Round and round we go: ATA bites the dust now

Aloha, croaks last week; Champion crashes and burns on Tuesday (figuratively, of course); and now this. ATA announced this morning that they have filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and ceased all flight operations effective immediately. Another Third-rate Airline ATA is claiming they are the latest victim in a string of murders by the evil rising prices of jet fuel. The Indianapolis based charter and scheduled airline also states it has lost out on a key military charter contract for 2009. FedEx, the team leader for an arrangement with the DOD and Air Mobility Command, officially booted ATA from the team next year. Apparently this team, of which ATA has been a part of for nearly 20 years, was just about the only thing that kept them flying with a nice little injection of military funding. That, coupled with the ridiculous spike in fuel prices, was enough to nail down the coffin on ATA. I guess this officially ends their code-sharing agreement with Southwest, who by the way has enough problems of their own.

P.S. If you have already purchased a ticket on ATA for the future, it will make a nice origami swan, as your ticket is now worth the equivalent of an origami swan. Your SOL. Sorry, buddy.

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