This could be good news for Joe. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/02/16/financial/= f123626S47.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, February 16, 2005 (AP) AirTran Reportedly Coming to Charlotte By TIM WHITMIRE, Associated Press Writer (02-16) 14:14 PST Charlotte, N.C. (AP) -- Discount carrier AirTran will begin flying from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to Atlanta and Baltimore later this year, two sources said Wednesday. The move would bring a second discount carrier to an airport known for i= ts high fares and long dominated by US Airways Group Inc., which is currently in bankruptcy for the second time in recent years. Officials at Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc. could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. The airline has hubs in Atlanta and Orlando and offers service to 46 airports. Airport officials scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon at which they said they would make a "major announcement" about service. Officials declined to speak publicly about the scheduled announcement. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said AirTran is to fly to both Baltimore and Atlanta, where the carrier has its primary hub. One of the sources said the carrier would fly three or four times per day to each city. Service could begin within two to three months, assuming a normal schedu= le for starting operations. In the most recent U.S. Department of Transportation survey of airfares from the top 85 U.S. airports, Charlotte ranked fifth in terms of the cost of average fares originating at a mainland airport. Only flights originating in Louisville, Ky., Salt Lake City, Long Beach, Calif., and Glendale-Pasadena, Calif., had higher average fares, excluding flights from Alaska and Hawaii. The study focused on the third quarter of 2004. Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation analyst, said he believes AirTran's move into Charlotte is aimed at outflanking competitor Southwest Airlines Co., which recently announced service to Pittsburgh, a former US Airways hub. He said Southwest is believed to be considering Charlotte service. US Airways' bankruptcy reorganization has been aimed at remaking the airline as a low-cost, low-fare carrier that can compete with the likes of Southwest and AirTran. US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said Wednesday that AirTran's move into Charlotte shows why that restructuring was needed. "This is another example of the rapid growth of low-cost competition in the East, and that's why we so aggressively attacked our cost structure to better compete with these carriers," he said. AirTran's entrance into the Charlotte market would give the city two discount carriers. Flyi Inc.'s Independence Air began flights from Charlotte to Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport in October. AirTran Holdings' shares fell 24 cents, or 2.9 percent, to close at $8.12 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $7.40 to $15.56. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP