Southwest takes flight out of Atlanta

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.

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.

Man Dies on Flight From LAS to MKE

A man from New York died of an apparent heart attack on an AirTran Airways flight from Las Vegas to Milwaukee early Saturday, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Denver.

DIA airport spokeswoman Laura Coale says flight 776 was diverted to Denver and was met at the gate by an ambulance at about 2:50 a.m. The Denver Medical Examiner's office says 64-year-old Stephen Enves, of Elmhurst, N.Y., was traveling with his wife when he died. An autopsy is planned.

The airplane continued its flight to Milwaukee at about 6:30 a.m.

AirTran spokeswoman Quinnie Jenkins says DIA was the closest airport where the plane could land. She declined to release additional information.