AirTran battles headwinds
Jason Garcia | Sentinel Staff Writer
June 10, 2008
AirTran Airways is in a fight for survival.
Like other U.S. airlines, AirTran -- the only major airline based in Florida and one of the largest companies headquartered in Orlando -- is trying to hang on in an environment of once-unthinkable fuel prices and a faltering U.S. economy.
Fuel once accounted for less than a fifth of AirTran's costs; this year, it could make up almost half. The airline expects its total fuel bill will rise nearly 70 percent this year, to almost $1.4 billion.
Shares in its parent company, AirTran Holdings Inc., have dropped 74 percent in the past year, to $3.03. They haven't been that low since 2002.
Story
Jason Garcia | Sentinel Staff Writer
June 10, 2008
AirTran Airways is in a fight for survival.
Like other U.S. airlines, AirTran -- the only major airline based in Florida and one of the largest companies headquartered in Orlando -- is trying to hang on in an environment of once-unthinkable fuel prices and a faltering U.S. economy.
Fuel once accounted for less than a fifth of AirTran's costs; this year, it could make up almost half. The airline expects its total fuel bill will rise nearly 70 percent this year, to almost $1.4 billion.
Shares in its parent company, AirTran Holdings Inc., have dropped 74 percent in the past year, to $3.03. They haven't been that low since 2002.
Story
