AirTran Airways flights soon will lose a feature enjoyed by many passengers: XM satellite radio.
The move comes as Dallas-based Southwest Airlines folds AirTran's operations into its own after acquiring AirTran this year.
Southwest starts flying to Atlanta next year and the combined carrier will be called Southwest after the operations are integrated.
Southwest's chief commercial officer Bob Jordan, who also is president of AirTran, told employees in a recorded message Monday that the airline decided to remove the satellite radio service from the AirTran fleet of planes to offer "a consistent product" between Southwest and AirTran.
"I can assure you that this decision is not one that was entered into lightly," Jordan said in the message.
He said removing satellite radio equipment from planes will reduce weight and fuel costs.
The equipment will be completely removed by Feb. 28.
The fate of the XM service was one question frequent fliers had when Southwest acquired AirTran. AirTran has had satellite radio as its in-flight entertainment since 2005, and was the first airline to do so. It celebrated the launch of the in-flight XM service at an event in Las Vegas with Elton John.
Copyright 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
