Akron-Canton Airport is among 22 airports nationwide that made the cut and will convert AirTran Airways operations to Southwest Airlines operations as the two carriers fully merge their services.
The announcement last Friday by Dallas-based Southwest was greeted enthusiastically by Kristie Van Auken, Akron-Canton's senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer.
"We're thrilled. And that might be an understatement," she said. "This is a great day for us."
Ms. Van Auken said the announcement "really secures our future as the low-fare airport in Northeast Ohio."
She said AirTran branding will remain in use at the airport for at least the rest of 2012. Southwest branding will begin to appear sometime in 2013.
The announcement is a big deal for Akron-Canton because AirTran at present carries about 75,000 passengers at the airport each month, more than half its total passenger traffic. Ms. Van Auken said AirTran offers 13 daily nonstop departures to seven cities: Atlanta, Boston, New York, Milwaukee, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla.
Domestically, the AirTran airports that will convert to Southwest operations are Akron-Canton; Branson, Mo.; Charlotte; Dayton; Des Moines; Flint, Mich.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Key West, Fla.; Memphis; Pensacola, Fla.; Portland, Maine; Richmond, Va.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Washington Reagan National; and Wichita, Kan.
Internationally, Southwest said it will keep the following AirTran destinations: Aruba; Bermuda; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, Bahamas; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
"We are committed to continuing to serve these communities - at first via AirTran, and eventually as Southwest," said Bob Jordan, Southwest's executive vice president/chief commercial officer and president of AirTran, in a statement.
"We know there are Southwest customers who want access to these cities, but have never before had the opportunity, and the markets have long desired Southwest service," he said.
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