AirTran to keep growing at D/FW
By Trebor Banstetter
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
AirTran Airways plans to continue to expand at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport this year, filling some of the void being left as Delta Air Lines shuts down its hub this month, an AirTran executive said Wednesday.
Kevin Healy, AirTran's vice president of planning, declined to name any specific new destinations being considered but said he expected decisions "sometime soon."
Healy said the Orlando, Fla.-based low-fare carrier is pleased with its growth at D/FW during the past 18 months.
"We've had slow but steady growth there," he said. "We've entered some of our largest markets now from D/FW."
AirTran is reviewing a $22 million incentive plan offered by D/FW executives last week. Under that deal, any airline that leases between 10 and 22 of the former Delta gates can receive free rent for a year and other financial perks.
"We're aware of the incentives, and we're talking to D/FW, just like we talk to all of our airports," he said. "Beyond that, I can't say anything."
By closing its hub at D/FW, Delta is cutting its daily flights to 21 from 254 and reducing the cities served to three from 66. It is also eliminating 3,600 jobs here.
AirTran has served the airport for more than a decade, starting with flights to its hub in Atlanta from a single gate. In 2003, the carrier added three gates and began expanding quickly, adding service to six airports including Las Vegas, Baltimore/Washington and Los Angeles.
Future expansion at D/FW appeared to be on hold late last year when AirTran proposed a deal to take over gates at Chicago's Midway Airport held by bankrupt ATA Airlines. Under that plan, AirTran would have created a large, mid-continent hub there and, some analysts believed, would have little reason for further growth at D/FW.
But the ATA proposal fell apart last month when a bankruptcy judge selected a competing plan from Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.
AirTran "lost an excellent growth opportunity" when it lost the bid, said airline analyst Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities in New York in a recent investment report.
AirTran has ambitious growth plans. The carrier will be adding 17 airplanes to its fleet in 2005, Healy said, and "we'll be adding a combination of new cities and new service between existing cities."
Some analysts have speculated that AirTran may be interested in using D/FW as a small hub to shuttle passengers from the East Coast to cities in the west.
With Midway out of the picture, analyst Neidl said, "there are ample other growth opportunities of which the carrier can take advantage."