Executives of Southwest Airlines have confirmed that the airline will continue to fly the Boeing 717 aircraft it expects to acquire as part of its planned purchase of AirTran Airways. Since its founding in 1967 as a small, regional carrier based in Dallas, Southwest has only flown the Boeing 737. As the 737 has evolved over the years, so has Southwest, which now flies the -300, -500 and -700 series of the world's most popular aircraft. The Boeing 717 is a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9.McDonnell Douglas was purchased by Boeing in 1997.
With the expected government approval of Southwest's purchase of AirTran next year, 86 Boeing 717s currently being flown by AirTran will enter the Southwest fleet, and the airline has no plans to do away with them anytime soon. Both airlines operate the Boeing 737-700, so that transition will be an easy one, and Southwest is close to making an announcement about its expected addition of the larger and longer range Boeing 737-800 to its fleet in 2012. The company and flight attendants union have already reached agreement on work rules for the -800 which are not part of the current contract agreeement. AirTran's Boeing 717 seats passengers in a two-class configuration that includes a business cabin in the front of the aircraft. That will change as Southwest converts the aircraft to an all-economy 117-seater.
The transition from AirTran to Southwest inMinneapolis/St. Paul will not be complicated, as both airlines provide service from Terminal 2/Humphrey. Their ticket counter space is immediately adjacent to one another, too. Routes that Southwest will inherit from MSP include non-stops from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee, Atlanta and Orlando.
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