RIP AirTran. Nostalgia thread

[Ty Webb]

My favorite memory was flying with Al Teasley in the 1990`s....one of the best guys there! RIP Bubba

Agreed. Al was a great guy. Jamie Seargent, and Crunk too.

 

[400ADude]

Isn't airtran the one that tried to charge $20 to jumpseat? Perhaps it was someone else...

It was them. Typical.

 

[jonjuan]

Hey, it's chuck yogurt!

 

[SpauldingSmails]

Sad to see all the little "a" 717's parked in the Phoenix Goodyear Apt mothball fleet. I lost count at 30.

Wait for it... wait for it...

 

[canyonblue]

Right out of Gary's mouth," And very importantly, it allowed us to grow and grow profitably over a time when we could not have done it otherwise. We would not be enjoying the results we have achieved this year and over the last couple years without AirTran. "

I don't believe everything out of Gary's mouth, neither should you. If we hadn't spent the money buying AirTran I guess we wouldn't have grown or turned a profit, is that what you really believe?

Then I guess real shocker to you is we bought an airline, didn't take 2/3 of their fleet, still took all of their employees and made millions in profit.

 

[humveedriver]

I don't believe everything out of Gary's mouth, neither should you. If we hadn't spent the money buying AirTran I guess we wouldn't have grown or turned a profit, is that what you really believe?

Then I guess real shocker to you is we bought an airline, didn't take 2/3 of their fleet, still took all of their employees and made millions in profit.

It was about eliminating a competitor. Kelly probably figured the 2008 oil spike would kill AT or at least bankrupt AT. Neither situation happened. Buying AT allowed SWA to raise fares several times post acquisition.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/13/business/la-fi-mo-southwest-airfare-hike-20120913

ATL wasn't the prize. Controlling the fares from BWI, MDW and MCO was a lot more important. An added benefit was a platform to launch int'l. SWA has the cash to do whatever they want organically. Obviously they saw an advantage to buying AT. What's not a shocker is that you wanted organic growth. No kidding Sherlock, don't we all.

Also, since you had to bring it up. Losing 2/3 of the AT fleet which was the 717 resulted in keeping the classics longer (lucky passengers!) and the ability for the senior SWA FOs to upgrade in the 737 for 3 years. Could they have upgraded in the 717? No. Hopefully they send Steve Chase a thank you card.

 

[canyonblue]

Losing 2/3 of the AT fleet which was the 717 resulted in keeping the classics longer (lucky passengers!) .....

Next time you step into one of those "classics", take a look at the registration on the door to see who owns it. The same couldn't be said about the 717, be sure to send a thank you note to Southwest (lucky employees!).

 

[humveedriver]

Next time you step into one of those "classics", take a look at the registration on the door to see who owns it. The same couldn't be said about the 717, be sure to send a thank you note to Southwest (lucky employees!).

I do feel lucky actually. A 30 plus year career in this field brings no guarantees. So far so good. Very fortunate to be purchased by an airline with such a strong balance sheet. It looks like buying AirTran has improved SWA's position. Great news for everyone. The purpose of this thread is to show that despite some dysfunctionality at AirTran we still had fun and delivered great service to the public and our non reving brethren. We fought that $20 fee for the second jumpseater tooth and nail. I think it was when we got the 737 with a second J/s they had to back off. Their my good memories, not yours. I've already flown with a ton of great SWA pilots and look forward to my future there. If we strike a deal with Alaska, Hawaiian or JB, I'll do my best to remember how I wanted to be treated during this last deal.

 

[Mr Wu]

Well, if you really want to get nostalgic...

Following two serious accidents (flight 597 and flight 592), both blamed on a lax corporate culture on safety at ValuJet,[2] on September 24, 1997, ValuJet Airlines changed its name to AirTran Airlines, by, on November 17, 1997, acquiring Airways, Inc. and renaming the holding company AirTran Holdings, Inc. In the summer of 1998, the two airlines merged onto the same FAA certificate and the AirTran Airways name survived. While the hub remained in Atlanta, the headquarters of the new entity was combined in Orlando, Florida, on January 28, 1998

 

[asaflyer]

If the FMA is white call "auto flight". RIP AJ