Southwest Gets “Single Operating Certificate” From FAA; AirTran Integration Continues
The merger of Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways Thursday cleared a key hurdle, after the Federal Aviation Administration issued Southwest a “single operating certificate.”
That means the Dallas-based carrier can speed up its absorption of the AirTran Airways.
“It’s essentially Uncle Sam saying it’s OK to start tearing down walls and moving planes and people around,” says Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins, adding that passengers won’t notice much of an immediate change.
“For customers the changes now will incrementally pick up, but for now, AirTran remains AirTran and Southwest remains Southwest,” says Hawkins.
Fully integrating the two carriers will likely take a few more years.
But some Southwest policies—like no baggage fees for the first two checked bags—will begin to make their way into AirTran’s operations.
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