Southwest Airlines And AirTran Airways Meet Another Important Milestone In Their Integration Of The Carriers

Southwest Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways announced Thursday that the carriers have received approval from the FAA for a Single Operating Certificate (SOC), marking a key milestone in the integration of the two airlines. The process of a full integration of the AirTran Airways fleet into the Southwest Airlines fleet, such as paint scheme and interior configuration, is not complete and the transition to a single ticketing system is a large and complex process that will take several years to complete.

"While this is an important milestone and one that we are extremely proud to achieve, as a practical matter, most employees and customers will see little or no immediate difference in the two airlines' flight operations, as allowed by having both carriers named on the Single Operating Certificate," said Mike Van de Ven, Chief Operating Officer at Southwest Airlines. "This will enable us to continue our integration in a coordinated and thoughtful manner while our customers will continue to receive the highest level of service and Safety they have come to expect from both carriers." 

The FAA, Southwest Airlines, and AirTran Airways addressed the following regulatory changes:

• The Southwest Airlines Air Carrier Operating Certificate will be amended to read "Southwest Airlines Co. and/or AirTran Airways Inc."
• The two airlines will conduct operations under a single set of FAA Operations Specifications.

Both carriers say customers will continue to experience the same great service from each airline. Passengers flying on AirTran will continue to make reservations or check in at airtran.com or by calling 800-247-8726, and visit AirTran kiosks and airport ticket counters. AirTran Employees will still work on scheduled AirTran flights. Customers flying on Southwest can continue to find low fares or check in at southwest.com or by calling 800-435-9792, or at Southwest kiosks and airport ticket counters. Southwest Employees will still work on scheduled Southwest flights. Customers will continue to earn and redeem currency through the respective frequent flier loyalty programs, as they do today. These programs will be integrated over time.

"We cannot overstate the significance of having received our Single Operating Certificate—it is a monumental step in the regulatory process—and achieving it enables us to move forward with the integration of the two airlines into a single carrier. I would like to thank the employees of Southwest and AirTran, the FAA, and the Department of Transportation for the countless hours of work they have dedicated to achieve the Single Operating Certificate," said Van de Ven.

Southwest Airlines announced plans to acquire AirTran Airways on September 27, 2010. Throughout the next several years, Southwest Airlines will continue the process of integrating AirTran employees, converting AirTran Airways aircraft to the Southwest paint scheme and interior configuration, and transitioning AirTran Airways gates to Southwest Airlines gates beginning with Seattle in August of 2012.

FMI: www.southwest.com, www.airtran.com