southwest will fly atlanta to islip new york

Southwest Airlines' proposed acquisition of AirTran Airways could create enhanced schedule and air fare competition and new routes at atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport.
The airline is awaiting regulatory approval for the acquisition and expects it to close during the second quarter. Acquiring Orlando, Florida-based AirTran will allow Southwest to begin flights at Atlanta and Washington’s Reagan National airport and expand service from New York’s LaGuardia.
Southwest will begin flights from New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International March 27, and Kelly said the carrier is interested in growing there and at LaGuardia if more takeoff and landing slots become available.
Service will continue at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, New York, even as Southwest boosts service at the larger New York-area airports, Kelly said. Southwest has 24 daily departures from Islip new york.
AirTran's U.S. destinations include some Southwest doesn't yet have, such as Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Akron/Canton;Flint, Mich.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Gulfport, Miss.; Rochester, N.Y.
Kelly said Southwest eventually expects to operate 80 to 120 737-800s. The bigger plane has 175 seats, 28 percent more than the 737-700, is about 10 percent more fuel efficient and should trim costs to fly each seat a mile (1.6 kilometers) by about 15 percent.
Southwest has raised ticket prices six times this year, a rate that Kelly said probably is unprecedented, to help cover a 33 percent jump in the price of jet fuel in 2011 through yesterday. At this point, the airline isn’t considering joining its biggest U.S. peers in trimming planned 2011 growth to curb spending on fuel, he said.

“If fuel will moderate from here, we won’t be forced to seek higher fares to offset that,” he said.