Southwest takes flight out of Atlanta
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 4:30PM 
Good news for Atlanta flyers, Southwest is finally here.
Southwest Airlines' first flights from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport took off Sunday morning, with Atlantans giving the carrier a try for the first time to see how it compares with longtime Atlanta carriers Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways.
Dallas-based Southwest, which bought AirTran last year in part to gain access to the Atlanta market, launched service from Hartsfield-Jackson to Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Denver, Houston Hobby and Chicago Midway, with a total of 15 daily flights.
AirTran is still flying most of their routes as the complete transition will take almost two years to complete.
The initial flights out of Atlanta were on 137-seat Boeing 737-700s that left only partially full. The first three flights each left with fewer than 50 passengers. Southwest officials pointed to this time of year being a slower period for travel, along with the nature of starting new service.
Southwest will add more flights out of Atlanta in coming months.
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