USA TODAY: Today in the Sky with Ben Mutzabaugh

Hawaiian Airlines began nonstop service Thursday between Oakland and Honolulu. With the new route, Oakland becomes Hawaiian's 10th destination on the U.S. mainland. In a press release, Hawaiian says its "Boeing 767-300 wide-body, twin-aisle aircraft will be the largest (passenger) aircraft serving the Oakland International Airport, seating up to 264 passengers, 18 in First Class and 246 in Coach Class."

Hawaiian announced the Oakland-Hawaii route following the sudden closure of Aloha and ATA airlines, both of which had previously provided nonstop service between Oakland and Hawaii. Hawaiian had already been flying to Bay Area with service to both San Francisco and San Jose, but yesterday’s flights marked Hawaiian's first regularly scheduled service to Oakland.

Photo: Hawaiian Airlines' inaugural Oakland service gets a water-cannon salute. Courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines.

ATA said one of the key factors in its sudden shutdown Thursday was the unexpected loss of military subcontracting work for FedEx. The Indiana Business Journal (IBJ) writes "on Jan. 22, FedEx told ATA that as of October, FedEx no longer would permit ATA to fly charters under its federal contracts. The notification came a year earlier than ATA's contract with FedEx was scheduled to end." Steven Turoff, ATA's chief restructuring officer, is quoted as telling the IBJ that ATA had tried to resolve a "dispute" with FedEx, though he offered no details on what any disagreement may have involved.

The Indianapolis Star adds: "Exactly why FedEx canceled ATA's service was unclear Thursday." FedEx officials "have not explained why they pulled the plug, not to ATA's satisfaction,'' ATA spokesman Michael Freitag tells the Star. FedEx would not comment to the Star, with FedEx spokeman Jim McCluskey offering only a frosty sounding statement that "FedEx doesn't discuss the rationale or reasons for its business decision."

Southwest is seeking a new partner to launch international service after the collapse of ATA Airlines, previously a codesharing partner with Southwest. Bloomberg News writes "Southwest has been assembling computer systems that would have let it begin flights to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean next year under a marketing accord with ATA. Southwest … now flies only in the U.S. Flights outside the country would have used ATA aircraft." Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King tells Bloomberg: "We intend to actively pursue other airline partnership opportunities. We were committed to near-international with ATA in 2009. Obviously, with Thursday's decision, we can and will focus on other potential partners."

Baltimore/Washington International is one airport where officials are watching closely. The Baltimore Sun (free registration) writes "ATA was supposed to expand (BWI’s) international operations by offering inexpensive flights to Europe through a partnership with Southwest Airlines, the airport's No. 1 carrier. The deal would have turned BWI into Southwest's international hub and boosted BWI's languishing foreign travel services," the Sun writes. Regardless of how likely the plan described by the Sun was, ATA's collapse leaves Southwest searching for a new international partner –- both at BWI and other potential international gateways.

Still, another Southwest spokeswoman echoed the airline's plans to find a new partner. "There's a lot of opportunity out there, [the challenge will] just be finding what's right for Southwest," the carrier's Whitney Eichinger tells the Sun. The paper writes "airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, a vice president with Forrester Research, said there were some partner possibilities but no clear choices or reasons to make BWI an international gateway." Harteveldt adds "it will be hard for them to make the case at BWI, but Southwest is also a very compelling partner to have. They've been profitable for 30-something years, they have a loyal base of customers, and they represent value in air transportation."

That's according to the Chicago Tribune (free registration), which talked to several ATA workers that had still been employed at Chicago Midway when the carrier abruptly shut down this morning. Customer service agent Pam Smith tells the Tribune that most ATA workers there thought the airline's shutdown would eventually come, but they didn't expect it to be this sudden. "It's a sad day, it's a happy day," she tells the Tribune. "We're happy to move on to bigger and better things, but sad because we won't see our friends anymore. It's going to be strange to not get up at 3:30 a.m., to not see everybody at the airport."

That's the headline from The Honolulu Advertiser, which writes: "ATA's 50 employees in Honolulu were told at 10 o'clock last night they would be out of work today. A short time later, 'someone said well, let's go finish up the last flight,' an ATA supervisor at Honolulu Airport who asked not be identified observed, and the shocked and disappointed employees went about their business to get Flight 4586 to Phoenix on its way." One ATA customers who missed the last flight bemoaned tells the Advertiser she is now "stuck in Hawaii" after other airlines' one-way flights sold out in the aftermath of Aloha Airlines' shutdown, the Advertiser writes. The few seats remaining were going for $600 to $1,000, the stranded ATA passenger tells the paper.

Stranded ATA passengers could also be found at Chicago Midway, where the airline had already announced plans to end service by early June. "There's no one to help us," one stranded ATA passenger tells CBS 2 of Chicago. "I mean, what do you do?" Another stranded ATA passenger, Donna Fregeau, tells CBS 2: "We drove here from Indianapolis to get a flight to go to Hawaii, and my son and his buddy are on spring break, and we're just like in shock. We had no idea. … I tried to call them yesterday just to check in, and I was on the phone for a like an hour and no one ever picked up, so I finally just hung up and tried again last night, and couldn't get through. So we just came here this morning and just found out," Fregeau says.

WTHR TV of Indianapolis writes on its website that it "began receiving calls shortly after 4:30 a.m. Thursday from people who said employees were being escorted from the company's facility near Indianapolis International Airport." The station adds that it was "around that time a release appeared on the ATA Website saying the company had filed for Chapter 11." WTHR also has video on its website featuring a report from ATA's headquarters, showing the seeing from this morning's early hours.

Southwest has responded to the shutdown of ATA Airlines, which now eliminates Southwest's option to sell codeshare tickets to Hawaii. In a press release, Southwest says: "Southwest Airlines and ATA Airlines have had a codeshare agreement since February 2005. This partnership recently allowed the airlines to exchange passengers and their checked baggage at Chicago Midway Airport; Las Vegas McCarran International; Phoenix Sky Harbor International; and Oakland International. The service was available to select ATA destinations with a single ticketing option through either airline. Southwest also marketed and sold ATA-only flights. These arrangements ended with today's announcement from ATA."

"ATA Airlines has been an outstanding partner for Southwest, and we are disappointed to hear this unfortunate news," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly says in the release. "We are sad to end our codeshare relationship with ATA but understand it's extremely difficult for an airline to flourish in today's arduous financial environment that has been plagued by soaring fuel prices."

Southwest says it will do its best to accommodate customers "who purchased a ticket on Southwest and are scheduled to travel on ATA service by rebooking them on a new itinerary closest to their previous travel plans, or offering a full refund for any unused portion of a ticket." Southwest says "reaccommodation decisions are based on the best scenario in each Customer situation and contact will be made in the order of the Customer's scheduled travel date."

UPDATE: Scroll up for additional news on ATA's shutdown. Items will be posted throughout the day.

