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CASE 4 • AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. — 2009 39

EXHIBIT 1 AirTran’s Leadership Team
Robert Fornaro Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Kolski Executive Vice President, Operations and Corporate Affairs
Steven Rossum Executive Vice President of Corporate Development
Loral Blinde Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration
Klaus Goersch Senior Vice President, Operations
Arne Haak Senior Vice President of Finance, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
Kevin Healey Senior Vice President, Marketing and Planning
Richard Magurno Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Jack Smith Senior Vice President, Customer Service
Rocky Wiggins Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Tad Hutcheson Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Mark Osterberg Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer
Peggy Sauer-Clark Vice President, Inflight Service
Jim Tabor Vice President, Operations
Kirk Thornberg Vice President, Maintenance and Engineering
Jean-Pierre Dagon Director, Corporate Safety
Jeff Miller General Manager, Flight Operations

Source: “AirTran Airways—Investor Relations.” Retrieved March 12, 2009, from http://investor.airtran.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=64267
&p=irol-IRHome.

Aircraft Fleet and Maintenance
According to its 2008 Annual Report, the average fleet age of AirTran’s 86 Boeing 717 and
50 Boeing 737 aircraft is 5.6 years (as of February 2009). How does this average fleet
age compare to AirTran’s competitors? The most recent comparison data of fleet age is
available from AirSafe.com and is based on 2007 data. That comparison placed AirTran
at an average fleet age of 4.5 years, JetBlue at 3.2 years, Southwest at 9.8, and Delta at
13.8 years. Although not current, the comparison suggests that AirTran has a relatively
young fleet compared to its direct competitors, which should contribute to lower operating
and maintenance costs.
Aircraft maintenance is completed by both AirTran and outside contractors at the
cities served by the airline. AirTran’s maintenance, materials, and rent costs per Available
Seat Mile (ASM) only increased 1.5 percent between 2007 and 2008 (see Exhibit 4, which
appears later in this case). In its 2008 Annual Report, AirTran notes that its long-term air-
craft maintenance costs will be within industry norms.
Strategy
AirTran’s strategy is one of low cost within a narrow geographic area (the eastern United
States) with a target market of both business and leisure travelers. AirTran attributes its
low-cost advantage to a company-wide emphasis on cost controls, an emphasis on higher
labor productivity, and higher asset utilization. In addition, the use of only two aircraft
types and a fairly young Boeing 737 fleet contributes to overall efficiencies. Many of
AirTran’s competitors, however, have similar advantages, especially JetBlue and
Southwest Airlines. JetBlue operates only two aircraft types (Southwest operates only one)
and has a younger fleet; Southwest has a slightly older fleet. Both JetBlue and Southwest
have cost advantages over AirTran (as discussed in the later section on operating perfor-
mance). As such, AirTran does not appear to have a low-cost advantage when compared to
JetBlue and Southwest. It does, however, have a low-cost advantage over Delta and most
likely other legacy carriers with which it competes.
The Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport is the major hub for AirTran (62 percent of system
daily flights) and is where it has its major competition with Delta. Although AirTran’s
leading strategy is focused low cost, it differentiates itself from other low-cost carriers