Get You Flight Destination with Offer Big Sale Airline Ticket from Several Major Airlines
September 20, 2011 | Airlines News
Travelzoo is offering up deals from several major airlines that will get you to destinations across the country without breaking the bank.
AirTran Airways is one of the companies joining in on the discounts, helping travelers save as much as $200 roundtrip on competing fares.
The best part? No matter where you want to visit, there’s likely a deal to get you there. The “aggressive nationwide fare sale” is available for travel from 60 departure cities with rates starting as low as $54 each way!
Looking for an escape to France? Travelzoo can help there too.
A sale from Air France is cutting up to 35 percent off peak season fares , offering up non-stop flights through October for as little as $303 each way.
Las Vegas lovers will also score big with this week’s deals, which provide major discounts on travel through December.
Flights from across the U.S. are starting at just $24 each way, offering the perfect excuse to press your luck in Sin City. New fare sales and unadvertised price reductions will help travelers save as much as $150 off regularly priced tickets.
Southwest Airlines to Acquire AirTran Airways for $1 billion
May 10, 2011 | Airlines Companies
Southwest Airlines continues to dominate its presence at Chicago’s Midway Airport and will soon expand even more.
Southwest has announced that they will purchase AirTran Airways for nearly $1 billion.
The acquisition will allow Southwest Airlines to fly into smaller cities in the United States that they do not currently fly to, as well as begin service to Mexico and the Caribbean.
The purchase of AirTran will not affect travelers yet.
The airlines will operate separately until receipt of the Single Operating Certificate, and for now, customers will continue to interact exclusively with their ticketed carrier.
Southwest will begin painting the AirTran planes the famous orange and blue colors next year.
The purchase has Southwest employees excited for the change.
“The successful closing of this transaction is a significant accomplishment and marks a great day in the history of Southwest Airlines,” said Gary Kelly, CEO, chairman and president of Southwest Airlines.
“The acquisition of AirTran represents a unique opportunity to extend our network into key markets we don’t yet serve such as Atlanta and Washington D.C. via Ronald Regan National Airport,” Kelly added.
“Today’s closing is an important first step to fulfilling our mission to spread low fares farther and increase competition throughout the airline industry,” Kelly said.
Southwest Airlines currently has just under 4,000 employees at Midway Airport.
AirTran Airways Adds Nonstop Flight Service From Baltimore to San Juan
October 3, 2010 | Airline Flight, Airline Service, American Airline, Aviation
AirTran Airways is stepping up its Caribbean service out of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, increasing nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico to two daily flights.
AirTran, which agreed this week to be acquired by Southwest Airlines Co., currently offers weekend-only nonstop flights from BWI to San Juan, with one flight on Saturday and one on Sunday.
Effective April 5, AirTran will begin operating a morning flight and an evening flight from BWI to San Juan seven days a week.
American Airlines also currently flies from BWI to San Juan.
AirTran currently offers five flights per week from BWI to Cancun.
The expanded service was announced as part of a broader expansion of AirTran routes between other cities, including Orlando, Tampa, Milwaukee, Phoenix and Akron, Ohio.
Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran is BWI’s second-largest carrier, with 3.3 million passengers last year. Dallas-based Southwest is the largest carrier at BWI, accounting for 10.9 million passengers in 2009, or 52 percent of the airport’s total.
Southwest intends to acquire AirTran for $1.4 billion. Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland’s top aviation official, said BWI could gain more international flights from the merger.
Southwest Airlines Agree $1.4 billion to Buys AirTran Airways
October 3, 2010 | Airline Industry, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines
Southwest Airlines, the nation’s largest low-fare carrier, said on Monday that it had agreed to buy its smaller rival AirTran Airways in a transaction valued at $1.4 billion, expanding its foothold in New York and Boston and allowing it to move into Atlanta, the nation’s largest airport.
The deal is valued at $3.4 billion when AirTran’s debt and aircraft leases are included. Southwest said the purchase had been approved by the boards of both companies, although it still needs regulatory and shareholder approval.
The move comes as the domestic airline industry is consolidating and reducing the number of seats offered as it attempts to return to profitability. United Airlines is taking over Continental Airlines on Oct. 1, after shareholders of both companies recently approved the tie-up and the government gave the green light. Delta Air Lines led the way in 2008 when it acquired Northwest.
The transaction is a sharp departure for Southwest, one of the nation’s few consistently profitable airlines. The company’s success had been built on a simple business model, operating the same type of Boeing 737 planes at a higher frequency between smaller airports.
But Southwest has been looking for ways to expand as its network grew. For instance, it had sought ways into the nation’s larger markets, like New York, Boston and Washington.
So far, Southwest’s presence in New York has been very limited. It has a few landing and take-off rights, called slots, at La Guardia Airport. As part of the United-Continental merger, Southwest had recently obtained some slots at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Southwest said the acquisition would increase its presence in New York and open the door to Atlanta, which is the nation’s largest airport and the hub of Delta Air Lines.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said they expect the deal to gain swift regulatory approval given the speed with which the federal government approved the United-Continental tie-up and the fact that the networks of Southwest and AirTran do not overlap much.
Southwest said the transaction would save $400 million a year by 2013. It said the one-time costs related to integrating AirTran would be $300 million to $500 million.
The offer represents a premium of 69 percent over AirTran’s closing stock price on Friday. AirTran shareholders would receive a combination of Southwest shares and cash. That includes at least $3.75 in cash and 0.321 shares of Southwest common stock for each share of AirTran common stock.
Book a Flight in a Flash Now with AirTran Airways’ New Sale Fares
May 6, 2010 | Airline Flight, Airline Industry, Airline Service, Airlines Companies, Airlines News, Aviation
AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc., today launched a sale for travel to all of the airline’s destinations. Travelers may purchase these sale fares at airtran.com, from their local travel agent or via AirTran Airways’ reservations system at 1-800-AIR-TRAN. For Spanish, call 1-877-581-9842.
These special fares are available for purchase through May 6, 2010, and are good for travel from May 18, 2010, through August 25, 2010. Sale fares are available for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Like all AirTran Airways fares, prices included in this sale are available for one-way travel and do not require a roundtrip purchase or an overnight stay. These sale fares require a 14-day advance purchase.
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Airline Quality Rating, Airline Performance Year 2009 Reached Highest Score
April 15, 2010 | Airline Flight, Airline Industry, Airline Service, Airlines Companies, Airlines News, Aviation
The annual report assessing the performance of the airlines put some of the airlines at the best rating. But the overall performance of both airlines rose by achieving the highest score in the year 2009.
Performance evaluation factors airlines, among others: timely arrival time, service boarding, mishandled baggage and customer complaints.
Fourteen airlines improved their on-time arrival performance in 2009, the report said, though only six airlines had an on-time percentage greater than 80 percent.
Customer complaints fell industrywide to 0.97 per 100,000 passengers, from 1.15 per 100,000 passengers.
The Airline Quality Rating report is a joint research project by Purdue and Wichita State universities. The study is based on figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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Airline Has Launched Cheap Flight Tickets Sales For Summer Season
March 25, 2010 | Airline Flight, Airline Service, Airlines Companies, Airlines News, Aviation
Leading discount airlines have launched a new round of airfare sales for summer, but travelers may have to act fast and be flexible on dates to grab the best deals.
Sales from JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines and AirTran Airways end this week.
Frontier is touting fares as low as $98 roundtrip between Denver and West Coast cities including Long Beach, Calif., Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., and $78 to Albuquerque, N.M. Those prices cover trips through June 9 but don’t include taxes and fees, tickets must be bought at least 14 days before flying, and the cheapest seats are only available for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
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Airtrans Airways Ticketing Service Summer Travel to All Destinations
March 18, 2010 | Airlines News
AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc., today launched a sale for travel to all of the airline’s destinations with fares starting as low as $44*. Travelers may purchase these sale fares at airtran.com or via AirTran Airways’ reservations system at 1-800-AIR-TRAN. For Spanish, call 1-877-581-9842.
These special fares are available for purchase through March 16, 2010, and are good for travel March 26, 2010, through November 16, 2010. Travel to Florida, San Juan, Aruba, Montego Bay, Jamaica and Cancun, Mexico is available April 6, 2010, to November 16, 2010. Lowest fares are available for travel on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Additional sale fares are valid for travel Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
Like all AirTran Airways fares, prices included in this sale are available for one-way travel and do not require a roundtrip purchase or an overnight stay. Read more
AirTran Airways Adds Another Flight Destination To Sunshine State From Port Columbus International Airport
October 6, 2009 | Airline Flight, Airline Service, Airlines Companies, Aviation
AirTran Airways is making another trip to the Sunshine State from Port Columbus International Airport starting in December.
AirTran, whose parent is Orlando-based AirTran Holdings Inc., said Monday that it will add a daily round-trip flight to Fort Myers, Fla., from Port Columbus on Dec. 17. The carrier, which arrived at Port Columbus last November, runs three daily flights to Atlanta along with one each to Ft. Myers, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando. Read more
AirTran Airways Starts Service Between MSP And Milwaukee
May 6, 2009 | Airline Flight, Airline Service, Airlines Companies
AirTran Airways today began daily nonstop service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Milwaukee.
Initially, AirTran is offering one flight a day, building up to three flights daily by the end of the month.
The new service was announced in February as part of Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran’s expansion of its Milwaukee operations to compete with Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines.
