AirTran and Southwest Merging

[wings91]

I think this is going to be bad for Milwaukee. Airtran and SW compete on three routes out of MKE: Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Orlando. The merger obviously takes any competition out of those routes and also reduced numbers of flights.

Milwaukee also has Midwest/Frontier running flights to those cities, but since that acquisition, they've not been competitive on rates or # of flights.

 

[Lowillian]

We fly out of Baltimore and SW and Air Tran are the only 2 airlines that have direct flights to Orlando. SW will now control (?) 70% of the gates/flights at BWI (per an article DH read in the Baltimore Sun. I'm hoping for the best, but I expect our fares will rise a lot. DH says they should re-name our airport Southwest International Airport!

 

[Hoopfamily]

There are some Airtran haters here. I like both Airlines, so I think the merger is great. Seeing SW get rid of bag fees would be cool, but i like being able to pay for my seat. I will have to love the SW early boarding for extra $$$.