An Airline in Pieces, Going Once . . .
Independence Air Auction Provides Bargains for Shoppers, Closure for Nostalgists

By Cecilia Kang
Washington Post Staff Write
Saturday, April 22, 2006

Six years ago, Sergio Quiroga sat nervously on a couch in the lobby of what would become Independence Air, applying for a job as a pilot. Yesterday, he took the couch home with him, a bit of nostalgia plucked from the bankrupt company's wreckage.

As an auctioneer rattled away in cowboy boots and a western twang, Independence Air's remaining possessions were put on public sale yesterday, a process that will continue today and next weekend.

The customers included first-time business owners looking for bargains, suited airline specialists, auction hobbyists, and, in some cases, former employees nostalgic over a company that promised to revolutionize air travel with cheap flights and good customer service.

"At least I can take a little piece with me," said Quiroga, who now works for US Airways.

Key portions of Independence Air's business already have been sold to other airlines since the company closed in January, its leased planes returned to their owner and its gates at Dulles International Airport picked up by United Air Lines.

The auction of everything from ticketing kiosks to five-gallon cans of turbine oil is a near-final step in closing the company and a reminder of how far it fell.

Tracy Smith, who joined the finance department of Independence Air parent Flyi Inc. 14 years ago, when it was known as Atlantic Coast Airlines, followed the crowd of buyers through the maze of hallways as they auctioned off bookshelves, bulletin boards and framed promotional posters.

"We had really high hopes for Independence when it started and were so sad to see it end so quickly," said Smith, who is still employed by the company as part of the "shutdown team."

Yet it also has created a good business for Starman Bros. Auction, which has carved a niche out of the airline industry's troubles.

The Papillon, Neb.-based aviation auctioneer said it has seen its business increase 20 to 30 percent annually in the past five years. From the Independence Air auction, which ends next Sunday, Starman will get 5 percent of the total proceeds. Sales are expected to range from $9 million to $12 million. The money will be distributed by the bankruptcy court.

"We've been a whole lot busier in the last few years because of all the downsizings," said Steve Starman, who started the company 20 years ago. Starman Bros. held an auction for beleaguered US Airways last year and has been hired to hold one for Northwest Airlines, which is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, this summer.

Northwest, United, and Delta have all filed for bankruptcy protection in the past few years. Eastern Airlines and Midway Air Lines have failed since 1991.

"Starman is obviously doing well. They even sent me a glossy four-page color brochure for this auction," said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant based in Evergreen, Colo. "But there aren't other shutdowns of this size. No one comes close to the fiasco that was Independence Airlines."

In January, the low-cost carrier with 2,700 employees announced it would close due to competitive pressure and higher fuel costs.

It left a trove of assets behind.

In its training offices on Shaw Road in Dulles, where the auction was held, thousands of desks and chairs and hundreds of computer terminals littered offices where name placards still hang. One whiteboard was stacked against a wall with a motivational statement: "We are part of the solution. . . . Are you part of the problem?"

Starman and his crew of three other auctioneers attempted to make even the mundane sound good.

"We've got a chair here! She's got arms, boys! Take a look at her," said Starman, wearing the company uniform of cowboy hat, boots and a sandwich-size belt buckle. "Do I have five? Five, five, five," he says in a monotone voice at lightning speed.

There were a total of 3,000 office chairs selling yesterday, most going for no more than $5 apiece.

Pat Symonds, owner of indoor basketball courts Hoop Magic in Chantilly, snapped up 25 office chairs and 18 large conference tables for $400. She was also looking for stanchions and posts used at ticketing booths and gates by airlines.

"I could use those for crowd control at our basketball games," Symonds said.

In another room, hundreds of navy blue flight-attendant suits and pilots' uniforms hung neatly on moving racks, all tagged for sale. A full-scale Airbus cabin was also up for bid, equipped with 36 leather seats, a full-service food and beverage galley and controls to simulate fire and extreme turbulence. Along the wall, dozens of large boxes were stacked unopened and filled with Independence's bright blue blankets and pillows.

For $3,750, Ken Hyde, head of the Wright Experience flight foundation, won a heated bidding war for a multi-engine flight simulator, where pilots train on controls and gears. About the size of a small car, the simulator is a life-size replica of a cockpit with an electronic screen to simulate flight conditions.

"We're trying to get young people interested in aeronautics, and this will be used as one of our training tools," Hyde said.

Of the hundreds that walked through the maze of Independence's training offices, there were several serial auction attendees, including Robert Stumpff, a 76-year-old Department of Labor retiree who "just came by for a look."

Last week, he attended a cattle auction, and he regularly scours newspapers for auctions. He was unimpressed with the day's offerings.

"Tomorrow is when the corporate offices' stuff goes on sale, and that will be good," Stumpff said. "And next weekend, I have my eye on one of the pickups for sale."