Global Aviation Holdings Inc. (Global) was the

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

World Airways World Airways, Inc. was a United States airline headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia in Greater Atlanta. The company operated mostly non-scheduled services but did fly scheduled passenger services as well, notably with McDonnell Douglas DC- ...

, Inc. (World), and North American Airlines, Inc. (North American), headquartered in

Peachtree City, Georgia Peachtree City is the largest city in Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 34,364. Peachtree City is located in South Metro Atlanta. Peachtree City is noted for its extensive use o ...

, US. Its airline holdings included World and North American along with ATA Airlines until the parent company renamed from Global Aero Logistics to Global Aviation Holdings. ATA, World, and North American all were Part 121 U.S.-certified air carriers providing customized air transportation services for major international passenger and cargo carriers, international freight forwarders, the U.S. military, international leisure tour operators, and international corporations. On November 12, 2013, the company announced that it is once again filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, shut down World Airways, and sold the remaining assets of North American Airlines in 2014. The company had previously entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 15, 2012, not long after shuffling assets and closing ATA Airlines. In 2008 Global emerged from bankruptcy on February 13, 2013.

Global Aviation Holdings circa 2008-2012

Global Aviation Holdings had combined revenues of more than $1 billion, 30 leased aircraft (most from

GECAS GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021. GECAS was the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company in ...

and

ILFC The International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) was an aircraft lessor headquartered in the Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California, US. It was the world's largest aircraft lessor by value, though ILFC's rival, General E ...

), and more than 2,200 employees. Global Aviation Holdings provides services in the passenger, commercial passenger ad-hoc lease and wet lease charter, military-on-demand, and cargo charter ACMI markets through its two airline subsidiaries. Among Global Aviation Holdings' significant competitors in passenger transportation, that specialize in AMC charter contracts and (ACMI) and charter markets, are Omni Air International and

Ryan International Airlines Ryan International Airlines, Inc. was an American FAR 121 airline with domestic, flag, and supplemental authority. Synopsis and history Based at Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford, Illinois, the US Postal Service was once th ...

. On the cargo side, Global Aviation Holdings operations performed by World Airways remain distant rivals to the vastly growing ABX Air's airline holdings operations and network which include the much smaller (ATI) Air Transport International and Capital Cargo International Airlines, at one time fierce competitors for similar contracts. North American flew to the African continent with a link up to Virgin Nigeria Airlines, but all scheduled passenger service was discontinued in May 2008 as a result of the 2007-2008 fuel price rises. Global Aviation Holdings had substantial fleet operations transiting through Atlanta ATL, New York (JFK), Baltimore Washington BWI, Dallas Ft. Worth DFW and Houston (IAH) on a regular basis.

Fleet

As of May 2013, Global Aviation Holdings had 14 wide-body transoceanic capable aircraft in its fleet: Global Aviation Holdings was expected to receive some

Airbus A330-200F The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A34 ...

aircraft from an order placed by parent company MatlinPatterson prior to the closing of ATA Airlines.MatlinPatterson signs for six A330-200F
Airbus Press Centre, 28 January 2008 After the Boeing 757 was withdrawn from North American Airlines service, Global Aviation Holdings and North American Airlines became one of a small number airlines to operate only wide-body aircraft, much like its primary competitor Omni Air International, which too has no

narrow-body aircraft A narrow-body aircraft or single-aisle aircraft is an airliner arranged along a single aisle, permitting up to 6-abreast seating in a cabin less than in width. In contrast, a wide-body aircraft is a larger airliner usually configured with mul ...

. According to the referenced article in Businessweek, MatlinPatterson withdrew its Airbus order to resupply the Global fleet with newer technology widebody aircraft.

Destinations

As of May 2008, Global Aviation Holdings subsidiaries North American Airlines and World Airways did not offer any scheduled service. They operated flights into more than 120 countries in 2009.