ATA Airlines filed for bankruptcy and discontinued all scheduled flights, the carrier announced around 4 a.m. ET this morning. "Following the loss of a key contract for our military charter business, it became impossible for ATA to continue operations. Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance notice," the carrier says in a statement on its website.

ATA's shutdown is another blow for air travelers in Hawaii, where Aloha –- formerly the state's No. 2 carrier -– ended passenger service earlier this week. ATA, which had briefly grown into one of the USA's 10 biggest carriers earlier this decade, had a heavy focus on Hawaii. In addition to its charter business, ATA offered regularly scheduled commercial service on several routes -- almost all to and from Hawaii. The Hawaii flights operated as part of a codesharing partnership with Southwest. "Customers who purchased tickets from Southwest Airlines for flights operated by ATA under the codeshare agreement should contact Southwest Airlines directly at (800) 308-5037," ATA says on its website.

As for ATA's sudden bankruptcy filing, 6 News of Indianapolis writes the airline "had an arrangement with FedEx, which gave the company a large share of airlift contracts as part of the Department of Defense Air Mobility Command, which provides transportation for military personnel and their families to and from overseas destinations, the company said." The Indianapolis Business Journal says "FedEx abruptly told ATA that the contract would not be renewed for the federal government's fiscal year, which begins in October. The notification came a year earlier than the contract was to have ended, ATA said," the Business Journal writes. The paper says ATA's parent company, Global Aero Logistics, is not affected by the move.

Photo credit: Michael Conroy, AP.

ATA, which had grown into one of the nation's top-10 carriers just over three years ago, continues its rapid retreat from offering commercial air service. Its latest move came today, with ATA saying it will end all commercial flights at Chicago Midway -- a major hub for the carrier as recently as 2005. ATA will halt domestic flights to Oakland and Dallas/Fort Worth on April 14, while international routes to Cancun and Guadalajara, Mexico, end June 7. ATA's routes between the West Coast and Hawaii will remain in service, the airline says in a press release. ATA will still offer connecting service between Midway and Hawaii via its codesharing partnership with Southwest, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

"This was a difficult decision, but the high cost of fuel has made it economically unfeasible to continue our low-fare service at Midway. We will redeploy our ATA aircraft in profitable charter service," says Rob Binns, ATA's Chief Commercial and Planning Officer. ATA says customers booked on discontinued flights should contact ATA for a refund, either via the carrier's website or by calling 800-435-9282. ATA's decision to end Chicago service follows the carrier's move late last year to give up lucrative landing rights at both New York LaGuardia and Washington Reagan National airports.

The latest cutback in scheduled commercial service comes as the Indianapolis Business Journal writes that "the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents ATA's 600 cockpit crew members, earlier this week warned it opposed any attempt to fragment ATA in an attempt to preserve their jobs. The union says ATA may sell all of ATA's scheduled service to Hawaii's Aloha Airlines or to Southwest." Last year, ATA's parent company renamed itself Global Aero Logistics and moved its headquarters to Georgia after acquiring World Airlines and that company's World Air and North American Airlines charter units.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (free registration) confirms that AirTran "plans to expand in the nation's financial and political capitals." The carrier intends "to add five daily flights out of New York's LaGuardia airport, plus another daily flight between Atlanta and Washington D.C.'s Reagan National airport before year end," the Journal-Constitution writes. "It's a very big deal for us," AirTran CEO Joe Leonard said yesterday while discussing the carrier's earnings. Landing rights are restricted at the two close-to-downtown airports, both favorites among travelers.

The Orlando Sentinel says AirTran's slots had been held by ATA Airlines, which recently disclosed it would phase out its service to both LaGuardia and National. Though the Journal-Constitution says AirTran will use its D.C. flight for additional Atlanta service, the Sentinel writes carrier plans to "use most of those extra flights from New York and D.C. for service to Midwestern cities, as it tries to build more east-west traffic." AirTran President Bob Fornaro says: "Those are really the key cities to really develop a Midwestern focus." At least one slot from LaGuardia will be used for daily Orlando flights this winter, Fornaro is quoted as saying by the Sentinel.

ATA Airlines will end scheduled service to both Washington Reagan National and New York LaGuardia airports by the beginning of January, ATA COO Gary Ellmer says in an internal memo obtained by Today in the Sky. ATA's service from Chicago Midway to Washington National will end Nov. 28. Service from Chicago Midway to New York LaGuardia will get "selective reductions in frequency" starting Dec. 1 before being eliminated altogether on Jan. 7. Also on Jan. 7, ATA says in the memo that it will discontinue one-stop service on its route between Chicago Midway and Honolulu that flies via Ontario, Calif. ATA spokeswoman Maya Wagle confirmed the memo to Today in the Sky, adding that ATA will "do our best to reaccommodate (affected passengers) any which way way can."

In the memo, Ellmer writes: "As we have been reporting … for many months now, we continue to suffer severe pricing pressure on our East Coast scheduled service segment, resulting in poor financial performance in spite of the high load factors. Unfortunately, despite the valiant efforts of our people, we are not optimistic that this situation will improve anytime soon. So, the time has come for us to make the difficult decisions required to stop this hemorrhaging."

ATA adds in the memo that the "aircraft that become available through these reductions will be re-deployed into the charter fleet where they are expected to create a positive contribution. This move allows us to retain the aircraft in the fleet and makes them accessible for our planned international expansion in 2009.  We will have more information on those strategic plans in the weeks and months ahead."

Spokeswoman Wagle downplayed any impact the dropped Washington National and New York LaGuardia routes might have on ATA's codeshare partnership with Southwest. Southwest had been able to offer service to those two popular restricted-access airports by selling seats on partner ATA's flights. "It's not going to affect our relationship in any way," said Wagle, adding ATA still planned to go ahead next year with plans for international expansion as part of its pact with Southwest.

Photo by John Gress, Reuters.

Southwest sent executives to an international conference on route development, a move Travel Weekly (free registration) says shows "how seriously the carrier is taking its plans to begin offering international service." Southwest has said it hopes to start offering international service next year through codeshare partner ATA, which currently offers international service to the Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Cancun. Southwest and ATA officials have also previously mentioned the possibility of adding flights to Canada and the Caribbean that could be sold under the Southwest/ATA partnership.

Brook Sorem, Southwest's schedule planning chief, tells Travel Weekly that after Southwest tests international codesharing with ATA, it could look to other carriers, including parters that could offer flights to Europe and Asia. That, however, would not likely happen until 2010 or later, officials say. Sorem says after that, Southwest may consider using its own jets for international flights. Bob Jordan, Southwest's executive vice president for strategy, procurement and technology, adds that Southwest-operated flights on international routes are "in the pipeline of things we're interested in," though he added "that's way out in the future for us."

Still, it is noteworthy that Southwest had a presence at the conferences, which had more than 2,300 attendees representing more than 300 airlines and 750 airports, according to Travel Weekly. The publication says at the conference, "airports make pitches for service in formal, 20-minute meetings and informal contacts with airlines -- and airlines sometimes proactively ask for meetings with airports they are interested in -- to establish contacts and interest and get the ball rolling for service that often can be years down the road." Southwest's Sorem tells Travel Weekly: "Starting to establish a relationship is key for us, so we can have a more thorough dialogue down the road. … We think there's a significant opportunity out there. We're pretty excited about the potential."

