Over at Marginal Revolution I discussed the economics of regional jets and why Independence Air was doomed to fail. And then just a few days later it did fail, or at least it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

When Atlantic Coast Airlines announced they were planning to re-start as a standalone carrier, did anyone think they were really serious (a low-fare carrier flying RJs a la Midway in its second incarnation, based at Dulles)? It was just supposed to be a bargaining tactic with United over fly-for-hire rates that somehow spun wildly out of control.

They’re planning to sell off their assets, holding an auction for the next sixty days. They have 21 parties so far potentially interested, signing confidentiality agreeements which allows the parties to get a closer look at the company’s books. Sixty days is an aggressive sell-off schedule, but I wonder whether their unrestricted cash levels will permit more than that (and whether the bankruptcy judge would allow them to tap cash past that point).