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Premiums continue to climb: Rate increases may dip, but not by very much

October 17, 2005

After four years of double-digit rate hikes, average health care insurance premiums rose less than 10 percent in 2005. And they’re expected to rise less than 10 percent again in 2006, according to several national surveys. But excuse employers if they don’t get excited about the trend. They are still faced with having to pay much higher prices or trimming benefits-or both. Health care insurance premiums this year increased 9.2 percent, a 2-percent drop in the average increase from the…

Retooling telecom: As rivals proliferate, SBC taps executive to overhaul offerings

October 10, 2005

Few industries have been as overrun by competitors as the Baby Bells-SBC Communications and other phone companies created through the breakup of Ma Bell AT&T in 1984. The San Antonio-based owner of what used to be Indiana Bell now competes along with local telephone exchange carriers that have carved out an estimated 20 percent of residential service in the state. Lately, cable TV companies such as Comcast have offered phone and broadband over the same, old coax cable that carries…

M-Plan might be ready to deal: State’s No. 2 health insurer talks merger with Ohio firm

October 3, 2005

M-Plan Inc., Indiana’s second-largest health insurer, has entered preliminary talks that could lead to a merger with Ohio’s oldest medical insurer. A source familiar with the discussions said they have centered on merging M-Plan’s Indianapolisbased parent, The HealthCare Group LLC, with Cleveland-based Medical Mutual of Ohio. The source, who asked not to be identified, said Medical Mutual would end up with the majority stake. M-Plan, a nearly 20-year-old insurer owned partly by the city’s Clarian and Community hospital systems, would…

Flexible spending extension expected to be little-used: Planners say total elimination of use-it-or-lose it rule would increase participation, make plans more useful

September 26, 2005

A new Internal Revenue Service rule relaxes the “use it or lose it” rule in flexible spending accounts by extending the period during which expenses may be incurred beyond the end of the plan year. Health care flexible spending accounts allow participants to set aside at the beginning of the year a predetermined amount of pretax money to be used for medical, dental and vision expenses not covered by insurance. Dependent care spending accounts do the same thing for child…

Ambassadair likes suitor: Chicago-based Waveland Investments might have jobs for ATA execs if it lands travel club

September 19, 2005

Ambassadair Travel Club Inc. may chart a new destination with the help of a Chicago private equity firm whose holdings range from gas station chain Clark Brands to coffee-pot-maker West Bend. Waveland Investments LLC is the face behind Waveland Holdings LLC, an entity named in court records as signing a letter of intent to acquire Ambassadair from bankrupt parent ATA Holdings Corp. While Ambassadair said it remains profitable, despite ATA’s troubles, it has lost more than 20 percent of the…

Storm’s local impact mixed: Katrina’s aftermath will take toll on business, but rebuilding efforts might offer opportunities

September 5, 2005

Hurricane Katrina will be both a curse and a blessing to Indiana companies, which will cope with higher fuel costs and shipping problems but find themselves awash in opportunities to sell materials and machinery for rebuilding Gulf cities. Besides weathering the immediate impact of higher fuel prices, Hoosier firms will pay more for a range of goods, because of the trickle-down effect of higher shipping costs. “Our biggest concern continues to be on the ever-increasing cost of fuel. That’s s…

Fuel hike might ground ATA plan: Fleet-cut savings nearly wiped out

September 5, 2005

On the expenses line of ATA Airlines Inc.’s battered books, the savings associated with a fleet reduction might have been accounted for as a tailwind that accelerated its flight to financial solvency. Paring 35 of its 82 aircraft in the first half of this year saved the Indianapolis carrier $49 million in jet fuel and oil expenses. That’s big money for the bankrupt airline: half of what it’s trying to raise from investors to pull out of Chapter 11 and…

Travel club members take wing: Ambassadair hoping to stop declining enrollment in wake of parent ATA’s bankruptcy

August 29, 2005

Ambassadair Travel Club Inc. has lost about 20 percent of its members since parent ATA Holdings Corp. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last October, a trend its president hopes to reverse after ATA sells the long-profitable club as early as next month. “After all the unfortunate attention surrounding ATA, we expected a modest decline in membership for a temporary time and look forward to obtaining new members once we make an a n n o u n c e m e…