ATA's retreat from Indianapolis appears to be nearly complete after the low-cost carrier announced last week that it would close its pilot base there. ATA said it would move its 94 Indianapolis-based pilots elsewhere. ATA is headquartered in Indianapolis and once had a big operation there -- as well as a hub at Chicago Midway -- as the airline briefly grew to become one of the USA's 10-biggest carriers. But the carrier has virtually abandoned its Indianapolis operations since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2005. The Indianapolis Business Journal adds that "overnight line maintenance will be phased out by Nov. 1, and the entire Indianapolis maintenance operations might be eliminated entirely. ATA has not had flights out of Indianapolis in two years." ATA's Indianapolis-based workforce is down to 765 after having having 2,300 workers there as recently as 2003.

ATA Airlines is still losing money nearly 18 months after exiting bankruptcy, the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) reports. The airline's parent company -– now known as Global Aero Logistics (GAL) following its acquisition of the World Air Group –- lost $46.1 million in the first half of 2007, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The IBJ says the filing offers the "last financial snapshot of the company" before the World Air deal but raises concern about "ATA's poor financial performance in an industry where most major carriers are back in the black after years of heavy losses." The SEC filing showed ATA's military and commercial charter operations turned a profit during the first six months of the year.

"But," the IBJ writes, "as was the case before its 2004 Chapter 11 filing, ATA was clobbered in a portion of its scheduled passenger service, particularly on the East Coast." GAL president Subodh Karnik says ATA is performing poorly on only a small portion of its scheduled service. He tells the IBJ that the carrier "has done extraordinarily well" on the scheduled service it flies to and from Hawaii in its a code-sharing pact with Southwest. ATA's problems appear to have come in the East. "It was pressure from several major carriers that hurt ATA on routes from its hub at Chicago Midway Airport and from New York's LaGuardia and (Washington's) Reagan National airports," the IBJ writes.

ATA has already pulled down one of its scheduled routes to the East –- a Houston-to-New York LaGuardia route. On the carrier's remaining routes that are in the eastern half of the USA, Karnik says fares are stabilizing in those markets and "we're kind of sticking it out and thinking of all kinds of alternatives. The hope is we can stabilize [those]." Air Line Pilots Association officer and ATA captain Seth Cooperman tells the IBJ that ATA "should be making money…. Officially, we're not sure why [not]. The Air Line Pilots Association at ATA doesn't have any more understanding than anyone else as to why they are unable to make a profit." There may be some hope, however. ATA officials say of the $46.7 million half-year deficit, the airline's losses narrowed to $16.5 million during the second-quarter months.

Expanded service to Hawaii and a codesharing pact with Southwest are helping to stabilize ATA Airlines eighteen months after it exited bankruptcy, Travel Weekly (free registration) reports. Hawaii has been at the forefront of ATA's growth over the past year-and-a-half, with the carrier now flying to the state from more mainland destinations (five) than any other carrier. In June, ATA began flying to Hawaii from both Oakland and Las Vegas, adding to its existing Hawaii routes from Los Angeles, Phoenix and Ontario, Calif. Josef Loew, ATA's vice president for scheduled services, tells Travel Weekly about two-thirds of the airline's available seats will be to Hawaii by September.

Helping drive ATA's Hawaii business is the airline's 7-year business pact with Southwest. Travel Weekly says "the agreement goes well beyond simple codesharing. As part of the agreement, ATA transferred its Bay Area operations from San Francisco to Oakland, where Southwest has a well-established presence. ATA now schedules its flights to provide Hawaii service for incoming Southwest passengers at Oakland." Loew says, "selecting Hawaii for a major expansion was a reorientation of our strategy."

As for the alliance with Southwest, Loew says it "effectively opens the whole Southwest and Midwest to us, making it more convenient to get to Hawaii from a wide range of new feeder markets. There is a large niche market that we are aiming to fill, with price, convenience and service focused on customer satisfaction." So far, Loew says Hawaii is paying off. "Our new Hawaii flights out of Oakland have been amazingly full. I'm actually surprised at how much demand there was. It confirmed our belief that we could put a fare out that would make us a reasonable profit and would sell well," he says. Mexico, Caribbean and even Canada could be next. "I hope that by 2009, we'll be ready to go international with Southwest," Loew says.

Photo by Michael Conroy, AP.

What changes -– if any -– will result from ATA's acquisition of World Air and World Air subsidiary North American? The Indianapolis Business Journal writes "the biggest acquisition in the 34-year history of ATA Airlines will steer it closer to its charter roots and further from a scheduled-service binge that led to bankruptcy three years ago. Analysts say the $315 million deal to buy Atlanta-based World Air Holdings will broaden the revenue base and bring economies of scale for ATA's newly renamed parent, Global Aero Logistics. It also hands ATA a cargo business worth $100 million in 2005."

ATA/Global CEO Subodh Karnik has previously said he wants to expand ATA's charter business, which is a top source of business for World and North American. The Business Journal adds that World "flies mostly for the U.S. Air Force and did $525 million in charter business in 2005." Michael Miller, a partner at aviation consulting firm Velocity Group, predicts that military demand should be strong at least into the 2010s, apparently suggesting that could be one of the motives behind ATA's move. "Buying out your competitor is a solid move to make if you want to corner the military charter market," Miller tells the Business Journal. ATA/Global officials have indicated the company plans to continue to operate ATA, World and North American separately.

Low-cost carrier ATA Airlines announced Thursday that it would acquire Georgia-based charter company World Air Holdings. The company also announced it would change its name to Global Aero Logistic, though it said its ATA Airlines unit will continue flying under its current name.

As for World Air Holdings, that company is the parent company of charter carriers World Airways and North American Airlines. The latter also offers regularly scheduled service between New York JFK and Baltimore to destinations in Africa and South America. "ATA said the initial plan was to operate three distinct airlines -- ATA, World Airways and North American Airlines -- under one corporate umbrella. The transaction was scheduled for completion in the third quarter," the Pacific Business News (PBN) writes.

The paper notes "there are interesting synergies between ATA and World Air Holdings. North American Airlines is a small carrier -- 10 planes -- that had operated from Oakland, Calif., while ATA last year moved its San Francisco operations to Oakland. Also, ATA is the nation's largest military charter airline and runs more civilian charters than any other carrier, while World Airways operates in the same business with 17 wide-body aircraft. World Airways gets three quarters of its business from contracts with the U.S. Air Force."

The Atlanta Journal Constitution (free registration) says "the deal would combine two companies offering discount passenger, charter and cargo services. It also would put another former Delta executive, Subodh Karnik, in charge." Karnik is the "new CEO" of Global Aero Logistic, according to PBN. "In addition to providing a significant premium to World's shareholders, this transaction provides the strategic and corporate flexibility for each of these airlines to shape a high-growth future," Karnik says in a press release. The Journal-Constitution writes that "Karnik was Delta's chief route planner and fare-setter until he joined an exodus of other Delta executives in 2004."

