After working with ATA at Chicago-Midway, for over 8 years, it was sad news indeed.
I saw my friends on the news and I literally cried. We knew all operations would cease on June 7 but for the airline to end so abruptly was very hard. Employees had been promised a bonus to stay on until the last day. Now, not only will there be no bonus - there is no paycheck for the week of work that they have already worked.
I was not an ATA employee, but worked closely with them. My employer requested that I go out to MDW on Sat. April 5th to assist any of our travelers that may have been unaware of the airline folding. It was very hard to see the empty counters and all signage removed.
This past Thursday I was advised by my employeer, that due to ATA folding, I too was now out of a job. And I
loved that job, hands down the best job I have ever had.
As many airline employees do, I work with or for a number of airlines (3) In less than 2 weeks I actually lost 2 jobs ( 1 was just a seasonal airline ) and my main place of employment is now cutting our hours to about 15 a week, until Oct/Nov. Times are very tough in the airline industry, worse than after Sept. 11th.
Scubadork's post was right on.
Let's get real for just a minute though. The airline industry blows, that much is true, but as travelers we need to be realistic. Fuel prices are not going to go away, and yet we continue to expect 200.00 fares and complain when we get charged for the overweight luggage and too many pieces of luggage.
You hit the nail on the head, with
everything you said.
You can expect things to get worse, much worse. And when it finally all shakes out, you might not like it.
