Chris O'Malley

It’s not just the beat-up airline industry that’s troubling locally based Republic Airways Holdings, it’s the aircraft itself. About half the regional jets flown by Republic for major airlines are of a type quickly falling into disfavor with the majors as they buckle under high fuel prices. About 118 of Republic’s 226 aircraft have fewer than 50 seats-too few passengers over which to spread the higher cost of jet fuel to make many of the routes they fly profitable. That’s…

The Indianapolis Airport Authority this morning stopped short of bringing the name of World War I flying ace Weir Cook back to Indianapolis International Airport, but compromised with supporters by tagging a major street and the new midfield terminal with the name. The road leading into the airport will be called Col. H. Weir Cook […]

Airline woes will crimp the number of passengers expected to use Indianapolis International Airport next year, the airport authority projects in a 2009 budget the board will consider at its meeting tomorrow. About 4.1 million passengers are expected to pass through boarding gates – 6 percent fewer than previously forecast for 2009 but similar to […]

By Chris O’Malley A resident of Broward County, Fla., has filed a class-action lawsuit against a Conseco Inc. unit that allegedly failed to pay the maximum benefit for home health care insurance. Anna M. Cohen, in the July 2 case in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeks more than $5 million […]

Bankrupt ATA Airlines aims to land court approval Friday to conduct a massive auction of assets next month in Indianapolis and Chicago. “This will be one of the biggest auction events in Indy this year,” states the Web site of Key Auctioneers. ATA wants the Avon firm to conduct the auction July 22 at ATA’s […]

Flagship rises over post-GM town Incubator has helped preserve automotive talent base, foster diverse businesses ANDERSON – Along Interstate 69, in a new industrial building with side-windows covered in paper to foil prying eyes, Altair Nanotechnologies is perfecting a ceramic oxide battery with three times the power of a conventional lithium battery. Up the road, […]

Shares of Hurco Cos. Inc. plunged 17.2 percent this morning after the Indianapolis-based machine tool maker reported profit that missed analysts’ expectations. Hurco said it earned 85 cents per share in net profit, 3 cents less than analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. The shares, which have traded near historic highs for the company, slumped to […]

International Truck and Engine Corp. plans to temporarily lay off hundreds of workers next week at its east-side engine plant, citing slumping demand for Ford trucks. “It’s all driven by Ford demand, or lack thereof,” said Roy Wiley, spokesman for the Warrenville, Ill.-based engine maker. “High diesel fuel prices, the housing market – you name […]

BOONE COUNTY Distribution/warehousing still rule Duke looking to rail potential in Lebanon while Whitestown heats up LEBANON-The economy might be slowing like a down-shifting Mack truck, but Boone County’s economic development engine of warehousing and distribution keeps accelerating. The sector now accounts for more than 25 percent of the tax revenue in the county seat […]