"The sale must be approved by World Air shareholders and requires U.S. regulatory approval," says Bloomberg News. Of course, ATA was one of the fastest growing U.S. carriers earlier this decade. But the Indianapolis-based company ultimately ran into financial trouble. After being forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, ATA dismantled much of its domestic route network. ATA has rebounded thanks in large part to an alliance with discount giant Southwest. As part of that deal, Southwest gained access to many of ATA's assets at its former hub at Chicago Midway.

The deal also has a "codesharing" provision that allows the airlines to sell seats on each other's flights. That helps ATA by funneling connecting Southwest customers to ATA's destinations, such as New York LaGuardia and Washington National. Southwest benefits by selling connecting seats on ATA's extensive network of flights to Hawaii. "With no suitable aircraft for the trans-Pacific haul, Southwest chose to make ATA its Hawaii extension," the PBN writes.

Beginning May 11, low-cost carrier ATA will add non-stop service between Chicago Midway and both Oakland and L.A./Ontario airports. And on June 14, ATA will add three weekly non-stop flights between Oakland and Kona, Hawaii. On June 15, the carrier will begin daily non-stop service between Las Vegas and the Hawaiian island of Maui. ATA has a codeshare partnership with Southwest that allows the carriers to sell connecting seats on each other's flights.

Northwest's DC-10s may not "fly off into the sunset" as quickly as thought. The bankrupt airline has reached a deal to sell seven of its DC-10s to low-cost carrier ATA Airlines. Northwest refused to say how much the deal was worth, claiming those details would hurt its efforts to sell its remaining DC-10 equipment to other buyers if revealed. "Following the proposed sale to ATA, Northwest will only have one DC-10 airframe, 15 spare engines, miscellaneous flight-training equipment, and other equipment and spare parts unique to the DC-10 fleet," writes the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (registration required). The DC-10 had once been a key component for Northwest's fleet, with the carrier at one time including two dozen DC-10-30s, according to The Associated Press. NWA has been selling off its DC-10s in favor of new and more fuel-efficient aircraft. It was not immediately clear if ATA intended to use the new jets for its scheduled commercial service or -- probably more likely -- for its military or charter operations.

ATA Airlines is ramping up its service to Hawaii. Beginning June 14, the carrier will add three weekly round-trip flights between Oakland and Kona. On June 15, ATA adds daily service between Las Vegas and Maui and four weekly flights between Oakland and Lihue on Kauai Island. In a press release (PDF file) announcing the new service, ATA says it "remains the only airline serving Hilo from the Mainland." On a webpage promoting the new routes, the airline adds: "With this new service, ATA Airlines will now serve more Hawaiian cities on a non-stop basis from the U. S. Mainland than any other airline." Though Southwest's schedule currently only goes through May 10, ATA's new Hawaii flights will likely be open to connecting Southwest passengers through the airlines' codesharing pact. That agreement allows the airlines to sell connecting seats on each other's flights.

Delta affiliate Atlantic Southeast had the worst record for on-time arrivals in July, the latest month that data is available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Just 42.7% of the airline's flights arrived on-time for the month. Regional airline Mesa (which flies as Mesa, United, US Airways, Delta and go!), had the USA's second-worst on-time rating, with 33.3% of its flights arriving late. Rounding out the bottom five for on-time flights were low-cost carrier ATA (32.6% late), Continental affiliate ExpressJet (32.1% late) and Continental (31.5% late).

Click on "read more" to see complete airline-by-airline rankings.

Regional giant Mesa led the nation in canceled flights in July, the latest month for which data was available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The carrier, which flies for itself, United, US Airways, Delta and go!, canceled 4% of its scheduled flights in July. American Airlines subsidiary American Eagle canceled the second-most (3.9%). Rounding out the bottom five for canceled flights were Delta subsidiary Comair (3.1%), Delta partner Atlantic Southeast (3%) and Continental partner ExpressJet (2.9%). Of legacy airlines, United canceled the highest percentage of its flights (2.2%). United's number was the sixth-highest of the 20 airlines reporting. Of low-cost carriers, US Airways (1.3%) and ATA (1%) canceled the highest percentage of their flights. 

Click on "read more" to see complete airline-by-airline rankings.

U.S. airline flights arrived on time 72.8% of the time in June, the latest month for which statistics are available from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That figure is down from May’s 78.3% on-time rating, and from June 2005 (75.2%). Of the 20 U.S. airlines that reported data to the agency for this category, Hawaiian Airlines led all U.S. carriers with 94.6% of its flights arriving on schedule. Rounding out the top five were: Aloha Airlines (85.5% on-time rating), regional carrier SkyWest (80.1%), Frontier (79.4%) and Northwest (77.8%).

At the other end of the spectrum, Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the worst on-time arrival rating for June. The carrier, which is owned by SkyWest and flies regional flights for Delta, had 36.5% of its flights arrive late for the month. ATA (36.3% of its flights were late) had the second-worst mark for on-time arrivals in June, followed by regional carrier Mesa (33.3% late), Continental affiliate ExpressJet (32.6%) and Continental (32.2%).

Click on "read more" to see the on-time ratings for the 20 airlines that report data to the BTS and Department of Transportation.

Regional giant Mesa canceled more flights than any U.S. carrier in June, the latest month for which statistics are available from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Mesa –- which canceled 5% of its flights in June -– flies regional flights for United, US Airways and Delta in addition to operating a standalone carrier in Hawaii called go!. After Mesa, Continental affiliate ExpressJet canceled 3.9% of its flights for June. Rounding out the top five were American subsidiary American Eagle (3.7%), Delta subsidiary Comair (3.2%) and Delta affiliate Atlantic Southeast (2.9%). United canceled the most flights (1.9%) of the USA’s traditional carriers, ranking sixth out of the 20 airlines reporting. ATA had the highest cancellation rate among discounters, ranking 10th out of 20 airlines by scrubbing 1.1% of its flights.

At the other end of the spectrum, Frontier canceled the fewest flights among the 20 U.S. airlines reporting data. Frontier canceled seven flights for the month, or 0.1% of its schedule. JetBlue had the second-lowest cancellation rate at 0.1% (18 flights total). Rounding out the five airlines with the lowest cancellation rates were: Hawaiian (0.3%), AirTran (0.5%) and Southwest (0.6%). Continental had the best mark among the legacy carriers, turning in the sixth-lowest rate of canceled flights (0.6%) for the month.

Click on "read more" to see the full airline-by-airline breakdown.

America West failed in its 2004 attempt to make a deal that would have given it as many as 14 of ATA's gates at Chicago Midway. While the collapse of that effort denied America West the opportunity to build a Chicago hub, it might have been a blessing in disguise. Ultimately, it allowed the carrier to merge with US Airways in 2005, company CEO Doug Parker tells the Chicago Tribune (free registration). "Part of what made this (US Airways) deal come together was that [the ATA] deal failed. Because we went after that, people knew we were interested," Parker says. The Tribune writes that the “marriage [between America West and US Airways] created the nation's fifth-largest carrier and one of its most financially healthy.” And even as Parker continues the thorny work of stitching together the two airlines' workforce and fleets, he won’t rule out another combination. “Parker's interest in growing further has not waned,” the Tribune writes. “His airline has been mentioned as a possible partner for Northwest Airlines or Delta Air Lines, both of which have filed for bankruptcy. While such discussion is conjecture, it makes sense, Parker said.”

The US Airways-America West merger has created an airline that promises to leverage US Airways' strength in the East with America West's strong presence in the West. Suddenly, the carrier looks like one of the industry’s strongest, with Wall Street analysts predicting a full-year profit for the carrier. "US Airways on the East Coast was a cadaver," says airline consultant Michael Boyd of the Boyd Group. "Angry people. Angry customers. A route system that was getting chopped to pieces. It was a mess. And for whatever reason, America West bought them. And they're making money."

Still, US Airways’ current success might have received a jolt from something beyond its control –- the collapse of Independence Air. That discounter -– which was based in Washington and competed heavily with US Airways along the East Coast –- went into liquidation in January. In turn, US Airways benefited as fare wars ended and fares rose on routes where Independence flew. "That's been a key element for them," says Helane Becker, an aviation analyst with Benchmark. But US Airways hasn't solved all of its merger-related challenges -- at least not yet. CEO Parker is “trying to put these airlines together. And it is messy,” says the consultant Boyd. “Don't kid yourself. There were major issues there. It's a very tough thing to put together, but they are doing it."

Photo of Doug Parker by Pat Shannahan, The Arizona Republic.

United has the best buy-on-board lunch among North American airlines. At least that's according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), which writes that it set out “to find the best of these new unfree lunches” offered now-a-days on North American airlines. To do that, the paper “procured sample snack boxes from six carriers -- Air Canada, American, ATA, Northwest, United and US Airways -- and ate them at home.” What did the Journal find? The paper says its “snapshot of airborne cuisine 2006 is dismal for the most part." The paper noted in many of the lunch options, " ‘cheese food’ was in good supply, but there was almost no real cheese.”  The Journal also found the calorie and fat counts for some of these “pseudo-meals” to be “disturbingly high.” On the bright side, the Journal’s staff did “find a few things we might choose to eat when not trapped in a Boeing 737.”

Earning the Journal’s highest assessment from its six-lunch sample was United. The paper gave a “thumbs-up” to United’s offering of “Bumble Bee tuna, organic crackers, Newman’s Own raisins, and mini-Toblerone.” Overall, the paper called United’s $5 buy-onboard lunch meal “a smart selection of brands we know and like.” At the other end of the spectrum was ATA. Saying it had the "worst snack box," the Journal gave a “thumbs down,” to the airline’s “skimpy and chaotic” $2.95 snack box.  Among the Journal’s other notable assessments, Air Canada offered the best muffins and best sandwiches. Overall, however, the Journal concludes “the snack boxes were worse than the old free meals, which were badly cooked but not outlandish.” Bon appetite!

Photo: AFP says this 2005 file photo "shows a snack similar to those served ... on Delta flights." Delta was not one of the airlines reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Low-cost carrier ATA Airlines had the worst on-time arrival rating in May, the latest month for which figures are available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. More than three of every 10 ATA flights arrived late in May, with the airline completing just 66.1% of its schedule on time. American subsidiary American Eagle had the second-worst on-time rating (68.4%) while Continental affiliate ExpressJet was next with a 73.1% on-time rating.

Click on "read more" to see the on-time ratings for all carriers.

No American discounter airlines have yet attempted trans-Atlantic flights to overseas destinations like France or Britain, but our home-grown low-cost carriers are blazing an international path to Mexico, reports Ted Reed of TheStreet.com. “Frontier Airlines is already there,” Reed writes, “and the other three leading low-cost carriers are (also) eyeing flights to Mexico,” the USA’s second-biggest international aviation market (Canada is No. 1). Frontier has already entered Mexico in a big way, expected to offer as many as 86 daily flights there (about 10% of its schedule) during peak periods this summer. “Frontier's expansionism provides a blueprint for how low-cost airlines move into international flying,” Reed writes, noting that the Denver-based carrier just filed a request with the Department of Transportation to fly three more Mexican routes: Denver to Guadalajara, Kansas City to Cabo and San Diego to Cancun.

But Frontier may soon have some low-cost company in Mexico. AirTran, JetBlue and even Southwest (through its alliance with ATA) all are likely to offer Mexico service in the near future. Another discounter -- Spirit Airlines -- already flies to Cancun and has an extensive network of Caribbean destinations. And while low-cost carriers are currently looking mostly at leisure routes in Mexico, some could start targeting more business-oriented markets. Spokesman Joe Hodas tells TheStreet.com that Frontier has been able to capitalize on emerging convention business in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. He adds the carrier could be seeking to boost its Mexican business traffic if the feds approve its request for service to to Guadalajara, which "would be our first non-leisure destination in Mexico," Hodas says. He adds that one potentially huge Mexican market -– Mexico City -- "is not out of the question, but we have to get Guadalajara under our belt first.”

JetBlue will announce today that Houston will be its newest destination, with non-stop service to New York JFK scheduled to begin Sept. 7, according to the Houston Chronicle. The carrier will fly to Houston’s Hobby Airport instead of the city’s bigger Bush Intercontinental Airport. Hobby is the city’s second-busiest airport and is home to other low-cost carriers such as Southwest, AirTran and ATA. JetBlue will fly three daily flights between Hobby and JFK, with regular fares ranging from $117 and $349 each way (plus taxes and fees). The Chronicle writes that JetBlue’s entry into the Houston market “pits (it) against two strong competitors", including "Houston-based Continental Airlines, which flies between its hub at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and its hub in Newark, as well as to JFK and LaGuardia airports.”

The other chief Houston rival, the Chronicle writes, is “ Dallas-based Southwest, which carries more than 80% of the travelers moving through Hobby.” The paper notes that JetBlue and Continental “already have been duking it out” in the New York area since JetBlue added Florida and Puerto Rico flights out of Newark. The Florida routes are some of Continental’s most popular routes out of its Newark hub. JetBlue will also compete with both ATA and Southwest on the New York-Houston route. ATA offers flights between Hobby and New York LaGuardia, and its partnership with Southwest allows Southwest to sell seats to its customers on those flights as well. (Photo by Eileen Blass, USA TODAY)

Low-cost carrier ATA Airlines had the lowest on-time arrival rate in April, the latest month for which figures are available from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. More than three of out of every 10 ATA flights (34.8%) arrived 15 minutes late or more during the month. American affiliate American Eagle had the second worst rate, with 27.8% of its flights arriving late. Continental had the third-worst mark (27.7%) late.

Click on "read more" to see the airline on-time ratings for all 20 carriers reporting to the BTS.