Industry making push for creation of state fraud unit: Indiana one of only 10 states without insurance fraud agency, but funding issues could be major obstacle

August 8, 2005

Members of the insurance industry have begun a campaign to bolster the state’s fight against fraud by targeting the creation of a bureau to help combat the crime. Indiana is one of only 10 states without an agency addressing insurance fraud, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. But the goal of the task force convened by Jim Atterholt, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Insurance, is to have a fraud bureau operating within his department sometime next…

AAR lands another maintenance customer at base: Work for ATA Airlines raises questions about future of carrier’s own maintenance hangar as fleet shrinks

July 18, 2005

ATA Airlines Inc. has tapped aircraft repair firm AAR Corp. to refurbish up to 14 older Boeing 737s joining its fleet rather than using its own maintenance operation barely a mile away. The Indianapolis-based airline also is considering a plan to abandon its maintenance facility for a smaller location at Indianapolis International Airport, according to a source involved in the leasing discussions. The bankrupt carrier indicated in a court hearing last week that it would not reject its current maintenance…

Travel firm says aloha to ATA deal: Hawaii pact with Southwest may ease loss of business from Pleasant Holidays

July 11, 2005

ATA Airlines Inc., plotting a new business plan that includes “maintaining and possibly expanding scheduled service to Hawaii,” has lost a key contract that had bolstered its lucrative lift to the Aloha State. The end of the agreement with the travel service Pleasant Holidays, starting in January, will be eased partly by a new code-sharing deal the Indianapolis carrier reached with Southwest Airlines last month, according to the increasingly Southwest-dependent ATA. West Lake, Calif.-based Pleasant Holidays pre-purchases tickets on ATA….

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Here’s the secret to painless wireless hookups

July 11, 2005

Last time, in the June 27 issue, we explored the basics of data WiFi, which is often just called “wireless.” This time, we’ll look at how you hook up your laptop or notebook to a wireless provider. Wireless works pretty much like a cell phone does, except that you’re exchanging data packets, not voice. Therefore, you need the computer equivalent of a cell phone. Most new notebook computers come with built-in wireless hardware that you’ll never physically see, because it’s…

ATA captain bids bon voyage to Orion: Mikelsons unloads $4.95 million luxury vessel as company’s struggles take toll on his assets

July 4, 2005

ATA Holdings Corp. Chairman J. George Mikelsons has sold his $4.95 million yacht and has been handed a regal bill for its crew’s pay and benefits-the latest blow to the fortunes of the bankrupt airline’s founder. “When pilots get together, one of the things that always comes up is, ‘Why does George still have his boats?’ People still complain,” said Rusty Ayers of the Air Line Pilots Association, in Chicago. “We used to joke that if they ever got furloughed,…

Furnace maker picks Indy as hot spot for distribution: Lennox to move Illinois, Ohio operations to east side

June 27, 2005

Lennox Industries Inc. is giving Indianapolis a vote of confidence as a logistics hub with plans to move distribution of its commercial heating and cooling products from facilities in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, to the east side of Indianapolis. Although the distribution center is relatively small at 60,000 square feet, Lennox is one of a few companies that have abandoned distribution centers in other cities in favor of Indianapolis’ low cost of real estate, central location and interstate access. Last…

Airport seeking more air cargo operations: Carriers that fly to Asia among hot prospects beyond FedEx at nation’s 7th-largest cargo airport

June 20, 2005

When all exports are considered, by air and sea, China is Indiana’s eighthlargest destination, growing 25 percent last year to $294.4 million, according to the Center for International Business Education and Research at Indiana University. Air cargo to China is 10 times greater than a decade ago, Michael Ducker, an executive vice president of FedEx, said in a presentation about China. Airport officials won’t say whom they’ve courted in the cargo realm. “We’re casting a pretty broad net,” said BAA…

City to land more aircraft mechanics: Lease calls for Republic to add 186 jobs

June 13, 2005

Republic Airways Holdings plans to add nearly 200 aircraft maintenance jobs at Indianapolis International Airport, based on employment projections in a lease the carrier recently signed for a new hangar. The Indianapolis-based regional carrier that employs 114 mechanics here “agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve average employment of 300 full-time Indiana resident employees at the facility … at an average salary of $18 per hour during the first year,” states a lease signed April 15 with the Indianapolis…

