AirTran Holdings (NYSE: AAI) is a Nevada corporation, based in Orlando, Florida, United States, that operates as an airline holding company. Its primary asset is AirTran Airways.
AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AirTran) conducts all of its flight operations through its wholly owned subsidiary, AirTran Airways, Inc. (AirTran Airways). AirTran operates scheduled airline service throughout the United States and to selected international locations. Approximately half of the Company’s flights originate or terminate at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia, and it serves a number of markets with service from its hubs in Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Orlando, Florida. As of January 31, 2011, AirTran operated 86 Boeing B717-200 aircraft (B717) and 52 Boeing B737-700 aircraft (B737), offering approximately 700 scheduled flights per day to 69 locations in the United States and the Caribbean, including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, The Bahamas, and Orangestad, Aruba. The Company’s entire fleet consists of B717 and B737 aircraft.
During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company expanded its presence in Milwaukee along with SkyWest Airlines Inc. (SkyWest Airlines), with whom it had a marketing agreement to support its Milwaukee hub. As of December 31, 2010, AirTran, together with its marketing partner, served 25 non-stop destinations to and from Milwaukee. During 2010, AirTran increased flying to the Caribbean by adding service to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and extended its Caribbean reach from Baltimore/Washington by adding flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
ValuJet accumulated $368 million in 1995 revenues. In spite of its popularity among civilian business travelers, the U.S. Department of Defense turned down the carrier for a contract ferrying military personnel, citing a lack of management competence and organization and substandard maintenance and training procedures. The number of forced landings had grown to 57 in 1995 from 15 the previous year.
On May 11, 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into the Everglades, killing all 110 people (including five crew members) on board. The FAA eventually determined that the DC-9, which had been bound for Atlanta, was downed by chemical oxygen generators that caught fire within its cargo hold.
The FAA grounded ValuJet on June 17, 1996, after weeks of newly intensified scrutiny. In the meantime, the flight attendants' union called for the ouster of Jordan and Priddy. They were not immediately successful, though in the fall, they moved to background roles as former Continental and TWA executive D. Joseph Corr was brought in as president. The airline's business community backers protested the groundings and urged the FAA to allow ValuJet back in the air.
ValuJet was cleared to resume limited operations--15 of 51 airplanes--in September. The carrier reorganized its maintenance and engineering management structure and revised the pay scale for pilots to be less dependent on performance incentives. It agreed to become recertified in maintenance-related areas, to provide permanent maintenance inspectors, to gain FAA approval before adding new aircraft, notify the FAA of major alterations or repairs, and provide the agency with computerized records. ValuJet also said it would use fewer subcontractors, whom it would be required to audit in the future. The airline also would commit to installing smoke detection systems on all its planes by 1998, two years ahead of an industry-wide federal mandate. In the next six months of operations, ValuJet would lose $39 million. Its sales for the year were $219.6 million. Intensified price competition from Delta Air Lines did not help the carrier.
The year 1996 was a bad one not just for ValuJet but for the entire flock of regional start-up airlines. Public confidence in this segment was shaken in particular; the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in July frightened passengers further. Eventually the major carriers cut fares as well to lure back customers. In its 1996 fiscal year, AirTran Airways, deemed the airline most seriously affected by the confidence crisis, lost $6.9 million. Other factors hurting the company's performance included a spare parts purchase of $2 million and engine replacements that were rendered more costly by the $1.1 million the airline spent to buy stranded passengers' tickets on alternate carriers. In addition, new competition from Delta Express and Southwest Airlines sent AirTran looking for additional hubs. (AirTran used Delta's ground handling service in Orlando and Cincinnati and five Delta gates at the Orlando International Airport.)
A New Name, New Attitude in 1997
The condition of AirTran Airways steadily improved in early 1997. It carried more passengers in May than it ever had before. The company added more than 200 jobs and saw its share price double. It opened new flights into the minor markets that were its focus, and applied for routes connecting some of these with New York City. In June, it teamed up with the commuter airline Comair (25 percent owned by Delta) in a code sharing agreement offering the AirTran Florida Connection to several Comair destinations in Florida and Nassau.
In July 1997, ValuJet Inc. and AirTran Airways announced the merger of their relative holding companies (which would produce fewer FAA complications than merging the operating companies right away). The merger, to become final in the fall of 1997, helped ValuJet sidestep the name's negative connotations resulting from intense media coverage of the Everglade crash. ValuJet's traditional popularity among business travelers also seemed to segue nicely with AirTran's tourist customers. At the time of the merger, ValuJet was operating 30 aircraft.
The AirTran Airways fleet consisted of 10 Boeing 737s. The company, one-third the size of ValuJet, also brought its Orlando maintenance facility to the deal. The airline, based in Orlando, Florida, served 28 cities. ValuJet supplied the funds to allow both carriers to fly more aircraft. ValuJet advanced AirTran $7 million in July 1997 and $5.7 million in September 1997. The company ordered 50 state-of-the-art MD-95 aircraft from McDonnell Douglas for $1 billion; they were scheduled to begin delivery in June 1999.
