AirTran Airways
| File:AirTran Airways Logo.svg | |||||||
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| Founded | 1993 | ||||||
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| Hubs | H. J. Atlanta Int'l Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Orlando International Airport Indianapolis International Airport Chicago Midway Airport Philadelphia International Airport Akron-Canton Regional Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | a+ Rewards | ||||||
| Fleet size | 119 | ||||||
| Destinations | 54 | ||||||
| Parent company | AirTran Holdings | ||||||
| Headquarters | Orlando, Florida | ||||||
| Key people | Joe Leonard (Chairman & CEO), Robert Fornaro (COO), Stan Gadek (CFO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.airtran.com | ||||||
AirTran Airways (NYSE: AAI), is a low-cost airline based in Orlando, Florida, USA and is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings. AirTran operates over 650 daily flights throughout the eastern USA and the Midwest, including over 200 daily departures from Atlanta. It is the world's largest Boeing 717 operator. Its main base is Orlando International Airport, with a principal hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airline also operates focus city operations at Philadelphia International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Chicago Midway Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, and Akron-Canton Regional Airport.
History
The airline was established in June 1993 and started operations on October 26, 1993 as Conquest Sun Airlines. It was renamed AirTran Airways in August 1994.
Following objections from Northwest Airlines to AirTran Airways's entry into the jet carrier business, its parent company signed an agreement with Northwest for the spin-off to shareholders of the non-airline businesses. They became part of a new holding company, Airways Corporation, which also owned Mesaba Airlines.
In July 1997 AirWays Corporation announced a merger with ValuJet Airlines. ValuJet had never recovered from the May 1996 crash of ValuJet Flight 592. On September 24, 1997 the parent company became AirTran Holdings Inc, ValuJet was renamed AirTran Airways, and operations under all new management began on September 1, 1998. In October 1997, AirTran began assigning seats on its planes. AirTran has previously offered first come, first served, onboard seating (known as "open seating" in the airline industry), a practice popular with high-frequency, low-fare carriers (notably Southwest Airlines). The next month they added Business Class seats on every flight. Previously all flights had been in an all-coach (all-economy class) configuration. The old routes from Orlando by AirTran were systematically ended following the merger with ValuJet Airlines to focus on Atlanta. In March 1998, AirTran began a frequent flier program called A+ Rewards. In June 1998, Entrepreneur Magazine gave the airline its 1998 award for "Best Domestic Low-Fare Airline". They also won this award in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. In July 1998, AirTran reported its first profitable quarter since early 1996.
On September 24, 1999 AirTran Airways became the first airline in the world to take delivery of the Boeing 717; it entered service on October 12, 1999. On December 12, 2000, AirTran launched services from Atlanta to its first international destination, Grand Bahama Island.
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, AirTran reduced its flight schedule by 20%. However, On October 7, 2001, AirTran returned to its normal schedule. On October 15, 2001, AirTran became the first airline in the nation to reinforce the cockpit doors on all its aircraft, although with one of the smallest fleets of any US airlines and a much smaller service area, this was a greatly simplified task by comparison. In November 2002, AirTran entered into an agreement with Air Wisconsin to provide regional jet service on some AirTran routes to free up Boeing 717 aircraft, a service called AirTran JetConnect. This agreement was terminated in mid-2004.
In June 2003, AirTran began new services operated by Ryan International Airlines to Denver, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, making it a coast-to-coast airline. In 2004, an engine cowling broke off in-flight from a Ryan International Airlines A320 operated as an AirTran Flight. AirTran came under fire after they maintained that it was not their aircraft and so it was not their responsibility.
On July 1, 2003, AirTran placed an order for 100 Boeing 737 aircraft. In October 2003, AirTran began services to Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport and to San Francisco the following month. On January 5, 2004 AirTran's last Douglas DC-9 was retired leaving it with a fleet of more than 70 Boeing 717s. The first Boeing 737 entered AirTran's fleet in June 2004, ending the service by Ryan.
AirTran recently completed the process of installing in-flight entertainment onboard all its aircraft in both business class and coach. AirTran Airways features over 100 channels of XM satellite radio and has used Elton John's face as a promotional tool for the new service.
