India, Nov. 14 -- Southwest Airlines, the largest domestic airline company in United States, and its subsidiary AirTran are expanding their route network from the beginning of 2012. According to route expansion plans announced by Southwest, AirTran will now begin flights to newly added destinations of Mexico and Puerto Rico. Southwest will also add three new domestic routes to its existing network. These routes are: Houston to Seattle, Kansas City and Raleigh-Durham, N.C and Chicago and Oklahoma City.
Southwest acquired AirTran for $ 1.4 billion in May this year. The acquisition gave Southwest entry into strategic Atlanta, which it was not serving before this acquisition.
Southwest's strategy has relied on not using the conventional "hub and spoke" model, but on using the "point-to-point flight" model. The United States aviation industry went through intense consolidation lately. The acquisition of AirTran by Southwest was part of this consolidation process. Southwest has refrained from acquisitions during much of its glorious history. The airline, which began its operations in 1967, has produced 37 straight years of profits, a record for the aviation industry. The AirTran acquisition is expected to general additional annual revenues of $ 750 million to $ 1 billion for Southwest. Published by HT Syndication with permission from Dion Global Solutions Limited . For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected]
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