Low-fare airline Southwest’s arrival at Akron-Canton Airport might result in some further slight changes in direct destinations now served by AirTran, but passengers “will have access to far more cities” through connections, said Southwest executive Bob Jordan on Monday.
Southwest now flies to Chicago and Denver from Akron-Canton, which allows access to “nearly all of the other cities on the Southwest network — (totaling)70 plus,” Jordan said in an interview.
The complete flight schedule, Jordan said, “looked at in totality ... will be better than it is today. More flights and more connecting opportunities to get to so many more places.”
Jordan, who is Southwest’s executive vice president, was at the airport in Green to celebrate the beginning of flights out of facility, where 55 percent of customers are served by AirTran.
Southwest, headquartered in Dallas and the largest domestic passenger airline in the country, bought AirTran Airways Inc. last year and continues to operate the two as separate carriers during an integration process.
Jordan said that the two airlines would be fully integrated systemwide by sometime in 2015. He said he could not provide an integration timetable for Akron-Canton.
Early next year, Jordan said, customers will be able to buy one ticket for flights connecting between the two airlines.
On Sunday, AirTran’s Denver flight began operating as a Southwest flight, and Southwest began two daily nonstops to Midway International Airport in Chicago.
Also Sunday, two AirTran daily Milwaukee nonstop flights ceased.
Jordan assured that any AirTran flight, when it switches to Southwest, will be “bags fly free.”
Jordan said baggage fees are continuing on AirTran flights — at least for the time being.
No decision has been made on whether this policy would be changed before the two airlines are fully combined, he said.
AirTran will continue to have 12 daily nonstop flights from Akron-Canton to Atlanta, New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Boston, Orlando and Tampa, airport spokeswoman Kristie VanAuken said.
Jordan was the main speaker at a news conference heralding Southwest’s arrival at the airport. The confab — held at the Southwest gate — featured speeches by state and locally elected politicians. Other events included a balloon drop and a large cake in the shape of a Southwest airplane — complete with icing colored in the airline’s “Canyon Blue,” orange and red colors.
“I feel like I just committed a sin,” Jordan said, as he sliced into the nose of the airplane cake. The cake — offered to passengers in the waiting area — was made by Akron’s West Side Bakery.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.