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

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

Keeping his roots in Indianapolis, he acquired larger and larger aircraft, including eight 707s; its first widebody, a former Laker Airways DC-10-10 registered N183AT in 1983; and an ex-Northwest Orient DC-10-40, registration N184AT. The four-engine 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 substitute 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 took on a new operating profile when it launched limited scheduled service on the JFK-Belfast-Riga (Latvia), Indianapolis-Fort Myers, Indianapolis-Las Vegas, and San Francisco-Kahului (Maui)-Honolulu routes, both billing themselves as “the vacation airline.” of American” and “the nation’s largest charter airline.

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

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

Operating a fleet of 23 strong 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 loss of $2 million the previous year for the first time due to the recession and travel concerns created by the Gulf War. That year it carried 2.4 million passengers.

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

The stretched -200 replaced the -100 in 1993.

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

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

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

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

By transferring six of its Midway Airport gates and 27 percent of its non-voting shares to Southwest in exchange for a life-injecting cash infusion and continued operation under a codeshare agreement in December 2004, ATA reduced its number of destinations served in Indianapolis to three and reassigned aircraft 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. Midway bypass 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 increase in revenue for Southwest, but did not necessarily suture the financial drain on ATA.

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

Coincidental service reductions were, unsurprisingly, extensive, as lights dimmed at numerous destinations for a brief interval: Boston, Newark and Minneapolis in October 2005, Indianapolis and Denver in November, and Orlando, Fort Myers and San Francisco the following April, leaving little more than the skeleton of his body once fully grown. In fact, 18 daily departures were dispatched from a single gate at Midway Airport and only 52 were offered systemwide. A brief pre-approval had allowed it to sell its Ambassador 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 carrier to briefly emerge from bankruptcy and establish service to New York-La Guardia, Houston-Hobby, Ontario, Oakland and Hilo, Hawaii, rising fuel prices, the rapid resignation of a CEO who took over shortly thereafter, the poorly executed plan to replace its L-1011s with DC-10s, and the loss of a major military contract caused it to go bankrupt again, leaving Flight 4586 from Honolulu to Phoenix to mark its last landing at 0846 on August 2, 2008.