This coming Feb. 12 will be a red-letter day for travelers who’ve long pined for Southwest Airlines to come to Atlanta.
The Dallas-based carrier will make its arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson International, launching 15 daily flights from Atlanta to five different cities.
The announcement of the date follows Southwest’s purchase of AirTran Airways in May. It now operates AirTran as a subsidiary but does not fly its own planes to Atlanta.
That will change in February when Southwest jets begin flying between Atlanta and Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Denver, Houston Hobby and Chicago Midway. AirTran already flies to all of those cities except Austin, which Southwest is adding as a new route.
In the months after that, Southwest and AirTran will blend operations and eventually AirTran jets will be repainted in Southwest colors, and Southwest will take over its role as chief rival to Delta Air Lines in the local market.
Southwest charges no fees for the first two checked bags and no change fees. It also has all coach-class and open seating. Those policies will be in effect for the Southwest service starting in Atlanta in February.
Until operations are fully integrated, AirTran will continue to charge for baggage and offer business class seats.
Delta, the dominant carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson, said Monday it “competes vigorously with low-cost airlines in Atlanta and nationwide,” and said customers choose Delta for its global network of flights and amenities like first class and airport clubs.
Southwest announced its service start date as Chief Executive Gary Kelly spoke at a Metro Atlanta Chamber luncheon Monday.
The airline also announced introductory fares starting at $79 each way to Baltimore/Washington and Chicago Midway, and $99 each way to Austin, Houston Hobby and Denver. The sale fares will be in effect until Sept. 5, for travel between Feb. 12 and March 9 of next year. Southwest begins running print ads in Atlanta on Tuesday and expects its broadcast ads to start airing in a couple of weeks.
Southwest plans to transform AirTran’s traditional hub operation in Atlanta into an operation like it has in Baltimore and other cities.
The hub-and-spoke airline model “has its advantages, but it’s very expensive,” Kelly said. Southwest, in contrast, uses a “point-to-point” model.
“We’ll make some pretty radical changes to the AirTran flight schedule” as the airlines combine, Kelly said, adding that he thinks Southwest can improve the profitability of the AirTran operation.
As of Feb. 12, AirTran will operate about 175 daily flights in Atlanta, giving Southwest and AirTran a total of about 190 daily flights from Atlanta at that time. AirTran had about 200 daily flights from Atlanta when the merger was announced last fall. Although Southwest had previously expressed interest in growing the Atlanta operation, Kelly said he expects it to remain in the 180 to 200 daily flight range in the near term.
The high cost of fuel is “the real game changer,” even compared to last September when Southwest and AirTran announced the merger, Kelly said.
Southwest doesn’t expect to gain the rights to operate the two carriers as one until the first quarter of next year. Kelly said Southwest is targeting March 1 to receive a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.
AirTran’s nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth discontinue in November to comply with a Dallas-specific federal restriction on Southwest flying. Southwest won’t add its own service -- connecting flights to Dallas Love Field through Austin and Houston -- until February, leaving a gap of several months in the airline’s service to Dallas.
Southwest also announced AirTran’s elite frequent fliers can now get some benefits on Southwest, including extra frequent flier points, priority boarding and priority security lane access.
Separately, Southwest also announced Atlanta businesswoman J. Veronica Biggins, a former AirTran board member, will join Southwest’s board of directors.
About the Author
