Tag Archives: AirTran Airways

Southwest to convert Wichita to a Southwest city on June 2

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) on June 2, 2013 will convert service at Wichita, Kansas from AirTran Airways to a Southwest city. At Wichita’s Mid-Continent airport, WN will substitute three AirTran nonstop flights between Wichita and Atlanta with two Southwest nonstops between Wichita and both Dallas/Love and Chicago/Midway, and daily Southwest nonstop service between Wichita and Las Vegas. This will give Southwest five daily departures, with direct and connecting service to another 70 Southwest cities across America.

Integration between Southwest and AirTran also continues in the Caribbean. On the same day WN will convert existing AirTran nonstop service between Baltimore/Washington and San Juan, Puerto Rico to Southwest Airlines service, and will add a fourth daily roundtrip between San Juan and Orlando. All of Southwest’s service to San Juan utilizes Boeing 737-800 aircraft complete with Boeing’s Sky Interior.

According to the airline, Southwest will also add two daily nonstop roundtrips between Houston/Hobby and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. WN will also add new nonstop service between Chicago/Midway and Tulsa. Other nonstop markets that will seasonally return will be daily nonstops between Seattle/Tacoma and Atlanta, Nashville, Houston/Hobby, and Kansas City, between Austin and Portland OR, and between Las Vegas and Manchester. Southwest will end nonstop service in five markets—Albuquerque-Tucson, Oakland-Reno, Little Rock-St. Louis, and between Birmingham and both Jacksonville and New Orleans. In addition, WN will eliminate seasonal nonstops between Hartford and Ft. Myers, weekend-only nonstops in the Norfolk-Tampa and Providence-Ft. Myers markets, and will seasonally shift Southwest nonstop service between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and both Raleigh/Durham and Milwaukee to AirTran. WN will also reduce frequency in 40 roundtrip markets and increase service in 49 others, winding up with an average of 3,382 departures each weekday—which represents an overall increase in roughly 18 midweek departures per day.

Southwest Airlines:

Southwest Airlines to push south to San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 14

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) now offers for sale nonstop service from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Orlando and Tampa, for travel beginning on Sunday, April 14, 2013. Beginning in April, Southwest will operate three daily nonstop flights between Orlando and San Juan and one daily nonstop flight between Tampa and San Juan, as the carrier transitions these routes from AirTran Airways-operated city pairs.

AirTran Airways will continue to offer service between San Juan and Baltimore/Washington, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, and Atlanta. Southwest soon will determine the best time to convert the remaining AirTran flying to Southwest as part of the ongoing integration to eventually become one airline flying under the Southwest brand. AirTran Customers who booked flights between San Juan and Tampa Bay or San Juan and Orlando for travel beginning April 14, 2013, or later will be contacted by the airline and rebooked on Southwest flights.

AirTran began service at San Juan in March 2008 with service to Orlando and Atlanta. In February 2009, the carrier added service between San Juan and Baltimore/Washington. AirTran added San Juan service to Tampa Bay in April 2011 and to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood in May 2012. Today, AirTran still offers a total of five daily nonstop flights to three markets from San Juan: Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (see below).

Top Copyright Photo: Southwest Airlines’ Boeing 737-8H4 N8604K (msn 39883) taxies to the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

AirTran Airways:

Southwest Airlines:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Boeing 737-7BD N313AT (msn 33927) departs the runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The incredibly shrinking AirTran route map and future Southwest destinations:

Please click on the map to expand.

Four AirTran Airways cities convert to Southwest Airlines cities with new routes on April 14, 2013

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) announced today future service details affecting four AirTran Airways cities that will convert to Southwest Airlines service in the Spring of 2013.

Beginning April 14, 2013, Southwest Airlines nonstop service will be offered between:

Charlotte and Baltimore/Washington, Chicago (Midway), Houston (Hobby), and Orlando
Flint and Baltimore/Washington, Orlando, and Tampa Bay
Portland, Maine and Baltimore/Washington
Rochester and Baltimore/Washington, Chicago (Midway), Orlando, and Tampa Bay

AirTran service in these cities will end the previous day, April 13, 2013.

In addition to seasonal and other itinerary changes across the 97 destinations served by both carriers, AirTran’s international footprint grows with the new schedule to include new, daily service beginning April 14, 2013, between Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Baltimore/Washington, subject to applicable governmental approval.

Additional New Service on Southwest Airlines beginning April 14, 2013:

One daily nonstop flight between Boston Logan and Kansas City
One daily nonstop flight between Houston (Hobby) and Pittsburgh

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Boeing 737-7H4 N459WN (msn 32497) of Southwest Airlines taxies to the active runway at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

AirTran Airways:

Southwest Airlines:

Branson, Missouri to convert to a Southwest city on March 9

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) announced today the carrier will add a 79^th destination to its route map with service to Branson, Missouri, beginning in March 2013. Southwest starts service in Branson on March 9, 2013, with daily flights offering nonstop service to Dallas (Love), Houston (Hobby), and Chicago (Midway), and with Saturday-only service to Orlando. Southwest will assume all flying from AirTran Airways, its wholly owned subsidiary, with AirTran’s operations at Branson fully converting to Southwest Airlines.

