AirTran Airways
| AirTran Airways | |
|---|---|
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| IATA code : | FL |
| ICAO code : | TRS |
| Call sign : | CITRUS |
| Founding: | 1992 (as ValuJet) |
| Operation stopped: | 2014 |
| Seat: |
Atlanta , United States
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| Turnstile : | |
| Management: | Gary Kelly ( CEO ) |
| Frequent Flyer Program : | A + rewards |
| Fleet size: | 74 |
| Aims: | national and continental |
| Website: | airtran.com |
| AirTran Airways ceased operations in 2014. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
AirTran Airways (outdoor appearance AirTran ) was an American low-cost airline based in Atlanta . It was created after ValuJet Airlines acquired the former AirTran Airways and has been a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines since autumn 2010 . The last flight was on December 28, 2014, since then the airline has been fully integrated into Southwest Airlines.
history
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ValuJet was a US low-cost airline. The airline's colors were light blue, white and yellow. The ValuJet part of the AirTran story is characterized by both great successes and deficiencies in maintenance. An accident in 1996 caused a sensation in which everyone on board was killed.
Founding of ValuJet
In 1993 ValuJet Airlines Inc. was founded with headquarters in Atlanta , GA. At that time the west of the USA was opened up by the low-cost pioneer Southwest Airlines , but the south-east was dominated by the large, conventional airlines American Airlines ( Miami ) and Delta Air Lines (Atlanta). The irony of aviation history would have it that ValuJet's first aircraft came from competitor and future arch-rival Delta and took off on the first flights to Florida from Atlanta, where Delta was also based. Operations began on October 26, 1993 between Atlanta and Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. All flights took place exclusively with this one Douglas DC-9-32 . The airline's founders, Robert Priddy, Maury Gallagher, Tim Flynn and Lewis Jordan had all had industry experience. The logo of the airline was a grinning airplane, which was nicknamed "Critter" because of its appearance. So it came about that the callsign of the ICAO (ICAO-Callsign) of ValuJet became "Critter".
Rapid expansion
The Douglas DC-9 was chosen by the airline for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, this type of aircraft enabled short ground times and was considered to be easier to maintain than the comparable Boeing 737-200 , on the other hand, many airlines decommissioned their DC-9 fleets precisely at this time, so that many of these aircraft were available on the used aircraft market. The first DC-9 was quickly supplemented by other machines of the same type from Delta Air Lines. ValuJet first attracted attention in June 1994 when the company added its 15th DC-9 to its fleet. Fiscal 1994 closed the company with a profit of 21 million US dollars. Thus ValuJet became the US airline that flew into profitability the fastest from its inception. More DC-9s followed over time, including from Turkish Airlines . By May 1996 the fleet had grown to 48 DC-9s and four MD-80s . In October 1995 ValuJet shocked the professional world again when the company became the first customer for the MD-95 , a new type of aircraft from McDonnell Douglas . 50 aircraft were firmly ordered and options for a further 50 machines were added.
ValuJet in the twilight
The rapid expansion policy had its price. ValuJet's maintenance procedures were characterized by the fact that minor damage was always provisionally repaired so that the machines could continue to operate. Maintenance was often delayed and the rate of exceptional incidents was ten times higher than the US average. 15 in 1994, 57 in 1995 and between January and May 1996 alone another 57 ValuJet Airlines aircraft had to interrupt their flight for technical reasons and land unscheduled. In February 1996, ValuJet was asked to obtain permission from the US aviation authority (FAA) before further aircraft were commissioned and further routes were taken . There has been no such intervention in air traffic since the deregulation of 1979. ValuJet also applied for a contract from the US Department of Defense in 1995, which was not awarded to ValuJet due to a lack of security.
The accident on May 11, 1996 with 110 deaths resulted in the FAA revoking ValuJet's flight license on June 17. ValuJet was accused of not having adequately monitored SabreTech's security standards. Ultimately, this accident led to changes in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations , the set of rules for the loading of dangerous goods .
