Will End Operations January 7 If Buyer Not Found

It may be the first airline casualty of 2006: beleaguered carrier Independence Air's parent company, Flyi, announced Thursday it will cease operations early next month unless a major investor or buyer can be found.

In a letter sent to the airline's unionized workers -- including pilots, technicians and flight attendants -- the Dulles-based airline said it would stop flying January 7, and lay off all its workers within 14 days past that date, unless an 11th-hour deal could be struck with an investor, according to the Washington Post.

It would take "significant external investment" to prevent Independence Air from going under, according to the letter.

Independence Air spokesman Rick DeLisi, however, said a final decision had not been made on the airline's future -- no matter what Flyi has said.

"No definitive decision has been made," said DeLisi, adding the carrier still had a "number of ongoing discussions" with potential investors -- but he declined to comment further.

As was reported in Aero-News, Flyi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection November 11. At that time, the financially struggling carrier said it was searching for a major investor -- and failing that, would sell off its assets to raise capital.

The airline mailed the letter to comply with labor agreements, that required the carrier to give employees notice of intent to furlough its workers. The carrier employs 2,800 people, according to the Post.

While the news isn't surprising to many, the shock of potentially losing their jobs still comes as unwelcome news to Independence Air workers, especially coming just after the holidays.

"I was anticipating this letter, but it's still kind of stressful," said pilot Patrick J, Denvey, who has flown for Flyi and its predecessor, Atlantic Coast Airlines, since the late 1980s. Losing his job with Flyi would mean having to start over fresh at another carrier -- if possible.

"The problem is I'm 47 years old and I have 13 years left to fly legally, before mandatory retirement," Denvey added. "But when an airline goes bye-bye your seniority usually doesn't transfer with it. We have guys who are 58 years old and will have to take a 60 to 70 percent pay cut if they want to start all over at another airline."

Analysts predict Flyi will not find any investors interested in keeping the airline flying. What's more likely, said Michael J. Boyd, an analyst at the Denver-based consulting firm the Boyd Group, is that potential investors would only want to purchase some of the airline's assets.

Last month, Independence Air was rated as one of the Top Five domestic airlines by the Zagat Group, according to the airline's website. The airline is still accepting advance bookings through April.

FMI: www.flyi.com