Check ATA Schedule Changes ONLINE

[robinb]

I was going to talk to ATA over the phone about schedule changes on my upcoming trip, but I wasn't looking forward to it. After 30 minutes on hold and then hearing other stories about even longer wait times, it was looking pretty grim .

Then, I had a bright idea ! Why not just look up the reservation online and see if the time changes were acceptable to me?

So, I dug out my confirmation email, clicked on the handy-dandy "View Your Travel Plans" link and my current reservation popped up. It looked a little worse for wear with all the changes and cancellations made by ATA still attached to my record, but I found 4 flights that showed us as "confirmed" and all 4 had seat selections. We're delayed just under 2 hours each way which means that we will get in too late on Friday to do anything. That's OK, though. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to save some money by staying at an airport hotel for under $40 and not at AKL for $151 that night!

 

[inkkognito]

If possible, I would still confirm by phone later. A couple flights ago, when we had a BIG problem with our seats, our online reservation was showing something different from what the phone agent saw on her screen.
Barb

 

[JKW]

Thanks for your post......!!!!!..... I called ATA this morning. My wait time was about 3 mins. They changed our flight times also. They moved our flight to MCO back 1 1/2 hours and our flight to MDW up 1/2 hour. Not a real big deal. They asked if I would like to change my flights. I did in the end change the outgoing flight from originally 555pm (pushed back to 715pm) to the 720am flight. With children of 4,9, and 10 an arrival time of 1045pm was a little late. We had originally thought that DD9 would have a gymnastics meet on that day but it got moved so we ended up having the schedule change work in our favor. The agent also gave us our seat assignments for both legs.

Thanks so much for the heads up..............

 

[powellrj]

I just got off the phone with ATA, it was a little over 2 min wait time, and our flights had just changed by a few minutes each way and our seat assignments were still showing what I had printed. I just hope our flight goes as well!!! I am now checking the transportation board several times a day!!!

 

[inkkognito]

Run a Google News search on ATA...
More bad news today

Barb

 

[powellrj]

agh....................... I am so sorry to hear this. I hope that we are ok keeping our flight for next week, I can't imagine anything would happen that quickly, but to be on the safe side, we did allow the weekend to drive back if we need to. I love ATA and really hate to hear this.

 

[Captain Blue Sky]

Yes, ATA announced layoffs today, but they were for positions that did not have a critical need to its flight operations.

Look for more announcements from ATA in the not-too-distant-future. But, ATA is much stronger than other airlines. Afterall, they recently signed a $250Mil contract with the Department of Defense to transport military to the Middle East.

Down here in Charlotte, we are hearing that Independence Air is likely to fold by late December. Very poor airline operation with little foresight and planning that is effective.

Corporate planners for Independence were hedging that oil would be pricing at $30 per barrel. Little did they anticipate that oil would be nearly $55 dollars. They are cancelling flights left and right and on some days make no-go decisions as much as they make go decisions.

I would seriously wonder if my travel plans would occur if I was a paying customer on that airline...

 

[inkkognito]

Captain Blue Sky,

Do you think we are safe booking Jan. and Feb. on ATA? We have all of our flights through the end of Dec. (I think we hold tickets for 8 roundtrips right now) and we're nervous about those, let alone booking beyond the end of the year. We like to book ahead of time, and we have lots of freebie companion tickets, but all of the news about ATA is getting me paranoid.

Barb

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

*Bump*

I'd like to hear Captain Blue Sky's response to Barb's post as well.

We have flights booked with ATA for Nov 2004 and March 2005.
We have enjoyed their service in the past and hope they will survive.

Tink

 

[pumpkinboy]

Well, I'm not Cap'n BlueSky, but...
The articles I have read about ATA have talked about a Chapter 11 filing by ATA, not a shutdown (Ch 7). Also, they have tended to talk about possible acquirers, including America West and AirTran, which are apparently in better financial shape. It seems that ATA's main trouble has been the combination of too many new planes ordered in recent years and high (and unhedged) fuel costs.

As for Independence Air, if they have hedges in place at $30 a barrel, that would be a good thing for their balance sheet. However, if they were expecting fuel to be there, but had not hedged, then they'd be in trouble They are flying smaller, more fuel-efficient planes, so if they are able to fill seats, they should be in good shape. Cancelling flights the way that they are reported to be doing is not a good sign tho, and will likely undermine customer confidence in them, whatever their balance sheet looks like.

I expect you should be fine on ATA for the next few months. If the flights suit your schedule and price needs in January, then you should be just fine buying them now. April or May might be more dicey, but will probably be OK too (not sure I'd put money on it tho).

Good luck!

 

[Captain Blue Sky]

To answer Barb's and tinkerbellmagic's concerns:

ATA is planning to be around a long, long time. And yes, your air travel plans for all of next year are absolutely safe!

