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| Southwest in Orlando, Fla. / (c) 2012 |
ATLANTA — It’s official. Southwest Airlines now serves Atlanta.
The Dallas-based low-cost carrier started serving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this weekend. The airline, which bought AirTran Airways, will initially serve 15 destinations from Atlanta, but plans to add two more next month and more in the future.
AirTran, which directly serves 52 cities from Atlanta, will also continue to serve Atlanta for the foreseeable future.
“Our service from Atlanta brings greatly reduced fares with new flexibility and value for both leisure and business Customers,” Gary Kelly, Southwest’s chairman, president and CEO, said at a Monday news conference, according to a news release.
“Southwest Airlines will significantly expand the tradition of excellent customer service and low fares that we have come to expect from AirTran Airways over the past 15 years,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in a news release. “Hartsfield-Jackson Airport prides itself on serving more than 90 million passengers every year, and Southwest’s presence will further assure our airport remains as the busiest passenger airport on the planet.”
With the addition of Atlanta, Southwest now serves 73 airports in 38 states.
“We’re opening Southwest service to Atlanta with more flights than our traditional start, and we have big plans for the city,” Kelly said, according to the release.
AirTran is based in Orlando, Fla.
