Judge Approves ATA Sale of Six Midway Gates to Southwest Tuesday December 21, 3:07 PM EST NEW YORK -- ATA Holdings Corp. (ATAHQ) gained approval from a bankruptcy judge to sell gates at Chicago Midway airport to Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV). ATA chose Southwest's bid for $117 million in cash and financing, plus a code- share deal, over AirTran Holdings Inc.'s (AAI) bid on Thursday following an auction. Because ATA is in bankruptcy proceedings, the deal must be approved by a bankruptcy judge. ATA lawyer Jim Carr said it was clear to all parties, including creditors, that the Southwest deal was superior. He added the Southwest deal creates "a couple hundred million dollars" more value for ATA than the AirTran bid. Dallas-based Southwest's bid involves taking control of six of ATA's 14 Chicago Midway gates in exchange for $40 million in cash, $47 million in financing and a $30 million equity investment in the Indianapolis airline. Mr. Carr said at a bankruptcy hearing Tuesday that Southwest's deal allows ATA to continue operating out of Chicago's Midway, a big plus for ATA constituents. He also noted the code-share pact was a major plus. A code-share arrangement allows airlines to book passengers on each others' flights. Mr. Carr didn't offer further details of the code-sharing plan. Last week, the airlines said they expect to share codes on nine ATA routes out of Midway, but executives declined to name the destinations. During Tuesday's hearing, lawyers with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and New York's LaGuardia Airport asked if the Southwest bid directly affects their airports. Mr. Carr said no, ATA would continue paying fees at those airports. But it still isn't clear if those airports might be part of the code- share deal, which might not have an impact on ATA's fee payments. -By Elizabeth Souder; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4148; elizabeth.souder@ dowjones.com Roger EWROPS