ATA Connection
Encyclopedia
Doing business as
The phrase "doing business as" is a legal term used in the United States, meaning that the trade name, or fictitious business name, under which the business or operation is conducted and presented to the world is not the legal name of the legal person who actually own it and are responsible for it...
name of Chicago Express Airlines, which in its later years was doing business as ATA Connection, and was the trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
codeshare name and brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
used by the renamed parent company
Parent company
A parent company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors; the second company being deemed as a subsidiary of the parent company...
of ATA Holdings Inc.
Global Aero Logistics
Global Aviation Holdings Inc. is the parent company of World Airways, Inc. , and North American Airlines, Inc. , headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia...
for ATA Airlines
ATA Airlines
ATA Airlines, Inc., formerly known as American Trans Air, was an American low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights throughout the US mainland and Hawaii, as well as military and commercial charter flights around the world...
, the principal operating unit for flights to smaller Midwestern cities.
History
C8 - the ATA Connection, as a branded regional feeder operation, ceased being used when the remaining assetAsset
In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset...
s of Chicago Express were completely divested from AMTRAN, INC.'s successor
Successor
A successor can refer to* Someone who, or something which succeeds or comes after * Successor , an American Thoroughbred racehorseIn history:* The Diadochi, or Successors to Alexander the GreatIn mathematics:...
company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
early in 2006, and some months before that when the fleet
Fleet vehicles
Fleet vehicles are groups of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business or government agency, rather than by an individual or family. Typical examples are vehicles operated by car rental companies, taxicab companies, public utilities, public bus companies, and police departments...
was withrawn from service, owned aircraft parked, and leased airplanes returned to their lease owners. C8 was also the IATA code used when travel agencies
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
were writing ticket
Airline ticket
An airline ticket is a document, issued by an airline or a travel agency, to confirm that an individual has purchased a seat on a flight on an aircraft. This document is then used to obtain a boarding pass, at the airport...
s upon Chicago Express routes, and booking travel between airlines not affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
d or owned by ATA.
When the remains of Chicago Express (C8) were liquidated
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
, the company was sold as Chicago Express, just as it read on the company's original airline operating certificate. ATA Connection's imagery and logos do not live on, unlike Pan Am's logos and trademarks.
Industry perceptions
The type of arrangement the C8 code and ATA Connection's form of logo and branding separating the two, has in the past at other companies, led to many public and corporate perception problems. Examples of such would be Ransome Airlines
Ransome Airlines
Ransome Airlines was a commuter airline which was headquartered at Northeast Philadelphia Airport in Northeast Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Dawson Ransome, it began operations as an independent carrier in 1967. Ransome was particularly noted for operating the Dash 7 as it...
, who much of the informed among the aviation industry, was under the impression had completely exited the business of aviation, when its parent company
Parent company
A parent company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors; the second company being deemed as a subsidiary of the parent company...
had collapsed in bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. However, Ransome Airlines as Trans World Express
Trans World Express
Trans World Express was the fully owned and certificated, regional carrier for Trans World Airlines and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation....
continued to operate for years to come, unbeknownst to many.
Similarly, for many lay individuals, when one sees the Pan Am emblem and logo emblazoned upon railways and airplanes at airports in literally identical Pan Am Clipper Connection or Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways, Inc. , known as Guilford Rail System before March 2006, is a holding company that owns and operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine to Rotterdam Junction, New York...
form, this tends to leave the impression to all, that the original business is still in place. As in the case of Pan Am Systems
Pan Am Systems
Pan Am Systems is a privately held company that controls the following divisions: rail transport; manufacturing and energy; transportation related brands; real estate; and a now-defunct airline division. The company is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.-History:Guilford Transportation...
also unbeknownst to many, no business connection to the original Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
exists, although Pan Am's distinctive logo who Pan Am System owns, has been through four generations of different corporate usage.
C8 the IATA code of ATA Connection, C8 the certificated
Operating certificate
Operating certificate is a category of license issued by a government agency allowing an individual or company to provide a controlled type of service. These certificates are generally issued for a limited time period...
airline and former subsidiary of ATA Airlines
ATA Airlines
ATA Airlines, Inc., formerly known as American Trans Air, was an American low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights throughout the US mainland and Hawaii, as well as military and commercial charter flights around the world...
parent company, and C8 the brand identified with ATA Connection are once and for all defunct. Amtran
Amtran
Amtran can refer to:*AmTran, a manufacturer of school buses.*The former holding company of ATA Airlines.*A Taiwanese TFT LCD manufacturer....
, and ATA Holdings continue to exist but in the renamed form of Global Aero Logistics
Global Aero Logistics
Global Aviation Holdings Inc. is the parent company of World Airways, Inc. , and North American Airlines, Inc. , headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia...
.
ATA Airlines, a fully certificated airline carrier, IATA code TZ, ended operations in April 2008 as a result of the controlling interests of the MatlinPatterson hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
's reallocation of Amtran/ATA Holdings/ATA Airlines capital resources into the continued leveraged investments
Leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
of DC-10 equipment, and World Airways
World Airways
World Airways, Inc. is an American airline headquartered at the HLH Building in Peachtree City, Georgia. For the most part, the company operates non-scheduled services. Its main aircraft and maintenance base is Tampa International Airport.-History:...
/ North American Airlines
North American Airlines
North American Airlines, Inc. is an American airline with its headquarters in Building 141 on the grounds of John F. Kennedy International Airport in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, USA. Prior to May 2008, it operated scheduled international services from the USA to Africa and Guyana. Today, it...
causing and resulting in the financial insolvency of ATA Airlines through these collateralized transactions
(C8) The ATA Connection brand no longer exists