Southwest Airlines has announced a tentative merger/purchase agreement to buy Airtran Airlines for $1.4 billion today and, yes, I was completely surprised.  It’s a bold move and offers SWA huge access to Atlanta and competition Delta Airlines (who I imagine has already opened up the desk drawer and taken a swig of antacid this morning).  It offers more access to the NYC and Washington DC areas, too.   And it brings that international experience to the table as well.

As much as this is about growth and access to new markets, it’s also about eliminating some damaging competition in other markets.   SWA and Airtran are already beating each other up in the North East and in Milwaukee.  It was soon to be only a matter of time before the bumped heads elsewhere too.   This is as much about Southwest elimating that distraction and allowing it to focus on competing with the SuperLegacy airlines.  More tomorrow.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax