Southwest Airlines is dropping service to six more cities that AirTran has flown to, as it pushes forward in its merger of the two low-cost airlines.
Southwest, which flies more passengers in the U.S. than any other airline, said Friday it would halt service on Aug. 12 to: Lexington, Ky.; Huntsville, Ala.; Sarasota, Fla.; Harrisburg and Allentown, Pa.; and White Plains, N.Y.
That brings to 15 the cities Southwest is paring from its combined route map with AirTran.
It had previously announced it was cutting AirTran flights to: Asheville, N.C.; Atlantic City; Bloomington/Normal, Ill.; Charleston, W.Va.; Dallas/Fort Worth; Knoxville, Tenn.; Miami; Moline-Quad Cities, Ill.; and Newport News, Va.
The announcement came a day after Southwest said it had made a $152 million profit in the last quarter, partly by raising its average fare by 10% to $140.
From the moment Southwest announced last year that it was acquiring AirTran, small cities have kept their fingers crossed that they'd remain part of Southwest's network.
Some were lucky. Twenty-two airports will continue to get service.
In the USA, they are: Akron-Canton, Ohio; Branson, Mo.; Charlotte, Dayton, Des Moines; Flint and Grand Rapids, Mich.; Key West and Pensacola, Fla.; Memphis; Portland, Maine; Richmond, Va.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Wichita; and Washington Reagan National. Elsewhere, they are: Aruba; Bermuda; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, Bahamas; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
One that won't, Harrisburg International Airport, sent an e-mail to its customers that said, "Obviously, we are disappointed," but pledged to begin looking for other airlines to serve it.
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