Plan Outlines How the Two Operations Will Combine, Following
Financial Close
The FAA has informed Southwest Airlines that it has accepted
the carrier's transition plan to combine the operations of
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and Orlando-based AirTran Airways,
following the financial close of its transaction to acquire
AirTran.
On Sept. 27, 2010, Southwest announced an agreement to acquire
all outstanding shares of common stock of AirTran Holdings, Inc.,
the parent company of AirTran Airways (AirTran), for a combination
of cash and Southwest Airlines' common stock. Closing is subject to
the approval of AirTran shareholders, receipt of certain regulatory
clearances, and fulfillment of customary closing conditions.
"It's been a great team effort by a lot of people to reach this
initial milestone, but we still have a lot of work to do to
ultimately bring our two carriers together. We appreciate the
collaborative approach of all parties, including the FAA Joint
Transition Team (JTT)," said Brian Hirshman, Southwest's Vice
President Maintenance and Engineering, and Executive Sponsor of the
carrier's Single Operating Certificate (SOC) team. "We consider
this acceptance by the FAA as the first major milestone on the
journey towards SOC. There are too many people to recognize
individually, but we are hopeful the team's hard work will allow us
to achieve our SOC goal in the first quarter 2012."
Southwest and AirTran currently have separate operating
certificates. The transition plan accepted by the FAA outlines the
methodology, processes, tools, and timing to be employed to
maintain the safety of their day-to-day operations during the
transition period and to ultimately achieve a Single Operating
Certificate. The SOC is issued by the FAA once all of the steps
outlined in the transition plan have been completed. The carriers'
processes, and procedures may not be fully integrated when the SOC
is issued, however; they will operate under a single FAA
certificate at that time.
Relevant to its submitted plan, Southwest clarified that after
the transaction close, which is currently anticipated to occur
during the second quarter of 2011, all certificated and
flight-related AirTran Employees (Pilots, Dispatchers, Flight
Attendants, Mechanics, Schedulers, etc.) will maintain their
AirTran employment status at least until the SOC is issued by the
FAA for the combined carriers. The logistics of how and when this
group of certificated employees will then be transitioned to
Southwest employment status has yet to be determined.