of these contracts were not made public, but represented Southwest's and ATA's growing codeshare relationship.

In February 2005, after J. George Mikelsons stepped down as CEO of ATA Airlines, John Denison, Southwest's former Chief Financial Officer took over. Effective January 1, 2007, Denison turned things over to Subodh Karnik, who became President and Chief Executive Officer. Denison remained Chairman of Global Aero Logistics Inc., and was renamed as interim President and CEO when Subodh Karnik stepped down in March 2008. [ [http://www.globalaerologistics.com/News/tabid/1380/ctl/ViewPressRelease/mid/3283/PressReleaseID/654/Default.aspx Karnik steps down as CEO; Denison named interim President/CEO] ] [ [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-2220930/AMERICAN-AIR-TO-BE-SOLD.html AMERICAN AIR TO BE SOLD.(American Eagle Airlines proceeding with sale ofl Executive Airlines)(Brief Article) Industry & Business Article - Research, News, Information, Contacts, Divisions, Subsidiaries, Business Associations ] ] [ [http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2002/11/04/daily56.html American Eagle to sell Executive Airlines - South Florida Business Journal: ] ] Presently, there is no plan to open the ATA/Southwest codeshare to ATA's sister carriers, North American Airlines or World Airways, which are co-owned by the same corporate entity created from ATA Holdings.

Livery

In ATA Airlines' 35 year history, the airline had three different mainline liveries and two special liveries.

Mainline liveries and logos

Final (flag)

ATA's last livery, known as the "Flag Livery", was introduced when the airline announced rapid expansion in 2001. It is primarily white with "ATA" painted on both sides of the aircraft. The company logo was also slanted upward on the aircraft tail resembling a flag. There was a gold stripe that spanned across the outward side of the engines and nacelles, and the winglets (on the 737-800s) were blue on the outside and unpainted on the inside. This livery was first introduced on ATA's new 737-800 and 757-300 aircraft and while it has been integrated onto some of ATA's 757-200s, it was never painted on any of ATA's 727s which were retired in late 2001.

Example Aircraft: (737: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0554857/M/ N315TZ] / 757: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0575266/M/ N551TZ] / L-1011: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1176576/M/ N162AT] / DC-10: [http://myaviation.net/?pid=01088004 N701TZ] )

Intermediate (palm tree)

At the time of ATA's demise, many 757-200s and some Lockheed L-1011 still carried the airline's previous livery. The "Palm Tree Livery", which was introduced in 1996, was also primarily white with "ATA" painted on both sides of the aircraft; the letters were painted in a "bubble-like" fashion. There was a palm tree and a sun on the tail, as well as "ATA" in small letters. The engine nacelles were painted blue, with the outboard side of each nacelle displaying a stylized sun. This livery, introduced to emphasize ATA as a "vacation airline", was synonymous with the phrase "On ATA, You're on Vacation".

Example Aircraft: (727: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0393984/M/ N782AT] / 757: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1174113/M/ N517AT] / L-1011: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1099649/M/ N161AT] )

Original (runway)

ATA's original livery, known as the "Runway Livery", was introduced when the airline began scheduled passenger service in 1981. Because ATA's first aircraft were ex-American Airlines aircraft, ATA's original livery was based on American's livery. The livery featured three stripes running the length of the aircraft in the following order: gold, white, and blue. The words "American Trans Air" followed by ATA's "runway logo" were painted above the gold stripe on the fuselage. The aircraft tail also featured gold, white, and blue stripes along the bottom with a bigger ATA runway logo in the center. All of ATA's Boeing 707s, and a majority of the airline's 727s, 757-200s, and Lockheed L-1011s wore this livery at some point. This livery was painted on every ATA aircraft until 1996, making this ATA's longest lasting livery at 15 years.

Example Aircraft: (707: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0399837/M/ N7599A] / 727: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0501796/M/ N768AT] / 757: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0583563/M/ N757AT] / L-1011: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1135970/M/ N186AT] / DC-10: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0221702/M/ N183AT] )

pecial liveries

Throughout ATA Airlines' history, the company had two dedicated paint schemes. In addition to these, ATA's first Boeing 737-800, [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0272579/M/ N301TZ] , had the words "American Dream" inscribed alongside the nose of the aircraft; it was the only aircraft in ATA's fleet to have those words written on it. Other schemes were used to celebrate the company's twenty-fifth anniversary, as well as a marketing deal with Hawaiian tour operator, Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays.

25th Anniversary

In 1998, ATA Airlines celebrated their 25th Anniversary. The airline decided to commemorate their anniversary in a big way. In addition to a year-long celebration, two separate aircraft, N772AT (727-200) and N520AT (757-200), were given a special livery which was commonly referred to as the "25th Anniversary Scheme". The design featured the entire plane painted blue with "25th Anniversary" painted in large gold writing near the front of the aircraft fuselage. The aircraft tail featured "ATA" in gold lettering with pieces of confetti scattered around the ATA logo. Red, orange, pink, and yellow streamers adorned the sides of the fuselage, as well as the engines. While this was meant to be a temporary livery, the 25th Anniversary scheme adorned N520AT until 2003 when the 757 was repainted to ATA's current livery. N772AT wore the livery until the 727 was retired in 2001. The 25th Anniversary scheme still adorns N772AT today as she lies deserted in the desert.

Example Aircraft: (727: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1126158/M/ N772AT] / 757: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0853568/M/ N520AT] )

Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays

In 1994, ATA partnered with tour operator Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, which was the largest tour operator flying to Hawaii. To promote the alliance, several L-1011s were adorned in a "Hawaiian livery". The "Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays" livery has appeared only on two types of ATA's aircraft; the Lockheed L-1011, and later, the Boeing 757-300. The livery had two different forms; the more extravagant was painted on the Lockheed L-1011s. The livery was primarily white and featured "ATA" in big bubble letters near the front of the aircraft, and "Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays" spelled out after "ATA" near the top of the fuselage. Like the mainline livery, the engines were painted with a sun. The livery basically resembled the "Palm Tree Livery" that mainline aircraft adorned at the time. There was one big difference. "Hawaii" was spelled out in large letters horizontally across the aircraft tail. After the L-1011s were removed from scheduled service in 2002, two 757-300s were painted in the Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays livery; the elaborate TriStar livery was replaced with a toned-down livery. The new livery was ATA's current livery with the words "Pleasant Holidays" painted in small letters near the front of the fuselage. This livery and ATA's partnership with Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays was terminated in 2005 when Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays signed a larger network deal with United Airlines [ [http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3500603/ ATA & PHH split] ]

Example Aircraft: (757: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0300821/M/ N555TZ] / L-1011: [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0482819/M/ N163AT] )

Incidents and accidents

ATA Airlines never had a fatal passenger event since it began regular passenger service in 1981. [ [http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/ata.htm ATA Airlines Accident History] ]

References

External links

*wayback|http://www.ata.com|ATA Airlines official website
*wayback|http://www.atasights.com|ATA Sights inflight magazine
* [http://tz.flightlookup.com/routemap/ata_FlashMapping_002.php ATA Airlines Route Map]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23933230 ATA discontinues flights, files for bankruptcy] MSNBC April 3 2008
* [http://www.iflewata.com/ Memorial Website for ATA Airlines]