AIRLINE INDUSTRY More carriers plan bids for ATA's Chicago gates

Dec. 10 is the deadline for interested buyers to submit bids.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- At least two more discount airlines plan to bid for the gates used by bankrupt ATA Airlines for its hub at Chicago's Midway International Airport.
Lawyers for America West Holdings Corp. and Southwest Airlines Inc. told a federal bankruptcy court judge on Thursday that the companies intended to make separate bids for part or all of ATA.
That action came two days after AirTran Holdings Inc. formally offered to pay nearly $90 million to take over operations at all 14 of ATA's Midway gates.
On Thursday, Judge Basil Lorch III set Dec. 10 as the deadline for interested buyers to submit bids. The bids will be opened and reviewed Dec. 13, with Lorch to pick a winning bid Dec. 16.
Gilbert Viets, ATA's chief restructuring officer, said that Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran was the only one of 10 other airlines to respond to inquiries ATA made this summer about a possible merger or sale of the Midway gates.
Elise Eberwein, a vice president of Phoenix-based America West, said she doubted the competing airlines would bid up the price of the Midway gates beyond their market value at a time when most carriers are short on cash.
'Economic sense'
"This business is ego-driven. You hear a lot of trash talk," Eberwein said. "But at the end of the day, no airline is stupid. No one is going to pursue something just to pursue it. It has to make economic sense."
Dallas-based Southwest and ATA are the largest carriers at Midway, and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said last month that expansion at Midway was the airline's top priority. On Thursday, Southwest announced plans increasing to 21 the new Midway flights it will start offering next year.
Indianapolis-based ATA filed for Chapter 11 protection last month. ATA is the nation's 10th-largest U.S. carrier based on revenue passenger miles and currently has 7,700 employees, including 2,300 in Indianapolis.