Deal Keeps AirTran Airways' HQ In Orlando

It's a deal so appealing, it's worth the occasional risk of hurricanes. Officials with the state of Florida and AirTran Airways were expected to sign a deal Wednesday to build a new $7 million command center for the low-cost carrier -- a move that will also keep AirTran's headquarters in Orlando.

The hurricane-reinforced facility will be built at Orlando International Airport Construction costs for the new facility will be split between the state and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, with the former kicking in the majority of the projected $4.7 million pricetag.

In exchange, AirTran will pledge to keep its headquarters at MCO, reports The Orlando Sentinel, and to not move any of the 290 people now employed there. The airline is also expected to announce it will add 121 new jobs over the next three years, at an average salary of $45,000 -- while the state and city will kick in payments for creating the new jobs, and reimburse some of the training costs.

"Orlando will remain our nerve center for our fast-growing network, as well as our headquarters city," AirTran President and CEO Bob Fornaro said. "We are proud to call Orlando home."

The new facility will house AirTran's Systems Operations Control, which directs and oversees dispatch duties for the carrier's 700+ daily flights. Those tasks are now handled in an older, smaller building shared with the airline's headquarters -- which suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Charley in 2004.

In that storm, AirTran "came very, very close to actually shutting the airline down for what would've been more time than anybody would like to think," said AirTran's senior Operations VP, Stephen Kolski, adding the new building will be built to withstand 150-mph winds.

AirTran officials have wanted a new building to house its ops center for some time, saying it needed a larger, more secure facility to handle its growing network. Executives at the airline strongly hinted they would move the whole shebang to Atlanta -- the airline's flight hub -- if they didn't get want they wanted.

"This is great news for our state, since the aviation industry and headquarters operations are critical to our plans for economic growth," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday.

FMI: www.airtran.com, www.orlandoairports.net/main.htm