ATA Recalls Over Half of Furloughed Employees as Business Improves; Unit Revenue Recovery Continues -- December Scheduled Service RASM Down 7% From Previous Year.

Business Editors & Travel Writers

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2002

American Trans Air, Inc. (ATA), the principal subsidiary of Amtran, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMTR), today announced that it has been able to recall over 600 of its approximately 1,100 furloughed employees.

This figure includes all of ATA's flight attendants, who are needed to support new charter contracts for the Company.

ATA has also received a new charter contract from Milwaukee-based Mark Travel Corporation. This contract, which began in December 2001, runs through August 2002 and will utilize as many as ten aircraft, many of which had previously been removed from service as a result of the September terrorist attacks. These aircraft will be retired, as planned, at the completion of the charter contract.

ATA's scheduled service business continues to recover. Scheduled service revenue per available seat mile (RASM) was down 7.0% in December from the previous year. This compares with a decrease of 13.5% in November and a decrease of 15.3% in October.

The Company's charter line of business saw a RASM decline of 8.4% in December from the previous year. The decline was due primarily to lower fuel surcharge revenue. Excluding fuel surcharges, charter RASM would have been up by 1.0% year over year. Fuel price fell from $1.11 in December 2000 to $0.75 in December 2001. Other ground package revenues fell year-over-year and caused the company-wide RASM to drop 8.8% year-over-year in December.

The increase in charter flying and improved scheduled service performance enabled the Company to recall over half of the 1,100 employees ATA furloughed after the September 2001 terrorist attacks. ATA has recalled all of the approximately 400 flight attendants as well as station personnel and staff to support the increased operations. "We are very excited about being able to bring much of our team back to work," said John Tague, Amtran's President and Chief Executive Officer. ATA also announced it will reinstate certain employee benefit programs that had been deferred in cost savings initiatives during the third and fourth quarters.

Amtran's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol AMTR. ATA, now in its 29th year of operation, is the nation's 10th largest passenger carrier based on revenue passenger miles and operates significant scheduled service from Chicago-Midway and Indianapolis. As of December 31, 2001 it has a fleet of 14 Boeing 737-800's, 15 Boeing 757-200's, five Boeing 757-300's, 10 Boeing 727-200's, and 15 Lockheed L1011's. Chicago Express Airlines, Inc., the wholly owned commuter airline based at Chicago-Midway Airport, operates 11 Saab-340B's. The entire fleet is supported by the Company's own maintenance and engineering facilities in Indianapolis and Chicago-Midway and other stations worldwide. You can learn more about ATA by visiting its website at www.ata.com.