Air Tran

air tran

At least one important official airport sees a dip in the Southwest plan to buy low-cost rival Air Tran. Thomas Kinton Jr., director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, Boston Logan Airport from overseas, told me this morning in Pittsburgh think that Boston would benefit from the merger if it goes through. He said that the airport ‘could see opportunities for growth’ of the agreement, noting that Southwest and Air Tran overlap on a single channel (Baltimore / Washington) Boston -. In fact, Southwest-Air Tran tie-up, if approved - would likely give the merged airline a big enough presence in Boston at low cost pressure JetBlue, which recently became the No. 1 carrier airport in terms of departures.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) said Monday it would buy smaller rival Air Tran Airways (IA) for 1.4 billion U.S. dollars a merger with low-cost airlines, whose effects are felt from the sale of tickets and flights available to millions of passengers. The merger continues a consolidation trend airline, which saw the Continental and United Airlines announced its intention to participate in activities from October 1, which is the largest airline in the world, and membership in the Delta and Northwest 2008. The acquisition is a unique opportunity to grow Air Tran presence Southwest Airlines in key markets and which are still not interested in having a significant step in positioning us for future growth, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said.

Dallas, TX - September 27, 2010 - Southwest Airlines [NYSE: LUV], announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all the outstanding Air Tran Holdings, Inc. [NYSE: AI], the parent company of Air Tran Airways (Air Tran) and partly in cash and common shares Southwest Airlines.