To speak to pumpkinboy's comments: Unfortunately, Independence NEVER hedged their fuel, so they are looking at the higher $55 per barrell crude pricing reality. And Indenpendence is not even coming close to filling their smaller aircraft. Which raises the question: How will Independence fill A319s if they can't fill regional jets?

Independence may have a few aces up its sleeve, or they are simply good poker players. Time will tell in the not-too-distant-future for them...

What everyone should REALLY be talking about is USAirways and Delta. USAirways is expected to 'disappear' by May, 2005. They have been struggling for years, but seem to be in the throws of death at the moment.

And poor Delta! Do you know that some of their pilots are being paid more than $300K annually?? Yes pilotting is a highly technical profession that demands a particular kind of person, but come on, $300K?? No wonder they have lost $651Mil the last quarter! And did you hear about their pension buyouts? In the ALPA negotiated contract for pilots, the crew member can walk away, with a check in-hand if they leave the company, with 50% of their total contribution. That means that some of the career captains that fly their larger wide-bodied aircraft are receiving dispursement checks in excess of $1million dollars! Multiply that by several hundred pilots bailing from that sinking ship and you can understand how they got themselves into one of the deepest financial holes in commercial aviation history.

But, no airline is immune. Even SouthWest and JetBlue are experiencing difficulties. You don't hear about that because they have less to lose at the moment.

But the good news is oil prices are expected to come down in 2005 and ridership dramatically increase. I cannot wait until those days are here...

 

[pumpkinboy]

The funny thing is, Delta actually had hedged their fuel costs, and they'd done a pretty good job of it. But, come February, their other bills (most especially Pilot salaries and expected early retirement balances) forced them to liquidate their hedges. Yeah, I worry about Delta, as I have three itineraries bought and paid for with them; I am not terribly worried that they will not be there, just that they will mess up their schedule something aweful, the way that ATA sems to have done.

As for Independence Air, I am sorry to hear that they did not hedge fuel costs, as that would have given them a huge advantage, the way that good hedging has helped Southwest and JetBlue (yeah there are problems there too, but at least they are not bleeding money). Still, I'm rooting for Independence, as they serve some great smaller market cities that could really use some competitive airfares. For example, my DB lives in Portland Maine and his SIL+BIL are in Knoxville TN; with Independence, a $200 r-t fare is now feasible

 

[DemoBri1]

Originally posted by Captain Blue Sky
To answer Barb's and tinkerbellmagic's concerns:

ATA is planning to be around a long, long time. And yes, your air travel plans for all of next year are absolutely safe!

But the good news is oil prices are expected to come down in 2005 and ridership dramatically increase. I cannot wait until those days are here...

Umm...I wouldn't hedge bets on either of this taking place at the moment. While ridership may indeed increase, there's no way that anyone can forecast what oil prices are going to be at. Right now, oil, is selling with a $25-30 premium price on the market. They weren't forecasting that the prices would be in the 50s at this time of the year.

S&P just downgraded ATA once again, and their forecast is not too bright. I'm not too sure that they will be able to survive without merging with someone else. Don't want to be an alarmist as I love flying out of Midway, but reality is what it is, and right now I just hope that I have a plane out in 15 days and a plane back in 22 days.

Brian

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Originally posted by DemoBri1
S&P just downgraded ATA once again, and their forecast is not too bright. I'm not too sure that they will be able to survive without merging with someone else. Don't want to be an alarmist as I love flying out of Midway, but reality is what it is, and right now I just hope that I have a plane out in 15 days and a plane back in 22 days.

Brian

I'm with you, Brian. I am worried about my flights for Nov 2004 and March 2005. ATA may very well be around for a long time, and I sincerely hope they are, but will those of us who hold tickets with them out of Midway actually get to our destinations?

Tink

 

[Captain Blue Sky]

I think we might be confusing the terms "merger" with "asset acquisition."

ATA is in negotiations with America West to sell assets. Those assets pertain to gates at MDW. America West has a presence at MDW and wants to expand their midwestern operation. ATA needs cash and can raise a good amount by the sale of some gates, but not all. We are only talking of several, not a complete go-for-broke fire sale...

When a company merges, their operation (part or whole) is absorbed and they cease to have a unique identity in some way. Which is what is predicted for USAirways...

However, the shlock that is quoted in Reuters about ATA is more pure speculation and opinion than fact. I would caution their sources as they are not in-the-know at all...

And I believe we can predict the cost of oil through stock futures trading. Given the price of oil seems tied to our insurgence into Iraq, I believe that once our presence lessens there so too will oil prices for the USA...

Yes, S&P has downgraded our stock to CCC- I believe. Equivalent to a junk bond. But you know how stocks are. They rise and fall with very little imepetus...