The proposed acquisition of AirTran by Southwest Airlines for a total price of $1.42 billion will bring together two of the largest cheap airlines in the United States.
The two airlines largely compete with one another in the markets of Baltimore and Orlando. Because there is less
competition in the market for flights to and from these destinations, airfares may be more expensive for passengers flying to and from such cities.
As a result of the acquisition, Southwest now serves 37 additional cities. The most populous of those is Atlanta, which is also the home base for
Delta Air Lines. The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta is the nation's busiest airport and a main hub for business passengers.
Southwest has been focusing more of its attention on this demographic as of late due to the fact that business visitors often pay higher tickets.
Additionally, the acquisition provides Southwest with a larger share of the market in important East Coast cities such as Boston and New York, which
are areas in which the company has been expanding. The merger will also give Southwest's ambitions to expand globally a significant boost.
The Dallas carrier now has access to new routes to destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, both of which are heavily served