Sorry if the message already been posted.....been having trouble with my email the last few hours, the messages were not coming in to the apporaite mailbox and disappearing. in to cyber space.......should be fixed now! ATA limits quarterly loss to $11 million INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? The parent company of American Trans Air on Tuesday reported an $11.4 million first-quarter loss, an improvement after three consecutive quarterly losses of more than $50 million. The nation's 10th largest passenger carrier said it limited its losses amid financial turmoil in the airline industry through a program to use its planes and crews more efficiently. The nation's biggest operator of military charter flights also said an increase in military flights to support the war in Iraq enabled it to increase use of its fleet and more than double its military revenue. "Despite this progress, we are still reporting a net loss today, and, as I have said in two previous earnings releases, this is unacceptable," said George Mikelsons, chairman, president and chief executive. "We still have work to do before we can report the financial results that will ensure our future." Indianapolis-based ATA Holdings reported a net loss of $11.4 million, or 97 cents per share, for the January-March period on revenue of $374 million. That compared with a profit of $1.5 million, or 13 cents per share, on revenue of $331 million in the year-ago period. The performance exceeded expectations of three analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. They forecast a far wider loss of $1.94 per share. ATA shares were trading at $4.15 on the Nasdaq exchange on Tuesday morning, up 2 cents. ATA posted wider losses of $55 million for last year's fourth quarter, $61 million for the third, and $58 million in the second. ATA managed to post a quarterly operating profit $1.5 million, a figure that excludes interest expenses. "I am very encouraged by the operating profit, which clearly signals we are moving in the right direction," Mikelsons said. First-quarter earnings were hurt by a nearly 42% jump in fuel prices, offset by a 109 percent increase in ATA's military revenue. ATA is expanding capacity and adding new service to destinations including San Francisco, New York's La Guardia Airport and Pittsburgh. The 30-year-old carrier operates hubs for its scheduled service at Chicago's Midway Airport and Indianapolis International Airport. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.pscutt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************