They're retiring the TriStars slowly, or moving them to charters only, and soon it will be only 737NGs and 757s flying the scheduled line.

I flew ATA SEA-MDW-DCA arriving the morning of September 10, passing through DCA the morning before the world changed. Loads were light. It was very Spartan -- no food on either segment -- but just fine. Our 757-300 was new but had mismatched carpeting and seatsets -- two different bold patterns clashing. There was IFE and enough pillows and blankets for every seat (something UA doesn't manage).

Odd to see a 757 with no F section and no cabin bulkhead where one would expect it.

The thing I remember most about the flight was that I never saw a cabin crew make such a fetish of keeping the window shades up for takeoff and landing. It was even in the safety video.

On September 11 we encountered the downside of flying an airline that has so little infrastructure and so few frequencies; they couldn't do a thing about getting us back to Seattle. ATA only scheduled two flights a day into DCA even before all hell broke loose. After 9/11 they had no way to accommodate us -- we ended up driving 3000 miles back to Seattle and turning in our return tickets for refunds. If you have a mechanical or act of God in some out station, be prepared for a loooooonnnnng wait -- there's no redundancy.

Also, they may have rebuilt the front "face" of Midway Airport, but the ATA gate areas are still as grim and bunkerlike as can be.