Editing ATA Airlines (section)

===Second bankruptcy and demise===
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2009}}
[[File:crew amt4586 preflight.jpg|thumb|Flight crew of the last ATA Airlines revenue flight, AMT4586, after completing a segment from Honolulu to Phoenix. Captain Mark Groover and First Officer Philip Collier.]]

On April 2, 2008, ATA declared bankruptcy and ceased all operations. This sudden end came about after FedEx abruptly canceled ATA's longstanding military charter contract. Combined with a significant increase in the price of jet fuel, ATA did not have enough capital to stay in business. It was the third of four U.S. airlines to announce a complete shut down in the week of March 30, 2008, after [[Aloha Airlines]] did so on March 30, Minnesota-based charter [[Champion Air]] did so March 31, and [[Skybus Airlines]] terminated service on April 5. The shutdown of ATA took effect at 4:00{{nbsp}}am EDT, Thursday April 3, 2008,<ref>[http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=comm&id=news/ATA04038.xml&headline=ATA%20Airlines%20Shuts%20Down]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322015935/http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=comm&id=news%2FATA04038.xml&headline=ATA%20Airlines%20Shuts%20Down|date=March 22, 2012}}</ref> although some flights were airborne at the time and continued to their destinations, with the final arrival being ATA flight 4586 from Honolulu to Phoenix, which landed at 8:46{{nbsp}}am, MST, or seven hours and 46 minutes after the announced shutdown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AMT4586 |title=ATA Flight 4586 |publisher=Flightaware.com |date=April 3, 2008 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}</ref> At the time of the shutdown ATA employed around 2,300 people, all of whom were subsequently permanently [[laid off]]. According to press reports, up to 10,000 passengers were affected and many of them had to scramble for help on several airlines. Most of them, however, had to pay for new tickets.

On November 19, 2008, [[Southwest Airlines]] announced its intent to acquire the remaining assets of ATA Airlines. The $7.5 million bid included the rights to 14 slots at [[LaGuardia Airport]] that belonged to ATA, as well as various other assets such as trademarks and logos. Southwest specifically stated their bid "doesn't include any aircraft, facilities or employees of ATA".<ref>[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/111908dnbussouthwestata.3129e9f.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428045258/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/111908dnbussouthwestata.3129e9f.html|date=April 28, 2010}}</ref>