AirTran to add DFW-Milwaukee nonstop flights

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Nov 05, 2009 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- LUV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- AirTran Airways, the low-fare Atlanta-based airline, said it will add nonstop flights between Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and its growing Milwaukee hub, expanding connections to the Midwest and Northeast, and heightening what one fare watcher dubbed "the battle of Milwaukee."

AirTran said it will launch two daily nonstops starting April 6, joining American Eagle and Midwest Airlines on the route. Southwest Airlines also launched service at Milwaukee this week but cannot offer nonstops to Dallas Love Field because of federal Wright Amendment restrictions.

The additions come as AirTran expands at the Milwaukee airport, drawing traffic from Wisconsin and the Chicago area.

AirTran also announced Wednesday that it's adding SkyWest Airlines as a marketing partner. SkyWest will offer regional jet flights starting next month between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh; St. Louis; Akron/Canton, Ohio; Indianapolis; Des Moines, Iowa; and Omaha, Neb.

Fliers on AirTran can also take advantage of the airline's nonstops between Milwaukee and northeastern cities such as Boston and Baltimore/Washington. AirTran currently offers nonstops between D/FW and Atlanta, Baltimore and Orlando, Fla. AirTran will serve the D/FW-Milwaukee route using its Boeing 717 twin-jet aircraft, successor to the workhorse McDonnell Douglas MD-80.

Christopher White, an AirTran spokesman, said the SkyWest partnership is important because AirTran isn't scheduled to take another new aircraft delivery until 2011. "This frees our aircraft to serve other destinations, such as Dallas/Fort Worth," he said.

AirTran now serves Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and St. Louis from Milwaukee, and will switch that service to SkyWest, White said.

White said Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport is one of AirTran's top four hubs and will make up 11 percent of the airline's traffic next year, up from 8 to 9 percent now.

"In addition to Milwaukee itself, there's connectivity around the Midwest," he said.

Mike Boyd, a Colorado aviation analyst, said Milwaukee "is going to be a serious connecting hub."

There's also local business that "you draw from Milwaukee and the northern collar counties of Chicago as well."

Tom Parsons, CEO of Arlington-based Bestfares.com, said the D/FW route is a logical extension of AirTran's Milwaukee hub.

AirTran tried to buy Midwest Airlines, he noted, and, when that failed, AirTran "just went into Milwaukee and started matching them flight for flight." Midwest is now owned by Republic Airways.

The D/FW route is also a shot at Southwest, Parsons said, because "Southwest can't do anything about it" until all Wright Amendment restrictions on flights from Love Field expire in 2014. To fly Southwest to Milwaukee, Dallas travelers must stop or connect at cities such as Kansas City, Mo.

Beyond Milwaukee's value as a connecting hub, Parsons said the airport has become a viable secondary airport to the Chicago market.

"For years, people from Wisconsin had to go to Chicago" to fly inexpensively, he said. "Now, because of the battle of Milwaukee, it's sometimes $70 to $100 cheaper to fly out of Milwaukee. And I suspect the people of Chicago are finding that out."

Joe Lopano, D/FW's executive vice president of marketing and terminal management, said in a statement that "AirTran's new flight to Milwaukee is an outstanding new addition to the service D/FW is able to offer the North Texas traveler. AirTran has a proven track record of success, serving more than 600,000 passengers a year at D/FW."

AirTran is one of the few airlines that's enjoying profitability, and it has been touting services such as on-board WiFi on all its planes -- prices range up to $9.95 -- and free onboard XM satellite radio.

SCOTT NISHIMURA, 817-390-7808

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