or ATA Virtual, is one of a handful of virtual airlines, who follows the real life ATA. The phrase “a new era in virtual aviation can be associated with this Virtual Airline.


History.

ATAv was founded on Christmas Eve, December 24 2004, as a surprise to the online aviation community by Mark McCoy and Nick Custenborder. The purpose of ATAv is to create an atmosphere in witch pilots feel part of the actual airline.


Membership

If a person wishes to become part of ATAv, he must first read the airline’s handbook. After revising it he or she will then be required to fill a very basic form. After submitting the form, a verification E-Mail will be sent. This is followed by an E-mail from a member of the staff of ATAv. The pilot will then be assigned a Specific call sign beginning with AMT, followed by a 2 to 4 digit. Example:AMT 0000


Operations





Regions

ATAv operates from 6 crew bases. The west region consists of Los Angeles international airport(KLAX), Oakland international airport(KOAK), and Phoenix sky harbor(KPHX).
The East region consists of La Guardia International airport(KLGA), Chicago-Midway (KMDW) and Indianapolis international airport.(KIND). Previously there were only 3 hubs, which were Chicago-Midway, Indianapolis International and Honolulu International. The Region system which came into effect as of August 1 2006, will allow for competitions between West and East.


Fights

All flights for ATAv are done online on the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network(VATSIM). This allows ATAv pilots to fly with other pilots of Virtual Airlines and fellow pilots of ATAv. A pilot is allowed to choose any flight he wants. A pilot must use his call sign, example AMT 0000 while flying on VATSIM. This ensures that there will be no 2 flight numbers that are the same.

Chicago Express flights


Chicago express flights are conducted with the Saab 340 or the Jetstream J31.They are mainly short hops from Chicago to Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illonios.



Mainline/Schedule flights


Mainline/Schedule flights are split into 3.

Current ATA Flights are the flights that the real world ATA is operating.

Southwest code shares , is a code share agreement with Southwest Virtual Airlines, which is very similar to the Code share the real ATA has with the real Southwest.

Legacy flights are flights that ATA has operated in the past, but currently does not operate any longer. These flights are mainly from the 1990's, but will soon be also including flights ATA ended in the 2000's.


Charters

Charter flights are also split into 3. ATA was primarily a charter company ,so there are many of these flights. Because ATA is one of the Airlines that assist the government transport and evacuate soldiers from places a large number of military flights can be found.

Current Charters are charters that are conducted by ATA in this time. There are 3 types of these charters.
Private are usually one-time trips. Company business flights, football charters, high-school field trips, are all examples of these types of flights.

Military are flights serving our troops, bringing them back home or deploying them.

Ferry flights are flights that get the aircraft into position for another charter or scheduled flight. They carry no passengers, and have a more relaxed atmosphere, as it is only the crew.

Legacy Charters are Charters from the 1970 and 1980’s. These charters are currently not operated by ATAv and tend to use older aircraft, for increased realism.

Ambassadair charters are flights by the Ambassadair travel club. They originate mainly out of Indianapolis.



Online Events

Because ATAv uses the VATSIM network, it is possible to host online events.

Easy Saturday


East Saturday is held weekly on Saturdays at 4p.m EDT. This is primarily a group flight. Everyone departs the same airport and arrives at another airport. The route is determined by a poll held on, the site’s forums.

Hours

So a pilot can be credited with the number of hours he has flown,he must file a PIREP after each flight.A pirep contains the following of flight informtion: Type of flight, Aircraft type, Departure Airport, Departure Time, Arrival Airport, Arrival Time and Comments.

Structure of ATAv


The structure of ATAv is very complex and resembles that of a real airline.

As of 2005 the CEO was Mr. Nick Bartolotta. He made many changes to the airline, and without him, ATAv would have of not been where it is now. He is also distinguished by the phrase “Fly Safe”

The COO is Mr. Ethan Klapper. He also has contributed to the Virtual Airline’s success.

Mr. Timothy Boger, is ATAv’s events director.
Nick Comber , is the chief pilot. As the chief pilot, he is responsible for training other pilots and writing essays about flying safely.

Mr. Matthew Laiter is the employee relations director. He welcome’s new pilots to ATAv and answers some of there questions.

Mr. Dan Charles, is the Western regional Director. He was previously the Chicago-Midway Hub manager.

Mr. Chase Stigberg is the Eastern regional director. He was previously the Honolulu Hub manager.

Mr. Randy Jackson is the scheduling director.

After the structure of the staff members, there is also the pilot structure. This determines which plane you can fly, which also determines your routes.

Trainee - 0 to 10 flight hours - Saab 340 / Jetsream 31

Flight Engineer - 11 to 35 flight hours - Boeing 737 (all types) / Boeing 727 (all types)

First Officer - 35 to 70 flight hours - Boeing 757

Captain - 71 to 101 flight hours - Boeing 707 / Boeing 720

Senior Captain - 102 to 220 flight hours - Lockheed L1011 / Douglas DC-10

ATP Captain - 221 to 500 flight hours - Cessna Citation / Learjet 35 / Bell 206L

Senior ATP Captain - 501 flight hours


Destenations

ATAv flies to the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia.


Livery

ATAv's livery's can either be the current ATA, the old American Trans air and special paint schemes.

Competitions

One of the most popular competitions in ATAv, is the Battle of the screenshots.Any pilot can post 1 screenshot.After some time a poll is held to determin the winner.

Fleet

ATAv's fleet is a mix of old and new aircraft.

Saab 340B

Jetstream J31

Boeing 737-300

Boeing 737-800

Boeing 757-200

Boeing 757-300

Lockheed L1011-500

Boeing 707

Boeing 720

Boeing 727

Bell 206LR

Cessna Citation II

Learjet 35


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ATAv website[862]