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AirTran Airways Reports Record Traffic in December and For 2008

Posted on: Monday, 5 January 2009, 15:51 CST

- 2008 Traffic Increases by 9.6 Percent -

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), today reported setting new December records for traffic, load factor and total passengers and annual records in 2008 for traffic, capacity, load factor and total passengers.

For December, AirTran Airways traffic increased 2.3 percent to more than 1.4 billion RPMs and load factor climbed 7.1 percentage points to 79.8 percent. The number of enplaned passengers jumped 0.6 percent to over 1.9 million.

For the fourth quarter, load factor climbed 3.4 percentage points to 78.7 percent.

For 2008, traffic increased 9.6 percent to more than 18.9 billion RPMs on a 4.9 percent rise in capacity, and load factor climbed 3.4 percentage points to 79.6 percent. The number of enplaned passengers jumped 3.5 percent to 24.6 million.

AirTran Airways December 2008 Traffic (Preliminary) December 2008 December 2007 Change ------------- ------------- ------ Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 1,456,396 1,423,870 2.3% Available Seat Miles (000) 1,825,229 1,959,661 -6.9% Load Factor 79.8% 72.7% 7.1 points Passengers Enplaned 1,945,868 1,933,340 0.6% 4Q 2008 4Q 2007 Change ------- ------- ------ Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 4,218,819 4,313,551 -2.2% Available Seat Miles (000) 5,359,177 5,732,017 -6.5% Load Factor 78.7% 75.3% 3.4 points Passengers Enplaned 5,754,446 5,934,141 -3.0% Y-T-D 2008 Y-T-D 2007 Change ---------- ---------- ------ Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 18,955,843 17,297,724 9.6% Available Seat Miles (000) 23,809,190 22,692,355 4.9% Load Factor 79.6% 76.2% 3.4 points Passengers Enplaned 24,619,120 23,780,058 3.5%

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), a Fortune 1000 company, is ranked number one in the 2008 Airline Quality Rating study. The airline offers coast-to-coast flights, North America's newest all-Boeing fleet, friendly service and Business Class and complimentary XM Satellite Radio on every flight. To book a flight, visit http://www.airtran.com .

Editor's note: Statements regarding the Company's operational and financial success, business model, expectation about future success, improved operational performance and our ability to maintain or improve our low costs are forward-looking statements and are not historical facts. Instead, they are estimates or projections involving numerous risks or uncertainties, including but not limited to, consumer demand and acceptance of services offered by the Company, the Company's ability to maintain current cost levels, fare levels and actions by competitors, regulatory matters and general economic conditions. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. The Company disclaims any obligation or duty to update or correct any of its forward-looking statements.

Media Contacts: AirTran Airways Tad Hutcheson Judy Graham-Weaver Cynthia Tinsley-Douglas 678.254.7442

SOURCE AirTran Airways

Source: PR Newswire

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