History

Originally named AmTran (Holdings) prior to 2002 and based in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, the holding company's name was changed to ATA Holdings Corporation, for increased transparency and to attract financial investors after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

economic hardships that affected the industry. ATA Holdings was a

publicly traded A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

company. On April 8, 2004, ATA Holdings announced the sale of ATA Training Corporation to Aviation Institute of Maintenance in order to focus on the passenger and charter business. ATA Training provided training for aircraft technicians. It was founded in Indianapolis in 1992. ATA Holdings Corp. traded on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

as "ATAH" until the company filed bankruptcy proceedings in October, 2004. On April 5, 2007, New ATA Holdings, Inc., the successor company to ATA Holdings, changed its name to Global Aero Logistics Inc. (GAL). Shortly afterwards it announced the agreement to purchase

and North American Airlines. Late in 2007, GAL quietly moved its headquarters to

, where World Airways is headquartered. Global Aero Logistics provides military and commercial air transportation charters throughout the world. * AMTRAN, INC. (Holdings) -------------------- 2002 * ATA Holdings Corp. --------------------------- 2003-2007 * Global Aero Logistics Inc. (Holdings) -- 2007-2009 * Global Aviation Holdings Inc. ------------ 2009–present According to an Indianapolis press release from Global Aero Logistics Inc., and North American airlines in 2006, the combined companies of North American, ATA, and World revenues were approximately US$1.6 billion.

Bankruptcies

On October 26, 2004, ATA Holdings, Inc., the former parent company of ATA Airlines, filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, along with seven of its

subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...

: ATA Airlines, Chicago Express Airlines, ATA Cargo, ATA Leisure Corp., ATA Training Corp., Amber Travel, and ExecuJet. ATA Airlines logo 2001

The company and its subsidiaries continued for one and a half years to operate as debtors-in-possession under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court, and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and applicable court orders. On April 2, 2008, ATA Airlines filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and immediately ceased all operations. The sibling airlines continued to operate. With the decision to close ATA Airlines, the MatlinPatterson hedge fund in control of the remaining assets of ATA Airlines and World Air Holdings acquired the cargo carrier

Arrow Air Arrow Air was a passenger and cargo airline based in Building 712 on the grounds of Miami International Airport (MIA) in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. At different times over the years, it operated over 90 weekly schedul ...

. On February 5, 2012, Global Aviation Holdings, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Restructuring

After the company's bankruptcy filing on October 26, 2004, drastic measures were taken to turn the company around and make it profitable. As part of its restructuring, J. George Mikelsons ATA's founder and director stepped away from the MatlinPatterson Global Aero Logistics firm, and the directorship of ATA named

John G. Denison John G. Denison was the acting CEO and Chairman of the Board of ATA Airlines and Global Aero Logistics, Inc at the time of ATA's shutdown due to financial insolvency. In 2006, Denison had announced that he would step down as ATA's CEO on January 1 ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

in February 2005. Later that year, launched their first

codeshare A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

agreement, with

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

, which had been spearheaded earlier by Mikelsons. ATA also cut down its scheduled operations, most significantly from its former hub at Chicago Midway International Airport. ATA sold Ambassadair Travel Club in 2004 to Grueninger Cruises and Tours, based in Indianapolis. On February 28, 2006, New ATA Holdings Inc. emerged from Chapter 11 United States Bankruptcy Protection.

Emergence of Global Aero Logistics

On April 5, 2007, Global Aero Logistics announced an agreement to acquire World Air Holdings, Inc. in a $315 million all-cash transaction. Simultaneously, New ATA Holdings officially announced their name had been changed to Global Aero Logistics, Inc., effective immediately, to reflect their diverse global operations and its recent acquisition of companies with the financial backing of the Matlin Patterson Global Opportunities investment firm. Terms of the $315 million deal were that Global Aero Logistics Inc. would operate ATA Airlines, North American Airlines, and World Airways under one umbrella (Global Aero Logistics) with each airline (ATA, North American, and World) operating independently when the transaction was completed in the third quarter of 2007. In 2007 the parent company of ATA said that it was changing its name to Global Aero Logistics Inc. and was acquiring the parent company of North American Airlines. ''

Pacific Business News American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...

'' said during that year "There are interesting synergies between ATA and World Air Holdings.""ATA to buy World Air, North American Air." ''

''. Thursday April 5, 2007. Last modified on Friday April 6, 2007
1
Retrieved on September 12, 2011.

Management

* John Graber,

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

(CEO) of Global Aviation Holdings Inc. * Bill Garrett,

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and fina ...

(CFO) of Global Aviation Holdings Inc. from MatlinPatterson. * Suzanne Mueller, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary * Brian Bauer, senior vice president and chief marketing officer (CMO) of Global Aviation Holdings Inc. * James Casbarro, senior vice president, and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

(COO) of North American Airlines * Eric Bergesen, senior vice president, and COO of World Airways

References

External links

Global Aviation Holdings' official website

ATA Airlines official website
(Archive)
North American Airlines official website

World Airways official website
{{Navbox Airlines of the United States Companies based in Indianapolis Airline holding companies of the United States Companies established in 2002 Privately held companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008 2002 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)