ATA was founded in 1972 as a successful charter carrier and travel club. In the late 90s it became aggressive in scheduling, establishing hubs at Indianapolis and Chicago Midway. The airline became #1 in both markets. It also updated its image to a rather tacky leisure scheme. The fleet was transformed from elderly L1011s and 727s to Next Generation 737s and 757-300s. In 2001, it seemed the airline was on its way when a new image arrived giving the airline a more businesslike feel. With the downturn in traffic and over-expansion, ATA suffered greatly. By 2005, ATA had paired down massively: selling off its Midway Hub, the ATA Express operation, and even pairing down its Indianapolis HQ Hub. In a bid for survival, the airline raised cash from these asset sales and instituted a code-share with Southwest. Time will tell whether this works, but we hope this good carrier survives. See more ATA material on the Various Memorabilia page.