AirTran Sets Final Flight Date: December 28

It’s official: AirTran’s final flight will be on December 28, between Atlanta and Tampa.

Thereafter, all remaining AirTran flights will be given Southwest flight numbers. That doesn’t mean you won’t still be seeing the occasional AirTran plane—it will take several months to repaint the AirTran fleet in Southwest’s colors.

The final-flight announcement is just the latest publicized milestone in the slow-motion consolidation of Southwest and AirTran, following their merger in 2011. Earlier this month, Southwest announced that AirTran’s A+ Rewards program would be folded into the Rapid Rewards program on November 2.

That Atlanta-Tampa flight on December 28 will be doubly significant. In addition to marking the last day of AirTran operations, it will retrace the first flight flown by AirTran’s predecessor, ValuJet, on October 26, 1993.

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.
You Might Also Like:

• Singapore Drops World’s Longest Flight
• Do Airline Baggage Fees Squeeze U.S. Taxpayers?
• Delayed Europe Flight? Know Your Rights