Phoenix from the ashes
On September 30, 1996, after ValuJet fulfilled all the requirements of the FAA and the DOT Department of Transport, flight operations were resumed with 15 DC-9s on a greatly reduced route network. Although the route network and the fleet grew again every month, ValuJet still suffered from its negative image. This gave rise to the idea for a spectacular coup: ValuJet acquired Airways Corp., mother of AirTran Airways, and took over the identity of AirTran. The purchase was announced on July 11, 1997 and the integration was completed on November 17, 1997.
The new AirTran
The takeover of AirTran and the resulting name change brought about a turning point. In the year of the merger, AirTran offered the option of allocating seats, which stood out from the free-seating concept of other low-cost airlines. Other elements of the classic scheduled airlines, such as B. the introduction of a business class or a frequent flyer program should follow, nevertheless AirTran remained largely true to the concept of a low-cost airline. Unprofitable routes from the former AirTran network were eliminated and the first Boeing 737-200s that joined the fleet after the takeover were also retired.
1998-1999
In July 1998 AirTran presented a positive quarterly result for the first time since the accident. Shortly before that, the airline received the title of “Best National Low Cost Airline” from Entrepreneur Magazine . The title also went to the airline in 2001, 2002 and 2004. After long tremors about the future of the Boeing 717 program (formerly MD-95), AirTran took over their first new machine from the ValuJet order on September 24, 1999. A short time later, on October 12, the first commercial 717 flights began. With the delivery of further Boeing 717s, the last Boeing 737-200s were retired.
2000-2001
On December 12, 2000, the company began its first international flights with flights from Atlanta to Grand Bahama Island. The attacks of September 11, 2001 hit Air Tran just like the rest of the industry, so that the company had to reduce its route network by 20%. But on October 7th, the AirTran route network was back to its old size. AirTran also became the first US airline to meet all post-September 11 security requirements (e.g., cockpit door reinforcement). In contrast to its predecessor ValuJet, AirTran also proved to be exemplary in terms of security. Nevertheless, from now on an aggressive expansion policy was pursued again as in the old ValuJet times. Between 2001 and 2003, AirTran took over 22 almost new Boeing 717s from former TWA stocks in addition to the machines it had ordered .
2002-2003
On August 15, 2002 AirTran went public. The expansion policy was continued. To this end, an agreement was signed with the regional airline Air Wisconsin in November 2002 and some short-haul routes were given to this airline. The contract expired in mid-2004, but enabled AirTran to release some 717 and DC-9s for new medium-haul routes. In 2003 another cooperation agreement was signed, this time with the charter company Ryan International Airlines . As the range of the 717 was insufficient for flights to the west coast, Ryan International operated some Airbus A320s in AirTran colors on flights from Atlanta to Las Vegas , Denver and Los Angeles . However, on July 1, 2003 , AirTran ordered 100 Boeing 737-700s as a long-term solution to the problems .
2004
A big chapter came to an end on January 5th, 2004: The last Douglas DC-9 was taken out of service and with it the last memory of ValuJet times. One of the first former ValuJet DC-9s went to the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, and is displayed in AirTran colors. The first Boeing 737-700 followed in June .
Acquisition by Southwest Airlines
Since Joseph Leonard was elected Chairman in January 1999, the company has posted positive results every quarter. The fourth quarter of 2001 was an exception (after the attacks of September 11, 2001). The end of the successful streak was not in sight , despite the appearance of the strong competitor JetBlue in the northeast. After Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways , AirTran was the third largest low-cost airline in the United States in 2007 and the fifth largest in the world. Many AirTran machines were equipped with a system for wireless internet use on board Gogo Inflight Internet , which meant that internet use was possible for a fee during the flight within the USA.
In September 2010 it was announced that AirTran would be taken over by competitor Southwest Airlines for a price of 1.4 billion US dollars . In the course of this, the fleet was successively reduced from over 120 aircraft until mid-2014, as machines were sold and routes were taken over by Southwest Airlines itself.