ValuJet president Joseph Corr became CEO of the new entity. While affordability remained the primary focus, among changes introduced were a new modestly-priced business class service, pre-assigned seating, and travel agent ticket sales.
As Orlando officials began vying to keep the new company's corporate headquarters, AirTran Airlines continued to utilize the ValuJet offices in Atlanta, while AirTran Airways remained at its site in Orlando. Atlanta and Washington, D.C., also wooed the company in hopes of landing planned maintenance and reservations centers as well.
In their new livery, the tail of AirTran jets sported the letter "a," said to mean "affordable." ValuJet achieved $219.64 million in revenues in 1996; AirWays, Inc.'s revenues were $102.62 million for the fiscal year ending in March 1997.
OVERALL
Beta: 0.69
Market Cap (Mil.): $1,021.59
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 135.67
Annual Dividend: --
Yield (%): --
FINANCIALS
AAI Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 31.69 3.42 15.79
EPS (TTM): -74.88 -- --
ROI: 2.47 1.49 2.81
ROE: 7.40 3.93 5.15
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1993 as ValuJet, Inc.
Employees: 2,800
Sales: $219.64 million (1996)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
SICs: 4512 Air Transportation, Scheduled
Name Age Since Current Position
Fornaro, Robert 57 2008 Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer
Haak, Arne 42 2008 Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President - Finance, Treasurer
Rossum, Steven 47 2011 Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
Kolski, Stephen 70 2010 Executive Vice President - Corporate Affairs of AirTran Airways
Smith, Alfred 58 2002 Senior Vice President - Customer Service of AirTran Airways
Goersch, Klaus 44 2010 Executive Vice President - Operations and Customer Service of AirTran Airways
Wiggins, Rocky 51 2010 Senior Vice President, Information Service and Chief Information Officer of AirTran Airways
Chapman, Don 70 1994 Director
Jordan, Lewis 65 1993 Director
Biggins, J. Veronica 64 2001 Director
Drummond, Jere 71 2002 Director
Fiedler, John 72 2003 Director
D'Aloia, G. Peter 66 2004 Director
Michas, Alexis 53 2006 Director
Crowley, Geoffrey 57 2008 Director
Jackson, Michael 55 2009 Director
Address:
9955 AirTran Blvd.
Orlando, Florida 32827
U.S.A.
AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AirTran) conducts all of its flight operations through its wholly owned subsidiary, AirTran Airways, Inc. (AirTran Airways). AirTran operates scheduled airline service throughout the United States and to selected international locations. Approximately half of the Company’s flights originate or terminate at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia, and it serves a number of markets with service from its hubs in Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Orlando, Florida. As of January 31, 2011, AirTran operated 86 Boeing B717-200 aircraft (B717) and 52 Boeing B737-700 aircraft (B737), offering approximately 700 scheduled flights per day to 69 locations in the United States and the Caribbean, including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, The Bahamas, and Orangestad, Aruba. The Company’s entire fleet consists of B717 and B737 aircraft.
During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company expanded its presence in Milwaukee along with SkyWest Airlines Inc. (SkyWest Airlines), with whom it had a marketing agreement to support its Milwaukee hub. As of December 31, 2010, AirTran, together with its marketing partner, served 25 non-stop destinations to and from Milwaukee. During 2010, AirTran increased flying to the Caribbean by adding service to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and extended its Caribbean reach from Baltimore/Washington by adding flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
ValuJet accumulated $368 million in 1995 revenues. In spite of its popularity among civilian business travelers, the U.S. Department of Defense turned down the carrier for a contract ferrying military personnel, citing a lack of management competence and organization and substandard maintenance and training procedures. The number of forced landings had grown to 57 in 1995 from 15 the previous year.
On May 11, 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into the Everglades, killing all 110 people (including five crew members) on board. The FAA eventually determined that the DC-9, which had been bound for Atlanta, was downed by chemical oxygen generators that caught fire within its cargo hold.
The FAA grounded ValuJet on June 17, 1996, after weeks of newly intensified scrutiny. In the meantime, the flight attendants' union called for the ouster of Jordan and Priddy. They were not immediately successful, though in the fall, they moved to background roles as former Continental and TWA executive D. Joseph Corr was brought in as president. The airline's business community backers protested the groundings and urged the FAA to allow ValuJet back in the air.
