AirTran could be next

flyOMA · Post by **flyOMA** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:57 pm

AirTran will be announcing 2 new cities by the end of the month. Little birdies have whispered to me that the two likely cities are Omaha and Portland, ME. I haven't heard much about possible routes, but I would almost guarantee them going after Delta in ATL. Also, with the continued rumors of AirTran looking to buyout Midwest, they would be crazy not to establish a customer base in Omaha before doing so.

Most of these new route announcements have come by total surprise. The only rumor I had previously caught wind of was the Midwest to West Coast rumor, but I completely dismissed it due to their financial woes and their slow, drawn out snubbing of a previously loyal market.

This could be a GREAT year for the Omaha market - slowly connecting the dots!

Minneapolis Boy · Post by **Minneapolis Boy** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:43 am

Sounds good. I would hope they would venture out and provide non-stop service to some new cities.[/b]

Bellevue Kid · Post by **Bellevue Kid** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:27 pm

Sounds good. I would hope they would venture out and provide non-stop service to some new cities.

Orlando perhaps??

flyOMA · Post by **flyOMA** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:21 am

Bellevue Kid wrote:
Sounds good. I would hope they would venture out and provide non-stop service to some new cities.
Orlando perhaps??

Very possible. However, I have a feeling the majority of future flights may be into Milwaukee... :;):

Minneapolis Boy · Post by **Minneapolis Boy** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:12 pm

Well, 3 more days until the end of the month. Hopefully, AirTran will have a positive announcement regarding Omaha.

UNOstudent · Post by **UNOstudent** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:29 pm

today, airtran announced service to portland, ME. maybe omaha will be tomorrow...

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), today announced plans to begin seasonal service to Portland International Jetport with flights to/from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Orlando International Airport. Beginning June 7, 2007, the growing low-fare carrier will offer three daily roundtrip flights between Portland, Maine and Baltimore/Washington with connecting service to 13 destinations. On June 9, 2007, the airline will commence service between Portland, Maine, and Orlando, Fla., with one weekly round trip flight. Portland will be the airline's 56th destination.

http://www.airtran.com/portlandmepress.aspx

Minneapolis Boy · Post by **Minneapolis Boy** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:51 pm

I certainly hope Omaha service is announced tomorrow!

jjjjhskr · Post by **jjjjhskr** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:47 am

Airtran announced yesterday that they were adding flights from Baltimore to Dallas, Charlotte, and Seattle.

http://pressroom.airtran.com/phoenix.zh ... highlight=

Minneapolis Boy · Post by **Minneapolis Boy** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:51 am

Yeah, but Omaha has not yet been mentioned. I hope we get included soon.

GaryFL · Post by **GaryFL** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 8:50 pm

AirTran is big in the east. They're a good-quality low-fare airline. They have good rates out of Florida to a variety of cities, but pretty much every single flight is to or from Atlanta. I wouldn't expect direct AirTran flights from OMA to anywhere other than ATL for quite some time.

Minneapolis Boy · Post by **Minneapolis Boy** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:05 pm

At the Air Tran website, they talk about growth at Baltimore. It would be nice if that growth would include service to OMA and not just Atlanta. Time will tell.

GaryFL · Post by **GaryFL** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:09 am

Given AirTran's existing route structure, I'd be surprised if we see anything beyond an OMA-ATL route. All their other existing gateway cities are east of here, and offer a lot fewer potential routes than Atlanta does. But that would still be great, as it provide a good low-cost airline to a lot of eastern cities.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 7:46 pm

Missouri, Nebraska senators oppose AirTran bid for Midwest

Biz Journal wrote:Three U.S. Senators joined Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) in sending a letter to the CEO of AirTran Holdings Inc. opposing his airline's takeover attempt of Midwest Air Group Inc. In their letter, Sens. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Kohl cite growing concerns that the merger will diminish service quality and competition in their local airline markets. Kohl is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights subcommittee. Oak Creek-based Midwest Airlines operates major hubs at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee and Kansas City International Airport in Kansas City, Mo., and also provides a link from Eppley Air Field in Omaha, Neb., to Washington's Reagan National Airport.

In their letter to Joe Leonard of AirTran, the senators said that they "have very serious concerns that an acquisition of Midwest Airlines by AirTran would appear to jeopardize the enormous consumer benefits realized by many thousands of travelers throughout our states from the frequency and efficiency of the highly competitive service offered by Midwest Airlines serving travelers throughout Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska."