AT coming to Louisville & other cities

[loveswdw]

I was under the assumption that when SWA acquired AT they'd consolidate all service under the SWA name. I guess not. In an e-mail I received last night from AT, it specifically states that SDF will be launching AT service on November 3, 2013. Here's a portion of the e-mail:

A+ Rewards Program Integration Update

While some AirTran destinations are converting to Southwest, there are also some markets where we are adding AirTran service that has historically been served only by Southwest. Beginning November 3, 2013, we will begin offering AirTran service from Oklahoma City, OK; Hartford/Springfield, CT; Louisville, KY; and Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA. These are just a few more examples of the progress that we continue to make through this integration process.


Not sure if this is good or bad for us here in the Louisville area. We've flown AT twice out of LEX before they discontinued service there. For LEX, AT was a one flight in and out a day operation. I'm hoping this leads to more flights for Louisville. SW offers one nonstop per day to/from MCO and probably 6 or 7 connecting flights.

And I'm not sure how this is different from the "operated by AirTran" flights that are already showing up for our October travel???

 

[jsilvers]

And I'm not sure how this is different from the "operated by AirTran" flights that are already showing up for our October travel???

The new flights will be on AirTran aircraft, not just code-shares on Southwest aircraft. It appears that for at least some of these cities, the number of Southwest flights will decrease while the number of AirTran flights will increase, so they may be "right-sizing" the markets (since AirTran has smaller 717s available, while Southwest only operates 737s).

 

[DebbieB]

By the end of next year, they should all be Southwest. The 717s are going to Delta at a rate of 3 per month. They are just moving around the aircraft they have in the meantime.