Southwest’s Branson Service:

One daily nonstop flight between Branson and Dallas Love Field
One daily nonstop flight between Branson and Houston Hobby
One daily nonstop flight between Branson and Chicago Midway
One Saturday-only nonstop flight between Branson and Orlando

Southwest also announced today that the airline has extended its flight schedule for travel between March 9, 2013, and April 12, 2013. In the new schedule, Southwest will begin service between several markets as listed below. The carrier also will add seasonal service to this flight schedule to accommodate Spring Break travel.

Southwest’s new markets:

Two daily nonstop flights between Newark and Nashville
One daily nonstop flight between Newark and Austin
One daily nonstop flight between Newark and New Orleans
One daily nonstop flight between Dayton and Orlando
One daily nonstop flight between Key West and New Orleans

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. Boeing 737-3H4 N352SW (msn 24888) in the special Lone Star One livery arrives at Baltimore/Washington.

Southwest Slide Show:

New WN routes radiating from Branson:

Please click on the map for the full size.

Southwest to start Kansas City-Minneapolis/St. Paul service on February 14

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) and its wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways announced today that they have extended their flight schedules for travel between February 14, 2013, and March 8, 2013. In the schedule, Southwest will begin new service between Kansas City and Minneapolis-St. Paul with two daily nonstop flights. Both carriers also will begin new seasonal routes as listed below.

Southwest’s new market:

Two daily nonstop flights between Kansas City and Minneapolis-St. Paul

Southwest’s new seasonal markets include:

One daily nonstop flight between Albuquerque and Orlando
One daily nonstop flight between Albany and Las Vegas
One daily nonstop flight between Hartford/Springfield and Las Vegas
One daily nonstop flight between Long Island/Islip and Ft. Myers
One daily nonstop flight between West Palm Beach and Pittsburgh
One daily nonstop flight between West Palm Beach and Providence
One daily nonstop flight between Providence and Ft. Myers

AirTran’s new seasonal markets include:

Two daily nonstop flights between Chicago Midway and Ft. Myers
One daily nonstop flight between Detroit and Ft. Myers

Southwest Airlines:

AirTran Airways:

AirTran adds more flights on the Baltimore/Washington-Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood route

AirTran Airways (subsidiary of Southwest Airlines) (Dallas) has announced more options for Baltimore Customers looking to get to Florida, AirTran Airways will add as many as four daily nonstop flights between Baltimore/Washington and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood beginning on September 6, 2012, through the end of its published schedule on February 13, 2013. The new flights will add to AirTran’s existing three daily roundtrip flights between the markets.

With the September flight schedule, Southwest Airlines will operate three daily nonstop flights between Baltimore/Washington and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood for a combined total of up to ten daily roundtrip BWI-FLL flights between the carriers.

Southwest Airlines began service to Baltimore/Washington on Sept. 15, 1993, with ten daily nonstop departures to two cites. Since then, Southwest has grown its operation to more than 170 daily nonstop departures to nearly 50 cities. Southwest has nearly 3,000 Employees at BWI, and has a plane dedicated to the state, Maryland One.

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Boeing 737-7BD N281AT taxies to the runway at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood.

AirTran Airways:

Southwest Airlines:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Maryland One arrives at Las Vegas.

Delta to add Boeing 717s in 2013, replacing smaller jets

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) will add 88 former AirTran Airways Boeing 717-200 aircraft to its fleet starting in 2013.

Delta has finalized an agreement with Southwest Airlines and Boeing for the Boeing 717s, which are currently in service at Southwest subsidiary AirTran Airways. The aircraft will begin delivery next year, with 16 scheduled to enter Delta’s fleet in 2013. An additional 36 will be delivered in 2014, and the remaining 36 in 2015.

The Boeing 717s will primarily replace small 50-seat regional jets on a capacity-neutral basis. The 110-seat aircraft will feature new, fully upgraded interiors, with 12 First Class seats, 15 Economy Comfort seats and in-flight WiFi throughout the aircraft. Seats in Economy will be arranged in a 2-3 configuration with just one middle seat per row.

The 717 initiative is the latest step in Delta’s domestic fleet optimization plan launched in 2010, focused on improving the profitability of the company and providing customers an industry-leading customer experience. Delta will begin taking delivery next year of new fuel-efficient state-of-the-art Boeing 737-900 ER jets, which will primarily replace older Boeing 757-200 and 767-300 and Airbus A320 aircraft. Delta will add 100 new 737-900 ERs between 2013 and 2018. In addition, Delta has upgraded its fleet with the addition of more than 80 MD-90 and two-class regional jets, retiring less efficient mainline and regional aircraft.

