Indianapolis-based American Trans Air, once an emerging airline, continually searched for an identity.

Established in 1973 as a supplier of airplanes for Ambassadair Travel Club, it inaugurated the service with a single Boeing 720 called “Miss Indy”, doubling its fleet five years later with a second, “Spirit of Indiana”. But its issuance in March 1981 of the common carrier certification allowed it to operate in its own right.

Keeping its roots in Indianapolis, it acquired larger and larger planes, including eight 707; its first widebody, a former Laker Airways DC-10-10 registered N183AT in 1983; and a former Northwest Orient DC-10-40, with registration N184AT. The four-engined 707s were eventually replaced by more fuel-efficient 727-100 tri-jets.

Annual passenger totals increased: 96,426 in 1981, 269,086 in 1982, and 618,532 in 1983.

Relying on Northwest for additional DC-10 acquisitions, but forced to replace the comparable TriStar when it chose to retain its aircraft, American Trans Air purchased the first in 1985, eventually operating 15 L-1011-1s, one -100 and four -500s.

It assumed a new operational profile when it inaugurated limited scheduled service on the JFK-Belfast-Riga (Latvia), Indianapolis-Fort Myers, Indianapolis-Las Vegas and San Francisco-Kahului (Maui) -Honolulu routes, billing itself as “Airline American vacation “and” the nation’s largest charter airline.

“We create the comfort. You create the excitement,” he announced. “At American Trans Air, we know that the only excitement you want in a vacation is the excitement you create. That’s why you can count on American Trans Air’s courteous and professional staff, high-level aircraft, consumer-conscious pricing, and all the little extras that have become a feature of our growing company. “

Growing up it was. Seeking to avoid competition from scheduled airlines, it had become the largest charter operator in the United States, attributing up to 90 percent of its revenues to the civil and military divisions of this sector, and the rest of scheduled operations, crewed lease, third party pilot. formation and maintenance of contracts.

Operating a fleet of 23 people in 1992, including seven 727-100s, 12 L-1011-1s, and four 757-200s, it was profitable for 18 of its 19-year history, posting a $ 2 million loss the previous year for the first time due to the recession and the fear of travel created by the Gulf War. It carried 2.4 million passengers that year.

However, it was that same Gulf War that served as the cornerstone of their military operations, as their aircraft counted as part of the Civil Air Patrol fleet. With 108,000 troops in 494 missions in support of Operation Desert Storm, he was also instrumental in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and provided 727-100 shuttle flights between Nellis Air Force Base and the Tonopah Test Range. in Nevada.

The stretched -200s replaced the -100s in 1993.

American Trans Air once again embraced a new image when it dedicated a significant portion of its aeronautical resources to scheduled operations from a Chicago-Midway hub, in addition to continuing its military and government contract flights.

To facilitate the anticipated growth and modernize its fleet, it ordered 39 737-800s and 12 757-200s in 2000, receiving the first of the former (N301TZ) in June of the following year and the first of the latter (N550TZ). Two months later, a design change was introduced to the process to emphasize its new routing system geared towards scheduled airline business, now branded “ATA Airlines.”

Equally seeking food from small and secondary cities with more suitable regional turboprop equipment, it purchased the existing Chicago Express for $ 1.9 million in 1999 and operated it as a separate subsidiary of “ATA Connection.”

However, her latest high-profile strategy did not pay off, forcing her to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five years later, on October 26, 2004. She decided that the best method to keep her alive was to use her assets. for the benefit of a healthy airline, which, in this case, was synonymous with Southwest Airlines deregulation.

By transferring six of its gates from Midway Airport and 27 percent of its non-voting shares to Southwest in exchange for an injection of cash for life and continued operation under a codeshare agreement in December 2004, ATA reduced their number from destinations served in Indianapolis to three and Redistributed planes to Chicago, now assuming a commercial airline profile by flying to cities that Southwest did not have, including New York-La Guardia, Dallas / Fort Worth and San Francisco. Intermediate detour services also allowed it to link Southwest focus cities such as Orlando, Phoenix and Las Vegas with other gaps in its route system, including Denver and Honolulu.

The strategy resulted in a 20 percent revenue increase for Southwest, but it didn’t necessarily close ATA’s financial hemorrhage.

To further reduce costs, it significantly reduced its fleet, selling 20 737-800s and eight 757-300s and only marginally covered its capacity gap with the two-year lease, between November 2005 and November 2007, of three older aircraft. 737 of United Airlines. -300 s. Even the rental rates, in the case, turned out to be too high.

The coincident service reductions, unsurprisingly, were extensive, as the lights dimmed at numerous destinations in a short interval: Boston, Newark, and Minneapolis in October 2005, Indianapolis and Denver in November, and Orlando, Fort Myers, and San Francisco in the following April, leaving little more than the skeleton of his body once fully developed. In fact, 18 daily departures were dispatched from a single gate at Midway Airport and only 52 were offered in the entire system. A prior court approval had allowed it to sell its Ambassadair Travel Club division to Grueninger Cruises and Tours.

Although a $ 100 million financial package from investment firm MatlinPatterson and pre-bankruptcy creditors allowed the now-privatized airline to briefly emerge from bankruptcy and establish services to New York-La Guardia, Houston-Hobby, Ontario, Oakland and Hilo (Hawaii). ), rising fuel prices, the swift resignation of an acting CEO, the poorly executed replacement plan of his L-1011s with DC-10s, and the loss of a major military contract caused him to go bankrupt again, leaving Flight 4586 from Honolulu to Phoenix to mark its last landing at 0846 on August 2, 2008.