Southwest Buying AirTran, Coming to Atlanta

Many Atlanta travelers are thrilled that Southwest Airlines will soon be coming to Atlanta.  They are buying AirTran Airways for $1.4 billion, and hopefully bringing lower costs with them.

Southwest said the deal includes “significant opportunities to and from Atlanta, the busiest airport in the U.S. and the largest domestic market we do not serve.”

Southwest’s service in Atlanta can potentially stimulate more than 2 million new passengers and more than $200 million in consumer savings annually, Southwest said, citing an economic analysis by Campbell-Hill Aviation Group LLP.

AirTran chief executive Bob Fornaro said in a written statement that the deal with Southwest will give AirTran opportunities to grow “both professionally as individuals and as a group, in ways that simply would not be possible without this agreement.”

Under the deal, AirTran and Southwest would operate as independent companies until the deal closes, then Fornaro would continue work on the integration of the two companies.  But I have to believe it will all become Southwest sooner than later.

AirTran has 2,500 employees based in Atlanta. Southwest currently does not fly out of Atlanta.

Southwest and AirTran said the new airline will operate from more than 100 airports and serve more than 100 million customers.