Low cost carrier ATA Airlines took home the dubious distinction of having the nation’s most consistently delayed flights in April, the latest month for which figures are available from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). ATA’s newly scheduled service between Houston Hobby and New York LaGuardia appears to be having a hard time operating on schedule, according to the BTS numbers. Both ATA Flight 4234 (Hobby to LaGuardia) and ATA Flight 4233 (LaGuardia to Hobby) were late 100% of the time during the month. ATA also had the month’s third most-consistently delayed flight, with Flight 4232 (Houston-to-LaGuardia) late 96.55% of the time. Rounding out the nation’s five-most delayed flights for April: Continental affiliate ExpressJet Flight 2669 from Newark to Kansas City was late 96% of the time, while United affiliate SkyWest’s Flight 6174 (Monterey, Calif., to San Francisco) arrived late about 9 out of every ten times (89.66%).

Click "read more" to see a list of the nation's most-delayed flights in April.

Photo credit: An ATA ticket counter. By Michael Conroy, The Associated Press.

The 2004 passenger-sharing alliance between Southwest and ATA has apparently been a big boon for both carriers. TheStreet.com’s Ted Reed writes that the partnership gave discount giant Southwest “options it never had before” while throwing a lifeline to smaller ATA, which was teetering in bankruptcy prior to the Southwest deal. Reed notes that “there are some things Southwest Airlines just doesn't want to do” –- such as fly to congested big-city airports or to destinations like Hawaii. But, with ATA, Southwest has now found someone else to do those things for it, Reed says. Southwest officials say that codeshare tickets on which fliers connect between the two carriers have generated $50 million for Southwest.  ATA looks like it’s coming out a winner too, with the company saying that about 25% of all of its bookings come from its codeshare partnership with Southwest.

Chicago’s Midway Airport is the nexus of the partnership. Southwest has more than 200 daily flights there, something that easily allows it to feed ATA’s 17 daily offerings to places like New York LaGuardia, Washington National and Dallas/Fort Worth. Also key are ATA’s flights to Hawaii, all of which originate in West Coast cities that are also served by Southwest. Aviation consultant Robert Mann tells TheStreet.com that ATA essentially "serves as Southwest's proxy" in places that Southwest finds attractive, but does not wish to fly its own planes to. The codeshare deal "gives Southwest the ability to poke some people in the eye without being at these airports, which is vitally important as they try to preserve their quick turns and productivity," Mann says.

For ATA, the Southwest partnership has been something of a savior. ATA had grown into the nation’s 10th-largest carrier, but was forced to scale back to just a few dozen daily flights following its 2004 bankruptcy filing. Now, thanks in large part to connecting passengers from Southwest, ATA officials say the carrier could be poised for another round of rapid growth. "It's hard to say where it will go, but we have Southwest as a powerful distribution channel, and our expansion is going to be focused on taking advantage of that relationship," Joseph Loew, a senior vice president at ATA, says to TheStreet.com's Reed. "If there was ever a win-win, this is it," says Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart.

Photo credits: (1) ATA planes. (2) A Southwest jet lands at Chicago Midway. Both by The Associated Press.

Beginning May 25, low-cost carrier ATA Airlines will add a second non-stop flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu. The flight will operate Thursday through Monday. On July 17, ATA will add a fifth daily non-stop flight between Chicago Midway and Dallas/Fort Worth. With AirTran’s recent launch of Midway-DFW service, ATA now flies head-to-head against AirTran on that route.

American Airlines flight attendants may be soon asking if you prefer paper or plastic, but they won’t be asking about grocery bags. The airline will now accept credit cards for onboard purchases such as snack boxes, sandwiches, alcoholic beverages and headsets, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). The airline says it will accept American Express and other major credit cards, and expects the credit and debit option to be available on all flights by mid-June, the Dallas Business Journal writes.

AA’s move to accept credit cards follows a similar effort by low-cost carrier ATA. Another low-cost carrier -- AirTran -- has also accepted credit cards for some time. But while ATA says it will no longer accept cash “beginning mid-May,” American will still accept paper currency. American says in a press release that the credit-card option will be rolled out by aircraft type. The airline's Boeing 767-200 jets already have the option, while its Boeing MD-80s will be last. American's American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights are not participating at this time.

Low-cost carrier ATA Airlines has switched its Bay Area opreations to Oakland International Airport from San Francisco International. The San Francisco Chronicle writes that “the move was necessitated by ATA's new code-sharing arrangement with Southwest Airlines.” Southwest flies out of Oakland, but not San Francisco. ATA also began non-stop service last week between Oakland and Hilo on the “Big Island” of Hawaii. In a press release, ATA says its service to Hilo will be the only non-stop service between Hilo and the U.S. mainland. In other new service, ATA last week began non-stop service between Ontario, Calif., and Honolulu. The airline will use two-class Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route.

Southwest Airlines has started making upgrades to its reservations system that will allow it to begin offering international flights on code-share partner ATA Airlines. Travel Weekly (free registration) writes that the Southwest must “adapt its airport operations to work with customs and immigrations procedures,” and have a reservations system that can handle international itineraries, including taxes and foreign currencies. Southwest has a code-share partnership with ATA that allows it to place its flight numbers and sell seats on ATA flights. The system upgrades won’t be completed this year, and possibly not until 2009, and the venture will likely get off to a modest start -- Cancun and Guadalajara in Mexico are currently ATA's only non-U.S. destinations.

But while Southwest is kickstarting international service with ATA, CEO Gary Kelly says the partnership “takes us closer” to the point where Southwest could offer its own international service. “We have not concluded we’ll be flying Southwest aircraft internationally yet,” he says, though Travel Weekly says he immediately added: “I’m assuming someday we will.” Kelly went on to say: “There’s no structural reason that we can’t branch off from our domestic route system and fly international, and at some point we’ll be ready to do that.”

The growing passenger-sharing alliance between discount carriers Southwest and ATA is working out well for both airlines, according to The Indianapolis Star. Describing the pact as a “complex arrangement,” the paper writes that “ATA shed half its fleet and gave up (its) busy Chicago Midway hub in return for Southwest code-share rights and $87 million in loans and loan guarantees. Southwest since has forgiven $20 million of the debt.” A code-share deal allows airlines to put their flight numbers and sell connecting seats on each other’s flights -- all on one ticket. As an example, the Star writes that a Dallas resident could fly Southwest to Los Angeles and board ATA for Hawaii using one ticket for the entire trip. Each airline gets cash for the portion of the itinerary it flies. The deal gave ATA an estimated $30 million in revenue last year, a number that could grow by another $10 million in 2006. Southwest estimates it generated $50 million from the alliance. And now deprived of its Midway hub, ATA may look increasingly to its partnership with Southwest to feed customers into its scattered route network. For Southwest, the Star writes the alliance with ATA has “handed Southwest what it has never had — a ready connection to tourist centers in Mexico, the Caribbean and especially Hawaii.”

