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INDIANAPOLIS -- ATA Airlines canceled all flights Thursday after filing for
bankruptcy as it posted advisories at ticket counters in the handful of cities
it still served and sought help for stranded travelers. The Indianapolis-based
airline, once the nation's 10th-largest, entered bankruptcy for the second time
in just over three years Wednesday, this time citing the loss of a key military
charter business. The airline had approximately 50 flights per day, mostly
between Hawaii and four west coast cities - Oakland, Los Angeles, Phoenix and
Las Vegas, said company spokesman Michael Freitag. ATA said has been in contact
with other airlines that may be able to assist with travelers holding tickets
that the airline can no longer honor. |
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US aircraft giant Boeing claimed Thursday a world first in putting into the air
a plane powered by a hydrogen-cell battery, a breakthrough that could herald a
greener future for the industry.
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Foreign investors are lining up to bid to operate Chicago's Midway International
Airport, the first major US airport to be privatized under a federal initiative
launched more than a decade ago. City officials say six consortiums, which
include firms from France, Australia, Germany, Canada and Spain, are vying to
run Chicago's secondary airport. |
The U.S. economy may be coming in for a landing, but the demand for private jets
is still flying high.
The bustling economies of China and India, and newfound oil wealth in countries
such as Russia, have helped keep sales of small executive jets strong. Despite
the weakening of corporate profits in the U.S., North American plane makers are
reporting record orders, many from overseas.
"There is a lot of demand worldwide," said Raymond Jaworowski, an aerospace
analyst with market research firm Forecast International in Newtown, Conn. "If
the U.S. economy does soften and even if we go into recession, the effects will
be insulated somewhat by the growing economies outside the United States." |
 FAA safety inspector Bobby Boutris was conducting night surveillance of
maintenance at Midway Airport in Chicago in March 2007 when he observed a
Southwest Airlines plane being repaired for a crack on the fuselage.
To his disbelief, Boutris discovered that the plane was overdue for inspections
and still flying, despite the danger that a sudden failure of the jet's thin
metal exterior could result in rapid decompression of the plane, jeopardizing
all on board.
Even more incredible to Boutris, Southwest had already voluntarily notified his
supervisor at the Federal Aviation Administration about the problem, he later
learned. |
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