SW Buys Airtran!

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Our usual flight from Chicago to Sarasota on AT has gone up $48 one way...so the down side of the merger surfaces immediately ( basically 3 checked bags worth..but add fees and almost $80 increase based on 2 bags)

There is no realtionship! At this stage in the merger the airlines cannot even talk to each other about fees, fares etc.

For those of you holding tickets going "what does this do to my ticket" NOTHING! This merger will take close to TWO years to do and then you have to get a new FAA certificate. Took Delta a year to get rid of NW after a two year merger process... same thing is happening at UA/CO.

Changes made to your current fares, schedules, fees etc... will not be due to this merger!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Me and you both. Flying out of Dallas our only options for nonstop flights to Orlando are Air Tran and American. Air Tran is our airline of choice and in fact, I already have reservations to fly with them for both my Oct and Dec WDW trips and was just waiting for the dates to come out to purchase flights for our May trip.

What about those of us living in the Dallas area that already have tickets on Air Tran for the next few months? I know the Wright Ammendment prevents Southwest from flying out of DFW, so what are they going to do about those of us that already have tickets? I just checked my email earlier this morning and found an email from Air Tran where my flights in Dec had a small schedule change and I had to click that I accepted them.

Nevermind, just found this on Washington Post:

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Southwest's acquisition of AirTran is expected to close in the first half of next year. It requires both regulatory and shareholder approval. The airlines expect to fully blend their operations in 2012.


Still hate that American Airlines will now be our only option for nonstop flights from DFW to MCO though. Don't know what to do about our upcoming May trip. I hate layovers, don't want to fly out of Dallas Love Field, and besides Southwest has always been more expensive here. I guess we can look for American to go WAY UP on their prices since they will be the only option for nonstop flights out of DFW now.

I think for the next 18-24 months there won't be any changes at all.

After that, we'll be flying non-stop on American, or stopping on SW, either way at EXORBITANT fares. The reason we flew AirTran this year was because SW fares were INSANE! Once AirTran is out of the picture, SW fares aren't going to come down.

In THIS market SW isn't really gaining much until 2014 when the Wright Amendment goes away entirely. But they WILL gain revenue from DFW residents who will now only have 2 choices instead of 3. They win, we lose. How nice.

 

[Mary T in PA]

I am very unhappy with this news. I fly out of Pittsburgh and there are so few nonstop flights from PIT to MCO anymore. SW and AT offered them, I tried both airlines and chose the one I preferred better. AT.


Major epic FAIL on a rainy, gloomy Monday morning.

 

[Jedi]

suddenly driving from pittsburgh is sound more appealing....

 

[DebbieB]

^ There are something like 37 airports that only operate AT or SW. Merging them will offer both airlines service out of ALL those airports.

May not be 100% true. AT serves DFW, SW has said they will not continue service there, they will continue Love Field. Another example I saw on flyertalk was AT services Canton/Akron Ohio, SW services Cleveland. They are only 50 miles apart, Canton may not survive.

We can only hope it will not be approved.

I don't see why it would not be. The combined airline will not be big enough to be considered a business monopoly. They approved Northwest/Delta and Continental/United.

 

[momof2disprincesses]

suddenly driving from pittsburgh is sound more appealing....

Suddenly driving from WI seems okay too. It is a 24 hour drive for us and we've done it 3 times. I will not fly SW. I have been loyal to AT for years and told all my friends/family who are all AT fans now too. This is a sad day at our household!

Plus, my daughter just turned 18 and was so excited to use AT-U flights where college students can fly stand-by super cheap!

 

[JB2K]

We can only hope it will not be approved.

Hate to burst your bubble, Dan, but why wouldn't it be approved?

In today's economic climate, XM Radio and Business Class are hardly compelling reasons for the Feds not to approve a SWA/AT merger.

Also, consider this -- if AT was agreeable to a sale to SWA, something must've been "not right" in their current business model...

 

[CaptHomer]

Not happy about it either. Out of DFW the only option is AirTran or American (the scum of the airline industry). I use Airtran's CC to get their Reward's points. I am pretty sure this will all go away although like other posters have said it will be at least a year.

I would guess that SW would use Airtran's gates at DFW to get around the "Wrong" Amendment.

 

[DebbieB]

Not happy about it either. Out of DFW the only option is AirTran or American (the scum of the airline industry). I use Airtran's CC to get their Reward's points. I am pretty sure this will all go away although like other posters have said it will be at least a year.

I would guess that SW would use Airtran's gates at DFW to get around the "Wrong" Amendment.

SW has already said they will not be at DFW.

http://www.lowfaresfarther.com/what-it-means/communities/

Q: Will you close any AirTran destinations/facilities? Where will the corporate headquarters be located?
A: We are interested in serving the vast majority, if not all, of AirTran’s markets. The only AirTran airport we know we will not continue to operate at is Dallas Ft. Worth International (DFW). In 2006, we entered into a binding agreement with five parties (including DFW), which restricts us or any wholly owned subsidiary from operating at DFW. That restriction becomes effective at closing. AirTran can continue to serve DFW until the agreement closes.

The Corporate Headquarters will remain in Dallas, TX. Plans for existing AirTran facilities will be assessed by Integration Teams and decisions announced at the appropriate time.

 

[mikehn]

Not everyone is opposed to this merger. I live smack dab between DC and Baltimore and have flown both. SW operates out of Baltimore and Airtran out of DC. I dont see much difference between the two. So long as they keep the unions out of it, life will be good.

 

[CaptHomer]

SW has already said they will not be at DFW.