ATA Airlines officially emerged from bankruptcy protection this week, and today the carrier announced it will be expanding its partnership with Southwest. The expanded deal will allow passengers to book tickets on ATA flights using Southwest's website, including flights out of Dallas/Fort Worth. The airlines will allow passengers to use frequent flier points to book flights on either carrier. Passengers will now also be able to earn frequent flier credit by using either airline, according to The Associated Press. Southwest passengers will earn one credit on each one-way ATA flight, or two credits on flights to Hawaii. The changes are expected to go into effect later this year. ATA says the deal with Southwest earned it $50 million last year, a number that would logically be expected to grow along with the airline’s partnership. (ATA press release | Southwest press release)

The carrier’s emergence will end a 14-month bankruptcy stay, during which it slashed routes and cut its labor force by half. The Associated Press writes that the “revamped airline will use about half the jets it had when it filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2004” and that “about half the carrier's business will come from military charters.”  ATA had grown to become the 10th-largest U.S. airline shortly before its bankruptcy filing. "We're not nearly concerned about size as we are about being profitable,” says ATA CEO John Denison. "We have to go foxhole by foxhole, looking at the way we do business and making changes as we think are required. We're not done with that process. It'll continue on forever."

Still, even with ATA’s coming bankruptcy exit, some industry experts say the airline would likely not be able to remain solvent without its passenger-sharing alliance with Southwest. "I think the key to their survival is that agreement with Southwest," says Jeffery Miller, a travel industry attorney in Columbia, Md. "The more and more they have a code-share with Southwest, the more it'll make it work." Industry expert Michael Boyd of The Boyd Group thinks ATA has done well in its restructuring. "I don't see any clouds on their horizon," he says.

Despite shrinking to about a third of the size it was before it filed for bankruptcy, ATA has become an increasingly valuable partner for Southwest since the two inked a passenger-sharing (code-share) deal late last year. The Dallas Morning News (free registration) writes that the airlines deepened their partnership even further last month and the paper says ATA is “playing an increasingly important role for Southwest.” As part of the pact, Southwest is able to expand its reach by selling seats on ATA flights that connect to or from airports or destinations Southwest doesn’t serve -– such as Dallas/Fort Worth, New York LaGuardia, Washington National and Hawaii. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly also says he hopes to add international destinations through the alliance, though he adds "it'll be several years before we're up and running with international itineraries." Currently, ATA’s only international destination is Mexico, though the airline flew to several other Latin American airports before it shrank in its bankruptcy reorganization.

ATA’s Hawaii flights have been one of the biggest draws for Southwest customers. On Jan. 23, ATA said it would reorganize its route network in a way that appears to designed to maximize Hawaiian connecting options for Southwest fliers. But while customers on either airline earn frequent-flier points on flights that involve a connection on the other carrier, don’t expect to be able to redeem one airline's frequent-flier credits on the other anytime soon. "We can't overwhelm them," says Southwest’s Kelly, referring to the crush of Southwest frequent fliers who would likely be interested in redeeming credits to Hawaii on ATA. "They can't handle that demand right now."

The ATA-Southwest alliance came into being late last year, when Southwest pledged $117 million in financing to ATA in exchange for, among other things, six of ATA’s gates at Chicago Midway. Not only did that deal effectively keep Southwest rival AirTran from moving ahead with plans for a Chicago hub, but it allowed Southwest to embark on a rapid growth spurt in Chicago – one of the nation's most lucrative air travel markets. Airline consultant Robert Mann called the deal “a gutsy move” on Southwest's part, but said it “worked out very well.”

Beginning April 2, ATA will add two daily flights between Houston Hobby and New York LaGuardia. It will be the only carrier to offer service between those airports -- even though neither airport offers connecting options on other ATA flights. So why is ATA adding the route? One need look no further than ATA’s passenger-sharing deal with Southwest for this one. ATA says American’s decision to end service on the route made flying between Houston Hobby and New York LaGuardia an attractive option. But, perhaps most importantly, the new service will also allow ATA to funnel Southwest passengers to its New York-Houston flight via Houston Hobby –- one of Southwest’s busiest airports. 

For example, a passenger could buy a single ticket from Albuquerque to LaGuardia, with Southwest operating the Albuquerque-Houston flight and then ATA flying the connecting Houston-New York portion. The airlines’ passenger-sharing (code-share) alliance allows the airlines to sell seats on each other’s flights, such as in the Albuquerque-Houston-LaGuardia example above. Genaro Pena, a spokesman for the Houston Airport System, tells the Houston Business Journal that the move will help increase the potential customer base for ATA's new Houston-New York route. "They (ATA) will be feeding the Southwest network and having customers fly in from other Southwest cities, rather than just relying on Houston," he says. "There's more of a market for them to depend on."

The discount carrier announced today that it will significantly boost its service to Hawaii and add four new destinations (Houston; Oakland; Ontario, Calif.; and Hilo, Hawaii). The new routes also play prominently into ATA’s passenger-sharing “code-share” alliance with Southwest. For example, ATA will add new service from Houston Hobby to New York LaGuardia. Neither airport is a connecting point within ATA’s route network, but ATA can offer connections via Houston on partner Southwest.  Houston Hobby is one of Southwest’s top airports.

ATA will also add non-stop service between Ontario, Calif., and Honolulu -– another route that will allow Southwest passengers to connect to ATA’s Hawaii flights. In northern California, ATA is shifting its non-stop Hawaii service from San Francisco International (SFO) to Oakland. That move that also will create connection possibilities with Southwest, which flies out of Oakland but not out of SFO. And on Hawaii's Big Island, ATA will begin service from Hilo to Oakland with seven weekly flights. The new routes mark the first time the company has added service since May 2005, according to The Associated Press. "With this announcement, we return to one of the core strengths on which ATA was built — leisure travel — while growing in a market that has been historically successful for our company," CEO John Denison said in a statement (PDF file).

ATA’s decision to bolt for Oakland throws “a wrench into San Francisco International (SFO) Airport’s attempts to lure and retain low-fare carriers,” The San Francisco Examiner writes. ATA is the fourth low-cost carrier to quit flying to SFO in less than four months. ATA says it will move its operations from SFO to Oakland beginning April 28 to consolidate its operations with those of code-share partner Southwest.

SFO had been trying to lure low-cost carriers in order to remain competitive with nearby airports in Oakland and San Jose, each of which has service from discounters Southwest and JetBlue, among others. Now, airport officials say they may focus more on international and cross-country flights. “Mostly, we’re trying to build the international side of the business,” says airport spokeswoman Kandace Bender. “We’re pretty happy with the way things are going.”

To help promote its revamped Hawaii service, ATA is giving away one free ticket to the Aloha State each hour today through Jan. 31. Winners can redeem their free tickets only from ATA’s six western-based Hawaii gateways: Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and Ontario, Calif. To be eligible, customers must belong to (or sign up for) ATA’s Travel Awards frequent-flier program. To enter, participants must enter their frequent-flier ID numbers on ATA’s website.

