Sat, Mar 03, 2012
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.
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