AirTran made its last flight on December 28, 2014 and has been fully integrated into Southwest since then.
fleet
The following aircraft were operated by ValuJet and AirTran (old and new) in total:
- 2 Airbus A320-200 operated by Ryan International for AirTran (new)
- 48 Boeing 717-200 , AirTran was the world's largest operator of the 717; operated by Southwest Airlines
- 6 Boeing 737-200 operated by AirTran (old and new)
- 22 Boeing 737-700 ; equipped with winglets ; operated by Southwest Airlines
- 4 Douglas DC-9-20 operated by ValuJet
- 44 Douglas DC-9-30 operated by ValuJet and AirTran (new)
- 4 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 operated by ValuJet
In 2014 the company's fleet consisted of 42 Boeing 717-200s and 32 Boeing 737-700s.
Incidents
- On June 8, 1995, the pilots of a Douglas DC-9-32 of Valujet ( aircraft registration number N908VJ) at Atlanta Airport (USA) aborted the take-off. The trigger was an engine failure caused by a corroded engine component. The machine started to burn. All 62 inmates survived. The affected engine part was checked by Turkish Airlines during maintenance in 1991 .
- On May 11, 1996, a Douglas DC-9-32 of the Valujet (N904VJ) crashed into the Everglades Marshes nine minutes after taking off from Miami Airport . This was caused by several errors by Valujet and the SabreTech company when loading five cartons of oxygen generators from a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 , which are used for the oxygen masks of passenger aircraft. All 110 people on board died. The accident resulted in the FAA revoking ValuJet's license to fly on June 17 (see ValuJet flight 592 ) .
- On August 8, 2000, the pilots of a Douglas DC-9-32 AirTran Airways (N838AT) bound for Atlanta , Georgia made an emergency landing in Greensboro . Shortly after take-off, the flight crew declared an emergency by a fire and smoke in the cockpit during the flight. An emergency evacuation was carried out. Of the 58 passengers and 5 crew members on board, 3 crew members and 5 passengers received minor injuries from smoke inhalation. Five passengers and one employee on the ground were slightly injured during the evacuation. The aircraft suffered significant fire, heat and smoke damage and was written off.
- On November 29, 2000, the flight crew of a Douglas DC-9-32 AirTran Airways (N826AT) made an emergency landing in Atlanta. Shortly after take-off, the pilots discovered that several circuit breakers had tripped and fault indicator lights were active. After landing, one of the flight attendants reported that smoke was escaping from the left side wall in the front cabin; air traffic control personnel also informed the flight crew that smoke was coming from the aircraft. The flight crew immediately initiated an emergency evacuation on the taxiway. Of the 2 crew members, 3 flight attendants and 92 passengers on board, 13 passengers were slightly injured. The aircraft was written off as a total write-off. The original destination was Akron , Ohio .
See also
Web links
- AirTran on Southwest.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ airtranairways.com (English), accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ a b news.yahoo.com - Southwest-AirTran deal means more options for some ( Memento from September 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English) September 27, 2010
- ↑ www.aerosecure.de: Top 10: The ten largest low-cost airlines in the world (as of August 2007)
- ↑ Gogoair.com Participating Airlines ( Memento from December 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 4, 2014
- ↑ a b c ch-aviation.com - AirTran Airways ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English) accessed on August 11, 2014
- ↑ airlineroute.net: airTran to Operate Final Service on 28DEC14 , accessed on May 29, 2014
- ↑ Aero Transport Data Bank, AirTran Airways fleet, search selection: 2013 and 2014
- ↑ accident report DC-9-32 N908VJ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 20 December 2018th
- ↑ accident report DC-9-32 N904VJ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 20 December 2018th
- ↑ accident report DC-9-32 N838AT , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 25 February of 2019.
- ↑ accident report DC-9-32 N826AT , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 25 February of 2019.