Low-cost carrier AirTran Airways has begun flights from Atlanta, Georgia to Punta Cana. The daily flights depart Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, described as the busiest passenger airport in the world. Air Tran flies a Boeing 737 on the 1,438-mile, 3 hours and 35 minute-flight. Flights to Punta Cana leave Atlanta at 10:20am and arrive in Punta Cana at 2:55pm daily. The return flights to Atlanta depart at 4:15pm and arrive at ATL at 7:20pm. The flight times allow for multiple connections. Punta Cana is the airline’s sixth Caribbean destination. The airline already serves Aruba, Cancun, Montego Bay, Nassau and San Juan. AirTran competes with Delta Airlines on the route for the Atlanta market.
Southwest Airlines is negotiating for the purchase of AirTran, which would create the most expansive network of any low-cost carrier in the US. The deal is expected to give Southwest its first flights outside the continental US by continuing AirTran’s service to Mexico and the Caribbean, as reported earlier in the US press. See: www.airtran.com