In June 2005, AirTran announced plans to launch services from Atlanta and Tampa to Cancún, Mexico, its second international destination, beginning in December. However, following the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma, the service has been shelved. In the spring of 2006, AirTran launched new service to White Plains, New York and seasonal service to Seattle, Washington. Additional non-stop routes will also be added between Chicago and Newark, Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth, Indianapolis and Los Angeles, Indianapolis and San Francisco, and Milwaukee and Baltimore. Due to high fuel prices, Airtran Airways will be discontinuing non-stop service between Flint and Las Vegas and Akron/Canton and Las Vegas. These flights may return if fuel prices drop.
In July 2006, it resumed nonstop service Tampa-Gulfport-Biloxi and inaugurated nonstop service Boston-Rochester.
Destinations
| City | Weekly Departures | |
|---|---|---|
| H. J. Atlanta Int'l Airport (ATL) | 1,157 | |
| Baltimore/Washington (BWI) | 300 | |
| Orlando (MCO) | 274 | |
| Chicago-Midway (MDW) | 209 | |
| Boston-Logan (BOS) | 203 | |
| Tampa (TPA) | 127 | |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 125 | |
| New York-LaGuardia (LGA) | 106 | |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 105 | |
| Indianapolis (IND) | 105 | |
Fleet
The AirTran fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of May 2006):
| Aircraft | Amount | Seats (First/Economy) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 717-200 | 87 | 117(12/105) | |
| Boeing 737-700 | 32 (43 on order) |
137(12/125) |
Livery
AirTran's current livery is primarily white, with teal on the ventral side. The sections are divided by parallel red and blue stripes, which runs roughly horizontal at the front, and starts to curve upward at the wings until it reaches the top side of the plane at the back of the vertical stabilizer. The nacelles in the current livery are royal blue, with "airtran.com" written in white sans-serif font. The logo version of "AirTran" is written toward the front on either side in teal above the passenger windows, and the vertical stabilizer is teal with a prominent white cursive "A", just like the beginning of the logo. Unlike previous liveries, the 737 nacelles are also painted.
Many planes still carry the previous livery, which has a completely tan front divided from a completely teal rear by an oblique ring of parallel red and blue stripes just behind the wings. The nacelles on the 717 are also teal in this livery, while the nacelles on the 737 went unpainted.
The original livery was primarily white and green on the dorsal side, and blue on the ventral side, with a red stripe roughly horizontal between. The nacelles in this livery went unpainted.
Incidents and accidents
| Flight | Date | Aircraft | Location | Descriptions | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AirTran Airways flight 867 | November 1, 1998 | Boeing 737-200 | Atlanta, GA | Lost control and crashed while landing, with main landing gear in a drainage ditch and its empennage extending over the taxiway. The nose gear was folded back into the electrical/electronic compartment and turned 90 degrees from its normal, extended position. The cause was an improperly repaired hydraulic line leak, due to inexperienced mechanics from ValuJet. NTSB summary | 13 minor injuries |
| AirTran Airways flight 913 | August 8, 2000 | Douglas DC-9-32 | Greensboro, NC | Executed an emergency landing due to an in-flight fire and smoke in the cockpit. NTSB summary | 13 minor injuries |
| AirTran Airways flight 956 | November 29, 2000 | Douglas DC-9-32 | Atlanta, GA | Executed an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, due to an electrical fire that caused smoke in the forward cabin. NTSB summary | 13 minor injuries |
| AirTran Airways flight 356 | March 26, 2003 | Boeing 717-200 | Flushing, NY | Experienced an electrical fire. NTSB summary | 1 serious, 22 minor. |
| AirTran Airways flight 852 | March 5, 2004 | Boeing 717-200 | Atlanta, GA | Executed an emergency landing, due to a complete electrical power failure and smoke in the aft part of the cabin area. NTSB summary | No injuries. |
| AirTran Airways flight 4 operated by Ryan International Airlines | July 13, 2004 | Airbus A320-233 | Atlanta, GA | Executed an emergency landing, due to fan cowl doors of the engine separated from the airplane in flight. NTSB summary | No injuries. |