AirTran to add routes to Mexico, Puerto Rico

[November 14, 2011]  DALLAS (AP) -- Southwest Airlines Co. and its AirTran subsidiary are adding new routes next year including additional foreign destinations.

The airline said Sunday that AirTran Airways will add nonstop flights between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and will add routes to Mexico from both San Antonio, Texas, and Orange County, Calif.

Southwest still needs to get government approvals for the routes, so it can't sell tickets yet.

Dallas-based Southwest bought AirTran this year to give it an opening in Atlanta -- the biggest U.S. city it didn't already serve -- and add AirTran's international service. Southwest itself does not fly beyond U.S. borders.

The new AirTran flights to Mexico include San Antonio to Mexico City and Cancun beginning next May 2012, and Orange County, Calif., to Mexico City and Cabo San Lucas beginning in June. The company said it would announce prices once it gets regulatory approvals.

Southwest said it will add three new nonstop flights from Houston to Seattle, Kansas City and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and one between Chicago and Oklahoma City. The company said AirTran will add seven new routes, including Denver-New York, Baltimore-Los Angeles and Baltimore-San Francisco. It said it started selling those seats Sunday.

[Associated Press]

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