AirTran Airways Agents Reject Representation by International Association of Machinists

/PRNewswire/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI) , today announced that its customer service, ramp and Reservations agents have rejected representation by the International Association of Machinists (IAM).

The National Mediation Board (NMB) notified AirTran Airways today that they have dismissed the IAM's petition for a representation election because the group failed to garner the required 35 percent of eligible agents to sign representation cards requesting an election. The Board cited an "insufficient showing of interest" in its dismissal notification to both parties.

This is the fifth time since 1998 that this work group has elected to forgo representation. The company has ramp and customer service agents located in airports around the country while the Reservations agents are located in three cities -- Atlanta, Carrollton, and Savannah, Ga.

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Tennis Star Melanie Oudin Joins the AirTran Airways Team

/PRNewswirel/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI) , announced today its partnership with U.S. Open quarterfinalist and Marietta, Ga., resident Melanie Oudin. The 17-year-old sensation has become the newest team member on the low-cost carrier's roster of sports endorsers and will be featured in radio spots and state-of-the-art, high-impact billboards in Atlanta, where AirTran is the second largest carrier, and in other markets throughout the carrier's coast-to-coast network.

"Melanie Oudin has quickly become a household name in the world of tennis, and we are so proud of her accomplishments both on and off the court," said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran Airways' vice president of marketing and sales. "Melanie joins a great lineup of celebrity endorsers including Indy Racing Star Danica Patrick, Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Matt Ryan, Atlanta Thrasher Ilya Kovalchuk and Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning just to name just a few."

Oudin is currently ranked number 44 in the world on the Sony Ericsson WTA Singles Tour and, appearing in only her second U.S. Open, recently topped seeded players Elena Dementieva (#4), Maria Sharapova (#29) and Nadia Petrova (#13) before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. Oudin was the youngest quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open since Serena Williams' appearance in 1999, and is now the third highest ranked American singles player behind Serena and Venus Williams.

"I am thrilled to have AirTran as a partner as I strive to reach my goals as a professional tennis player," commented Melanie Oudin. "It means so much to me that a local company is supporting me and I am truly excited about this partnership."

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AirTran Airways Introduces New E-Ticketing Capabilities for Corporate Travelers

PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI) , today announced on the floor at the annual National Business Travel Association convention held in Los Angeles, Calif., that the airline has introduced new e-ticketing capabilities to simplify the booking, ticketing and reporting process for corporate travelers through select global distribution systems (GDS). The airline is adding this new enhancement to save corporations time and money when booking AirTran Airways through the GDS.

This enhancement is another step in AirTran Airways' ongoing commitment to make it easy to do business with the airline. Effective today, e-ticketing will be available initially through the Sabre GDS and will enable corporations and travel management companies to book AirTran Airways in the same fashion as any other airline.

The benefits of e-tickets are reduced documentation costs, enhanced passenger check-in options, reduced fraud, and the elimination of lost, stolen and pre-paid tickets.

In the coming months, the airline will be announcing additional capabilities through the GDS systems, such as improved seat assignment and Business Class upgrade functionality, frequent traveler recognition, and expanded corporate program integration.

AirTran Airways pioneered ticketless travel fifteen years ago and will continue to offer ticketless travel while adding e-ticket travel. Ticketless travel, available through www.airtran.com or 800-AIRTRAN, is a reservation with a confirmation number and payment is settled through the airline. E- ticketing is a reservation which includes a ticket number, an accounting and reporting trail, inventory management, and other airline interline options, and payment is settled through the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). E- ticketing will give corporate travelers more ticketing and interline capabilities.

"We are committed to building our corporate business, and the introduction of e-ticketing is a major step forward for AirTran Airways," said Paul G. Clements, general manager of sales for AirTran Airways. "While we will continue to be a ticketless airline, AirTran Airways will work to improve GDS functionality for our corporate partners."

"Moving to a 100% e-ticketing environment is a very significant industry initiative," said David Gross, senior vice president of Airline Distribution for Sabre Travel Network. "AirTran Airways is a valuable partner of Sabre's and we are delighted to be to the first GDS to launch e-ticketing with them. We look forward to launching additional functionality that will continue to streamline and enhance the booking process."