Southwest Airlines and AirTran announce summer flight schedules

DALLAS, Texas – Southwest Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways announced today new destinations and nonstop routes as they extend their flight schedules for reservations from June 3, 2012, through Aug. 10, 2012 (some flights begin as early as May 24, 2012). Southwest announced new Houston nonstop service and AirTran will add nonstop service between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as new Denver nonstop routes.

In addition, AirTran announced plans to expand its international presence with four new nonstop routes to Mexico: San Antonio to Cancun and Mexico City beginning May 2012, and Orange County, Calif. to Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City beginning June 2012. This service is subject to government approval and is not yet for sale. Specific frequencies and fares for these international routes will be announced once the appropriate approvals are received. AirTran does not currently serve Orange County, so the future introduction of AirTran service to these markets is a direct benefit of Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran.

To celebrate AirTran’s Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood to San Juan service, the carriers launched a fare sale today with fares as low as $69 one-way. Customers must book travel by Nov. 27, 2011, in order to take advantage of these low fares (see Additional Fare Rules below). To book flights, visit: www.southwest.com or www.airtran.com.

A quick view of the new service is listed below.

AirTran new service beginning May 24, 2012 (open for sale today):

Two daily roundtrip flights between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and San Juan

AirTran new service beginning June 3, 2012 (open for sale today):

One daily roundtrip flight between Denver and Akron-Canton
One daily roundtrip flight between Denver and Dayton
Two daily roundtrip flights between Denver and New York LaGuardia
Two daily roundtrip flights between Baltimore/Washington and Los Angeles
One daily roundtrip flight between Baltimore/Washington and New Orleans
Two daily roundtrip flights between Baltimore/Washington and Seattle
One daily roundtrip flight between Baltimore/Washington and San Francisco

Southwest new service beginning June 3, 2012 (open for sale today):

One daily roundtrip flight between Houston Hobby and Raleigh-Durham
One daily roundtrip flight between Houston Hobby and Kansas City
One daily roundtrip flight between Houston Hobby and Seattle
One daily roundtrip flight between Chicago Midway and Oklahoma City

“We have been very encouraged by the success of AirTran’s existing international service and we look forward to building upon that success,” said Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and AirTran Airways President. “Today’s announcement of AirTran’s new domestic service and planned international service in several markets offers Customers even more options when traveling both in the U.S. and abroad, and is a terrific demonstration of the benefits Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran brings Customers.”

“We continue to set the stage for long-term growth by aligning our current networks to maximize what we each do best. The next step, which we anticipate will happen in the first half of next year, will be to connect these two strong networks to offer our collective passengers lower fares on more flights, which we believe will greatly benefit consumers and create significant revenue potential for Southwest.”