Image: Delta Air Lines.

Delta Air Lines:

Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways aircraft maintenance technicians ratify Seniority Integration Agreement

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) announced the Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMT) from Southwest Airlines, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), and AirTran Airways (Dallas), represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 528, voted to ratify their Seniority Integration Agreement. This agreement integrates the two groups’ seniority lists. Southwest Airlines finalized closing of the acquisition of AirTran Holdings, Inc., on May 2, 2011.

AMFA represents approximately 1,750 Southwest Airlines Aircraft Maintenance Technicians, and the IBT represents close to 500 Mechanics from AirTran Airways.

Today’s vote by the AMTs means they now join the Pilots, Flight Attendants, Flight Instructors, Dispatchers, and Ramp, Operations, Provisioning and Freight Agents as having successfully completed the Seniority Integration negotiation process. Work groups still in seniority integration negotiations include Customer Service Agents and Customer Support and Service Employees and Materials Specialists.

This moves the merger one step closer.

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.

Southwest Airlines:

AirTran Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Jay Selman. The AirTran Boeing 717s will not be painted in Southwest’s livery.

Southwest Airlines to fly to Key West, Florida, announces its winter schedule

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) and its wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways (Dallas) announced today new nonstop routes as they extend their flight schedules for travel bookings through January 4, 2013. Southwest also announced that it will begin service to Florida’s Key West Airport (EYW) on November 4, 2012, assuming all flying from AirTran. Southwest will operate one daily nonstop departure to Tampa Bay (TPA) and one daily nonstop departure to Orlando (MCO). In addition, Southwest will add new service between several markets (details below).

Southwest’s new markets include:

Two daily nonstop flights between Dallas Love Field and Harlingen
One daily nonstop flight between Denver and Louisville
Two daily nonstop flights between Houston Hobby and Indianapolis
One daily nonstop flight between Houston Hobby and Orange County
One daily nonstop flight between Kansas City and New Orleans

Southwest assumes flying from AirTran:

One daily nonstop flight between Key West and Orlando
One daily nonstop flight between Key West and Tampa Bay
Two daily nonstop flights between Boston Logan and Milwaukee
One daily nonstop flight between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Milwaukee
Five daily nonstop flights between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Milwaukee
One daily nonstop flight between San Francisco and Milwaukee
One daily nonstop flight between Orlando and Minneapolis-St. Paul

AirTran has also made adjustments to its flight schedule to accommodate seasonal demand to several destinations.

AirTran’s seasonal new markets include:

One daily nonstop flight between Buffalo and Tampa Bay
One daily nonstop flight between Akron-Canton and Ft. Myers
One daily nonstop flight between Columbus and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood
One daily nonstop flight between Columbus and Tampa Bay
One daily nonstop flight between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Indianapolis
One daily nonstop flight between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Philadelphia
One daily nonstop flight between Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay
One daily nonstop flight between Rochester and Tampa Bay
Four weekly nonstop flights between Flint and Ft. Myers
Four weekly nonstop flights between Grand Rapids and Ft. Myers

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Tony Storck.

Southwest:

AirTran:

AirTran Airways launches new international flights from San Antonio, Austin, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Orange County and Chicago Midway

AirTran Airways (Dallas), a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines (Dallas), announced today that the carrier is officially kicking off brand new international service from several markets including San Antonio, Austin, Orange County, California, and Chicago Midway, as well as new service between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The new routes were announced last winter and service details are outlined below. Today’s departure out of San Antonio International Airport marks AirTran’s first international destination and flight from the airport. The international service also brings AirTran service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and John Wayne Airport in Orange County for the first time.

San Antonio New Service:

Beginning May 24, AirTran will operate four weekly nonstop flights between San Antonio (SAT) and Cancun (CUN) with service Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Beginning Sept. 1, 2012, through the end of the current schedule*, the carrier will operate three weekly nonstop flights on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Also beginning May 24, AirTran will operate one daily nonstop flight between San Antonio and Mexico City (MEX).

Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood New Service:

Beginning May 24, AirTran will launch service between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL) and San Juan, Puerto Rico, (SJU) with two daily nonstop flights.

Austin New Service:

Beginning May 25, AirTran will launch inaugural service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) with four weekly nonstop flights between Austin and Cancun on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays through Aug. 31, 2012. Beginning Sept. 1, 2012, through the end of the schedule, the carrier will operate the service on Mondays, Fridays, and Sundays.

Orange County New Service:

Beginning June 3, AirTran will operate one daily nonstop flight between John Wayne Airport in Orange County (SNA) and Mexico City and one daily nonstop flight between Orange County and Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo (SJD).

Chicago Midway New Service: