(Branson, MO) -- It seems Southwest Airlines
will be coming to the Branson Airport.
The company released the news
Friday, saying it would convert AirTran Airways operations at 22 domestic
and international airports to Southwest operations"over time."
Currently, AirTran Airways flies to
Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore-Washington and Houston out of Branson.
During last May's merger with AirTran, many wondered if Southwest would serve the Branson Airport. Southwest had said it planned to
continue to serve all or most of Air Tran's markets.
In Friday's release, Southwest says Branson Airport will continue to operate and
"eventually join the Southwest route map."
Here's
the full release from the company:
Southwest
Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways confirmed today the
intent to convert AirTran Airways operations at 22 domestic and international
airports to Southwest operations over time.
The
22 AirTran airports that will continue to operate and will eventually join the
Southwest route map include: Flint, Mich. (FNT);
Rochester, N.Y. (ROC); Pensacola, Fla. (PNS);
Charlotte, N.C. (CLT); Dayton, Ohio (DAY); Richmond, Va. (RIC);
Key West, Fla. (EYW); Washington, D.C. (DCA); Memphis, Tenn. (MEM);
Akron-Canton, Ohio (CAK); Wichita, Kan. (ICT); Des Moines, Iowa (DSM); Branson,
Mo. (BKG); Portland, Maine (PWM); Grand Rapids, Mich. (GRR); Punta Cana,
Dominican Republic (PUJ); Cancun, Mexico (CUN); Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ);
Aruba (AUA); San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU); Bermuda (BDA); and Nassau, Bahamas
(NAS). AirTran service and Employees at these airports are planned to convert
to Southwest gradually over the course of AirTran's integration into Southwest.
The airlines earlier announced that AirTran will begin serving Mexico City,
Mexico (MEX) on May
24, 2012, and San Jose Cabo, Mexico (SJD)
on June 3,
2012. Those destinations also will convert to
Southwest over time. Of the 69 cities AirTran served when Southwest acquired it
on May 2,
2011, 53 cities are planned to convert to full
Southwest Airlines service.
"We
are committed to continuing to serve these communities-at first via AirTran,
and eventually as Southwest. We know there are Southwest Customers who want
access to these cities, but have never before had the opportunity, and the
markets have long desired Southwest service," said Southwest Airlines
Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer and AirTran Airways
President Bob Jordan. "We are excited about the cities we have chosen to keep
in our combined network. At the same time, there are some markets that we
simply cannot make work in the current fuel environment, so we've had to make
the decision to discontinue service in those locations."
Effective
Aug. 12,
2012, AirTran Airways will cease operations at the
following airports: Allentown, Pa. (ABE); Lexington, Ky. (LEX); Harrisburg, Pa.
(MDT);
Sarasota, Fla. (SRQ); Huntsville, Ala. (HSV); and White Plains, N.Y. (HPN).
AirTran currently operates six daily nonstop flights at Sarasota with 16
Employees. Its Allentown (one daily nonstop flight), Lexington (two daily
nonstop flights), Harrisburg (one daily nonstop flight), Huntsville (two daily
nonstop flights), and White Plains (three daily nonstop flights) operations are
all supported by AirTran's contracted vendor partners.
AirTran
Airways will continue to operate at Allentown, Lexington, Harrisburg, Sarasota,
Huntsville, and White Plains through Aug. 11, 2012.
Ticketed passengers, passengers holding reservations, or passengers desiring to
make reservations for flights to or from these airports, have no need to alter
their travel plans prior to Aug. 12, 2012.
Both
Southwest's and AirTran's priority is to take excellent care of the dedicated
Employees, partners, and Customers in these six locations. AirTran Employees at
these locations have performed superbly and will have the opportunity to move
elsewhere within AirTran, after operations cease on Aug. 12, 2012.
"The
airline industry continues to face many challenges, including significantly
higher fuel costs," Jordan said. "We must do everything we can to
operate efficiently and profitably, align service with Customer demand, and
deliver the legendary Customer Service for which both airlines are known."
As
of Aug.
12, 2012, Southwest will offer 41 flights
from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), becoming the first jointly
served airport to fully convert to Southwest Airlines service. AirTran
currently serves the market with one daily flight from SEA to Milwaukee (MKE)
and seasonal service to both Atlanta (ATL)
and Baltimore/Washington (BWI). Southwest will maintain the MKE, ATL,
and BWI routes with direct and connecting service. Southwest and AirTran will
announce future jointly served airport conversions as those specific plans are
lined up.
Today's announcements will be incorporated into both
Southwest's and AirTran's flight schedules that will publish on Jan. 22, 2012,
for travel beginning Aug.
12, 2012.
