AirTran Plans Atlanta-Seattle Route

AirTran Airways is expected to announce that it will begin flying nonstop flights between Atlanta and Seattle --- the biggest U.S. city it doesn't currently serve.

However, the discount carrier is only planning seasonal service to the home of Starbucks between May 25 and Labor Day, with two flights a day on Boeing 737s.

"The market does very well in the summertime," said AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson. "Year-round, we couldn't make the numbers work."

The move marks a resumption of the discount airline's westward expansion.

About the same time AirTran was ordering up to 100 aircraft in 2003, the carrier was also adding destinations such as Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas to its network.

Seattle will be the first Western destination since 2003 added by the Orlando-based carrier, which has a hub in Atlanta.

AirTran said it will offer initial fares that are about 35 percent to 45 percent below comparable fares at Delta Air Lines, the only other carrier that flies nonstop from Atlanta to Seattle.

AirTran said one-way fares will range from $169 for a 14-day advance-purchase coach fare to $379 for business class, before taxes and fees that usually add about $25.

On Tuesday, typical one-way fares on Travelocity's Web site, including taxes and fees, ranged from $614 for a next-day nonstop flight on Delta to $176 for a connecting flight next month on Northwest Airlines.

Hutcheson said the Seattle route is Atlanta's 16th-largest market by revenue, with an average of 551 passengers a day paying $221 one-way, on average.

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