[Arubalisa]

AirTran Airways Files Application to Fly to Nassau, Montego Bay and Aruba
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-25-2009/0005082918&EDATE=
"- Airline Plans to Expand Operations in the Caribbean by Year's End -

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), today filed applications with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to begin offering service to Nassau, Bahamas; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and the island of Aruba.

If approved, service to the three popular tourist destinations would begin later this year and early in 2010 from a combination of key cities.

"Adding our low-cost, high-quality service from some of our largest operations to some of the most popular destinations in the Caribbean is a win-win for consumers and for AirTran Airways," said Kevin Healy, senior vice president, marketing and planning. "There's nothing quite like jetting off to a tropical island in the middle of Winter, and we look forward to making that possible from some of the largest cities in our network."

In the application, the airline proposes service to Nassau and Montego Bay from Atlanta, Baltimore and Orlando; while service to Aruba would originate in Atlanta and Orlando. More information on flights, equipment and fares will be made available upon receipt of DOT approval.

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc.(NYSE: AAI), and a Fortune 1000 company, has been ranked the number one low cost carrier in the Airline Quality Rating study for the past two years. AirTran is the only major airline with Wi-Fi on every flight and offers coast-to-coast service on North America's newest all-Boeing fleet. Its low-cost, high-quality product also includes assigned seating, Business Class and complimentary XM Satellite Radio on every flight. To book a flight, visit www.airtran.com."

This is welcome relief to Atlantans forever locked into Delta's high fares. For the nine years we have lived here, you could fly from the NY metro area, or many other parts of the country for that matter, to Aruba much cheaper than from Atlanta solely because there is more competition in NY for non-stop flights. Delta was the only airline flying non-stop from Atlanta to Aruba. Hopefully no more.