ValuJet was cleared to resume limited operations--15 of 51 airplanes--in September. The carrier reorganized its maintenance and engineering management structure and revised the pay scale for pilots to be less dependent on performance incentives. It agreed to become recertified in maintenance-related areas, to provide permanent maintenance inspectors, to gain FAA approval before adding new aircraft, notify the FAA of major alterations or repairs, and provide the agency with computerized records. ValuJet also said it would use fewer subcontractors, whom it would be required to audit in the future. The airline also would commit to installing smoke detection systems on all its planes by 1998, two years ahead of an industry-wide federal mandate. In the next six months of operations, ValuJet would lose $39 million. Its sales for the year were $219.6 million. Intensified price competition from Delta Air Lines did not help the carrier.
The year 1996 was a bad one not just for ValuJet but for the entire flock of regional start-up airlines. Public confidence in this segment was shaken in particular; the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in July frightened passengers further. Eventually the major carriers cut fares as well to lure back customers. In its 1996 fiscal year, AirTran Airways, deemed the airline most seriously affected by the confidence crisis, lost $6.9 million. Other factors hurting the company's performance included a spare parts purchase of $2 million and engine replacements that were rendered more costly by the $1.1 million the airline spent to buy stranded passengers' tickets on alternate carriers. In addition, new competition from Delta Express and Southwest Airlines sent AirTran looking for additional hubs. (AirTran used Delta's ground handling service in Orlando and Cincinnati and five Delta gates at the Orlando International Airport.)
A New Name, New Attitude in 1997
The condition of AirTran Airways steadily improved in early 1997. It carried more passengers in May than it ever had before. The company added more than 200 jobs and saw its share price double. It opened new flights into the minor markets that were its focus, and applied for routes connecting some of these with New York City. In June, it teamed up with the commuter airline Comair (25 percent owned by Delta) in a code sharing agreement offering the AirTran Florida Connection to several Comair destinations in Florida and Nassau.
In July 1997, ValuJet Inc. and AirTran Airways announced the merger of their relative holding companies (which would produce fewer FAA complications than merging the operating companies right away). The merger, to become final in the fall of 1997, helped ValuJet sidestep the name's negative connotations resulting from intense media coverage of the Everglade crash. ValuJet's traditional popularity among business travelers also seemed to segue nicely with AirTran's tourist customers. At the time of the merger, ValuJet was operating 30 aircraft.
The AirTran Airways fleet consisted of 10 Boeing 737s. The company, one-third the size of ValuJet, also brought its Orlando maintenance facility to the deal. The airline, based in Orlando, Florida, served 28 cities. ValuJet supplied the funds to allow both carriers to fly more aircraft. ValuJet advanced AirTran $7 million in July 1997 and $5.7 million in September 1997. The company ordered 50 state-of-the-art MD-95 aircraft from McDonnell Douglas for $1 billion; they were scheduled to begin delivery in June 1999.
ValuJet president Joseph Corr became CEO of the new entity. While affordability remained the primary focus, among changes introduced were a new modestly-priced business class service, pre-assigned seating, and travel agent ticket sales.
As Orlando officials began vying to keep the new company's corporate headquarters, AirTran Airlines continued to utilize the ValuJet offices in Atlanta, while AirTran Airways remained at its site in Orlando. Atlanta and Washington, D.C., also wooed the company in hopes of landing planned maintenance and reservations centers as well.
In their new livery, the tail of AirTran jets sported the letter "a," said to mean "affordable." ValuJet achieved $219.64 million in revenues in 1996; AirWays, Inc.'s revenues were $102.62 million for the fiscal year ending in March 1997.
OVERALL
Beta: 0.69
Market Cap (Mil.): $1,021.59
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 135.67
Annual Dividend: --
Yield (%): --
FINANCIALS
AAI Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 31.69 3.42 15.79
EPS (TTM): -74.88 -- --
ROI: 2.47 1.49 2.81
ROE: 7.40 3.93 5.15
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1993 as ValuJet, Inc.
Employees: 2,800
Sales: $219.64 million (1996)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
SICs: 4512 Air Transportation, Scheduled
Name Age Since Current Position
Fornaro, Robert 57 2008 Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer
Haak, Arne 42 2008 Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President - Finance, Treasurer
Rossum, Steven 47 2011 Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
Kolski, Stephen 70 2010 Executive Vice President - Corporate Affairs of AirTran Airways
Smith, Alfred 58 2002 Senior Vice President - Customer Service of AirTran Airways
Goersch, Klaus 44 2010 Executive Vice President - Operations and Customer Service of AirTran Airways
Wiggins, Rocky 51 2010 Senior Vice President, Information Service and Chief Information Officer of AirTran Airways
Chapman, Don 70 1994 Director
Jordan, Lewis 65 1993 Director
Biggins, J. Veronica 64 2001 Director
Drummond, Jere 71 2002 Director
Fiedler, John 72 2003 Director
D'Aloia, G. Peter 66 2004 Director
Michas, Alexis 53 2006 Director
Crowley, Geoffrey 57 2008 Director
Jackson, Michael 55 2009 Director
Address:
9955 AirTran Blvd.
Orlando, Florida 32827
U.S.A.