Shrinkage a growing problem: Manufacturers seek ways to stem product losses

June 13, 2005

The U.S. manufacturing industry has begun rebounding from its economic swoon, but some industry experts think more manufacturers must become more efficient and eliminate waste if they are to compete in the current global climate. While the Manufacturers Alliance, an Arlington, Va.-based business and public policy research group, projected manufacturing growth of 3.4 percent this year and 3 percent in 2006, big challenges remain. One growing problem is the so-called shrinkage factor, defined in manufacturing as the percentage by which…

State malpractice safety net nears big rate hike: IRMIA to start double-digit increases July 1

June 13, 2005

Many health care providers who use Indiana’s safety-net malpractice insurance will find it less comfortable after a 36-percent rate increase kicks in July 1. Poor investment returns and increased enrollment, among other factors, have teamed up to force the Indiana Residual Malpractice Insurance Authority into one of its largest premium rate increases in years, according to Cindy Donovan, deputy commissioner of financial services operations for the Indiana Department of Insurance. Providers and insurers say the rate hike may push some…

Long commute for former Lt. Gov.: Kathy Davis to lead South Bend tech firm

June 6, 2005

Her days as lieutenant governor are finished, but it didn’t take Kathy Davis long to find a new management role. She’s accepted a job leading South Bend-based telecommunications connectivity provider Global Access Point. “After we lost [the election] and I knew I’d be looking for a job, I thought it would be ideal if I could find some entrepreneur who was very technical and needed some help on the management side,” Davis said. “Then I was fortunate that opportunity came…

With cash tight, ATA trading new planes for old: Smaller version of 737 can be loaded and unloaded more quickly, allowing for more flights per day

April 18, 2005

Plans by ATA Holdings Corp. to slash its number of aircraft by nearly half include replacing its sleek, new jets with smaller, older Boeing 737s that can fly more trips daily, generating more cash than the larger planes that now dominate its fleet. The Indianapolis-based parent of ATA Airlines wants to lease a dozen 737-300s and 737-500s-relatively stubby planes that date as far back as 1984. Meanwhile, ATA is returning 18 of the 33 Boeing 737-800s it had at the…

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Articles

Premiums continue to climb: Rate increases may dip, but not by very much

Retooling telecom: As rivals proliferate, SBC taps executive to overhaul offerings

M-Plan might be ready to deal: State’s No. 2 health insurer talks merger with Ohio firm

Flexible spending extension expected to be little-used: Planners say total elimination of use-it-or-lose it rule would increase participation, make plans more useful

Ambassadair likes suitor: Chicago-based Waveland Investments might have jobs for ATA execs if it lands travel club

Storm’s local impact mixed: Katrina’s aftermath will take toll on business, but rebuilding efforts might offer opportunities

Fuel hike might ground ATA plan: Fleet-cut savings nearly wiped out

Travel club members take wing: Ambassadair hoping to stop declining enrollment in wake of parent ATA’s bankruptcy

Industry making push for creation of state fraud unit: Indiana one of only 10 states without insurance fraud agency, but funding issues could be major obstacle

AAR lands another maintenance customer at base: Work for ATA Airlines raises questions about future of carrier’s own maintenance hangar as fleet shrinks

Travel firm says aloha to ATA deal: Hawaii pact with Southwest may ease loss of business from Pleasant Holidays

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Here’s the secret to painless wireless hookups

ATA captain bids bon voyage to Orion: Mikelsons unloads $4.95 million luxury vessel as company’s struggles take toll on his assets

Furnace maker picks Indy as hot spot for distribution: Lennox to move Illinois, Ohio operations to east side

Airport seeking more air cargo operations: Carriers that fly to Asia among hot prospects beyond FedEx at nation’s 7th-largest cargo airport

City to land more aircraft mechanics: Lease calls for Republic to add 186 jobs

Shrinkage a growing problem: Manufacturers seek ways to stem product losses

State malpractice safety net nears big rate hike: IRMIA to start double-digit increases July 1

Long commute for former Lt. Gov.: Kathy Davis to lead South Bend tech firm

With cash tight, ATA trading new planes for old: Smaller version of 737 can be loaded and unloaded more quickly, allowing for more flights per day