AirTran Airways, which has been operating for 14 years under that name, will operate its final flight on Friday, taking off from the Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport to fly to Atlanta. Once the flight is over the airline will merge with Southwest Airlines and will cease to operate under the name AirTran. The merger has resulted in Newport losing their service entirely. Three other cities will also lose their service once AirTran is done.
Late Friday morning those passengers checking in for a flight to Orlando were already checking in with Southwest and all AirTran signage was gone from the airport. Jessica Wharton, a Newport News airport spokesperson, said it is sad to see the airline go, but at the same time this will allow them to diversify the market. Dwayne Johnson was a regular AirTran customer who will likely start flying Southwest now. He said AirTran was great and that many people are not happy with the change.
See the original Google News article for more details. |
