Five airlines at Indianapolis International Airport–all of them paying higher fees and rents to help
pay for the $1.1 billion midfield terminal–complain they may be stuck footing the bill for part of the
$214 million FedEx cargo-hub expansion.
ATA Airlines Inc. largely blames FedEx Corp. for knocking it out of business this spring. Now, the bankrupt airline is preparing
to fight back by suing the Memphis cargo giant, charging it wrongfully canceled a military-charter contract that generated
hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for ATA.
Former ATA Airlines employees are trying to comb the wreckage of the bankrupt carrier, looking to grab their financial belongings
before managers and lenders cart off what little is left. Pilots and flight attendants are opposing retention bonuses for
managers who will spend the next several months turning out the lights of the 35-year-old carrier.
Northwest Airlines flight 1829–stranded on a Detroit taxiway for seven hours with lavatories overflowing and the 198 souls
aboard without food or water–has now landed at the Indiana General Assembly. Two Republican lawmakers have proposed creating
an “airline consumer advocate” to resolve disputes on behalf of passengers who’ve endured poor service.
The writing has been on the wall that Indianapolis might lose the headquarters for ATA Airlines and/or parent Global Aero
Logistics ever since April, when Global said it was buying Georgia-based World Air Holdings. Now, the writing is on paper:
Indianapolis has lost another headquarters.
More than 18 months after flying out of a bankruptcy reorganization that unloaded $1 billion of debt and costly aircraft leases,
the parent of ATA Airlines still finds landing a profit elusive. Indianapolis-based Global Aero Logistics posted a loss of
$46.1 million in the first half of 2007, according to documents it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Better air access to Western cities key to Indiana’s technology and bioscience industries is high on the wish list for executives
and travel managers who responded to a survey commissioned by Indianapolis International Airport.