Interesting! Thanks for the information. I hope that doesn't mean that they will pull Airtran out of their. Maybe they will continue with the Airtran name and continue flying out of DFW.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hate to burst your bubble, Dan, but why wouldn't it be approved?

In today's economic climate, XM Radio and Business Class are hardly compelling reasons for the Feds not to approve a SWA/AT merger.

Also, consider this -- if AT was agreeable to a sale to SWA, something must've been "not right" in their current business model...

LOL, too funny, jb.

 

[DebbieB]

Interesting! Thanks for the information. I hope that doesn't mean that they will pull Airtran out of their. Maybe they will continue with the Airtran name and continue flying out of DFW.

I added a quote on the previous page. AirTran will only operate out of DFW until the merger closes. SW cannot legally operate out of there once they own AirTran.

 

[NancyIL]

Interesting! Thanks for the information. I hope that doesn't mean that they will pull Airtran out of their. Maybe they will continue with the Airtran name and continue flying out of DFW.

Um...no!

AirTran can continue to serve DFW until the agreement closes.

 

[NancyIL]

Not happy about it either. Out of DFW the only option is AirTran or American (the scum of the airline industry). I use Airtran's CC to get their Reward's points. I am pretty sure this will all go away although like other posters have said it will be at least a year.

I would guess that SW would use Airtran's gates at DFW to get around the "Wrong" Amendment.

I happen to like American, but I usually fly AirTran to Orlando due to their non-stop from a nearby airport and lower airfare.

 

[JB2K]

Um...no!

To translate -- until the merger legally closes (after they get all the necessary regulatory/shareholder approvals, which would take 1 to 2 years since foreign countries such as Mexico and Aruba will also be involved), AirTran will remain the AirTran frequent fliers currently know.

Immediately after the merger closes, AirTran will then become a wholly-owned subsidary of Southwest Airlines (but for a period of time will still operate under the AirTran name and route structure).

However, since the agreement related to the Wright Amendment expressly prohibits any Southwest Airlines-owned entity from ever operating at DFW, AirTran will immediately cease operations at DFW the day after the merger closes.

 

[purplevalentine]

I would be extremely upset if they change Airtran to operate like SW. I do not like SW at all and love the way Airtran operates.

One SW is enough.

Oh so would I! I believe after peeking at the FAQ on the Airtran site SW would keep their 2 free check bags policy and get rid of Airtran's fee based policy. Plus SW would get rid of Business class seating on the Airtran planes and make everything coach. As well as being able to pre-select your seat for an extra fee. Things are going to change and i'm not sure how i'm going to like it.

 

[bubba's mom]

I'll be on a cruise that ends in San Juan in December, and I got a great $59 fare on AirTran from San Juan to Orlando. Jet Blue also flies to San Juan.
.

That's a great rate! Unfortunately, to PHL it isn't that cheap (MCO yes...luckily ) We can't fly Jet Blue, they don't fly out of Phila.

AirTran DOES notify customers when there is a schedule change. I got an e-mail yesterday that my flight from San Juan to Orlando in December has a schedule change (it departs 30 minutes later), but I already knew that from checking fares myself. I think 2.5 months' advance notice is more than adequate.

But the point is...your original flight times WERE changed...even tho they DID give you plenty of notice... To my family, that is unacceptable. Some folks are just not able to be flexible with their times...not even by a 1/2 hour. But diff'ernt strokes for different folks...if you are comfortable w/ that risk, go for it! Just so happens, my DH & I are not.

I am bummed by this. We quit flying SW because they serve peanuts. Our three kids have peanut allergies and we can't fly SW anymore. grrrrrrrrr

Friend of mine has her DD severely allergic to peanuts (carries the pen). They always get a preboard and alert them of her condition. During the preboard she wipes everything down (mof, there's some sort of airline seat cover for such things?) Anyhow, they fly PHL to MCO a lot and she's never had a problem. Probably because I haven't seen a peanut on SW in years. Usually it's the Honey Maid graham crackers or (icky) cheese nips. I don't think you have a problem w/ peanuts. You can always ask to be sure.

My experience also. I just received an email over the weekend regarding about a 50 minute change to one of my Dec flights. I just clicked the link to okay it. If it was not okay, I would have been able to call and make a change, suitable to me, at no cost.

Again...changed flight time. Granted...plenty of notice, but if you all travel for business or leisure, changing times can be stressful. No way I want a flight time change to start the trip off that way. SW has never changed a time on us. AND, we've never left late either...ALWAYS on-time or a bit early. Something I have never heard AT doing...I'm sure it's happened, but not that I've heard.

May not be 100% true. AT serves DFW, SW has said they will not continue service there, they will continue Love Field. Another example I saw on flyertalk was AT services Canton/Akron Ohio, SW services Cleveland. They are only 50 miles apart, Canton may not survive.

From their site: Southwest serves almost 90 million passengers annually and AirTran carries nearly 20 million passengers a year.

Reflecting the complementary nature of our routes, AirTran serves 38 airports not served by Southwest and Southwest serves 37 airports that AirTran does not serve.

We are interested in serving the great majority, if not all, of AirTran's current markets.

I hope your city survives....they are looking to fly more people and make more money...just cutting out cities is not going to help them do that.

oh, and I know it's been mentioned, but last year (i think) SW started w/ Wi-Fi on some of their flights (testing)... with the intention of having all their planes w/ the Wi-Fi.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Sad Sad day for this Airtran Elite passenger

Losing Airtran and my nonstops out of DFW is a big blow! I wont fly AA and I hate going to Love Field, too inconvenient.

DFW will have zero low cost carriers

 

[The Mayor]

Both experiences I've had on Airtran were nightmares...I try to fly exclusively on SW and this news can only help Airtran as far as I'm concerned.