Low-cost carrier ATA Airlines ended service Monday to Denver, canceling its routes between the Mile High City and both Chicago Midway and Phoenix. But Denver travelers won’t lose options on those routes. The Denver Post writes that “Southwest Airlines … will essentially replace ATA's service.” Southwest began flying out of Denver this month, with both Chicago Midway and Phoenix among the carrier’s initial destinations from the city. ATA’s decision to end its Denver service was announced shortly after Southwest’s decision to expand there. Southwest has a codesharing pact with ATA that allows the airlines to sell connecting seats on each other’s flights, but said it would not allow that option on Denver flights, the Post says. ATA, which had flown out of Denver since 1998, will vacate its C Concourse gate. The Post notes that Southwest has asked the airport for a third gate on that concourse.

US Airways on Friday will begin daily non-stop service to both Honolulu and Maui from its Phoenix hub. And in March, the carrier will add a second daily flight between Phoenix and Honolulu, as well as new service from Phoenix to Kona and Lihue, according to The Business Journal of Phoenix. Las Vegas-Maui service is also slated to begin in March, the airline says in a press release. Many industry analysts say the Hawaii routes are a boost to the merged US Airways/America West as it tries to position itself as a global discount carrier. US Airways also flies to European destinations, something that's not currently offered on other low-cost carriers in the USA. ATA is the only U.S. discounter to fly to Hawaii, though its partnership with Southwest allows Southwest to sell seats on those flights.

ATA Airlines announced yet another round of service cuts on Tuesday as the bankrupt carrier tries to reorganize under Chapter 11. By late April, the carrier will end all service between its Chicago Midway base and Orlando, San Francisco and Fort Myers, Fla. That will leave ATA with just 18 daily departures from its Midway hub, an airport where the it was the top carrier as recently as two years ago. The dropped flights also mark the third significant service cutback announced by the carrier since October, according to The Associated Press.

In early November, ATA said it would end all service in its hometown of Indianapolis. At the same time, the carrier also said it would end service from Chicago to Denver and San Juan, Puerto Rico. And in October, ATA halted service to Boston, Minneapolis, Newark, Miami and Sarasota, Fla. As for the Fort Myers cut announced yesterday, Southwest’s recent expansion to Fort Myers may have been a factor in ATA’s decision, one industry expert tells The News-Press of Fort Myers. | ATA press release (PDF link) |

Beginning Tuesday, AirTran Airways will add new non-stop service from Chicago Midway to both Minneapolis/St. Paul and Boston. The carrier will offer four daily round-trip flights from Chicago to Minneapolis and three to Boston. AirTran’s flights will be operated using Boeing 717 aircraft. AirTran’s new service starts after another low-cost carrier — ATA Airlines — ended service on those routes. ATA ended its Midway-Boston service on Oct. 28, and its Midway-Minneapolis service on Dec. 1.

A group representing unsecured creditors that hold more than $300 million in ATA bonds has filed a claim in U.S. bankruptcy court claiming they were "hoodwinked" by a plan to save bankrupt ATA Airlines. The group of creditors claims that potential ATA investor Matlin Patterson Global Opportunities Partners II and ATA codeshare partner Southwest "have quietly worked out a deal to cheaply carve up ATA," reports the Indianapolis Star. The ATA creditors point to the fact that ATA is reduced to a single gate at Chicago Midway, where just a year ago it was the top carrier. Nearly all of those gates have shifted to partner Southwest.

ATA filed for bankruptcy in October 2004, and quickly reached a deal that had Southwest infuse cash into the struggling carrier in exchange for access to some of ATA's gates at Midway Airport. The airlines also agreed to a codesharing deal that allowed Southwest to funnel connecting passengers to ATA flights via ATA's Midway hub. But, lately, the Star reports writes that "ATA has veered from course" and has "put most of its Midway gates into Southwest's control." The Star goes on to say that the potential deal with Matlin would leave ATA "concentrating on Hawaiian and West Coast flights and the profitable military charter service." A hearing on the matter is expected today.

Today in the Sky Reporter Ben Mutzabaugh is out of the office this week on vacation. Instead of the usual Today in the Sky format, Ben will feature a special column highlighting different aspects of the airline industry. Today, Ben takes a look at which airline hub is where. There are a lot of airlines out there, so we'll break it up in two parts. Part one runs today; be sure to come back tomorrow for part two. Today in the Sky will return to its normal format on Nov. 22.

Ever wondered how airlines break down geographically? Which airline has hubs where? And where are the "focus cities" — or cities that aren't necessarily hubs, but play a key role in an airline's route network.

To help you get a handle on where each airline is strong, here's an airline-by-airline list of hubs and focus cities. Think of it as a geography lesson for the airline industry! Today's column covers airlines from AirTran to Frontier. Enjoy ...

AirTran Airways
Hubs: Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington (BWI).
Focus cities: Orlando (45 daily flights), Boston (27), Philadelphia, Chicago Midway (18), Tampa (18) and Dallas Fort/Worth (12).
Additional info: AirTran says its December schedule had 211 daily flights scheduled for Atlanta, and 37 daily flights scheduled for its smaller hub at BWI.

Bankrupt ATA Airlines says it's still on track to exit Chapter 11 protection early next year, reports Dow Jones via iwon.com. That comes after a series of recent flight cuts that have some worried about the future of the carrier. Among ATA's latest cuts was service to Indianapolis — despite the fact that Indianapolis is home to the airline's headquarters and that ATA had been the top carrier there as recently as a year ago. Subodh Karnik, the company's chief commercial officer, says the ATA's code-sharing deal with Southwest won't be affected by the recent cuts. ATA has cut scheduled or planned service to eight destinations in the past few months. Among those dropped recently by ATA is Denver, where Karnik says "All hell has broken loose" since Southwest announced last month that it would add service there. As for ATA's hometown of Indianapolis, the city's WISH-TV reports that many of ATA's dropped flights are being picked up by rivals. Indianapolis passengers flying on Northwest, for example, have shot up 100% in the past year, while ATA's numbers have dropped 75%. ATA's Indianapolis share will drop to 0% on Jan. 10, the carrier's last day of service there.

Bankrupt carrier ATA is continuing to shrink, announcing Tuesday it would end service to three additional destinations: Denver, Indianapolis and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The cuts will take effect on Jan. 10, and come as the carrier has dramatically downsized since it entered bankruptcy in October 2004. Just last month, ATA also said it would end service to Boston, Newark and Minneapolis, and the carrier scrapped future plans to begin service to the Florida cities of Miami and Sarasota, Reuters reports.

ATA's cuts hit particularly hard in Indianapolis, where the Indianapolis Star writes that the cuts have "sparked disappointment around the city and raised new questions about the airline's future." ATA is headquartered in Indianapolis, and the carrier's plans to cut all of its service there comes just a year after it was the city's No. 1. airline. The Star cites competition from Northwest — which turned Indianapolis into a "focus city — as one of the causes for ATA's decline there. Overall, ATA's new round of cuts will leave it with 64 daily departures throughout its route network, about half its current total, according to the Rocky Mountain News. ATA operates a hub at Chicago's Midway Airport.