Another AirTran dot vanishes as Southwest begins Key West flights

Southwest launched its own to Key West, Fla., on Sunday (Nov. 4), assimilating another of AirTran's destinations into its own..

The Key West transition had already been announced, but the switchover from AirTran service to Southwest-branded flights marks another milestone in Southwest's merger with AirTran.

"Southwest attributes its entrance into the market … to the roots planted by its wholly-owned subsidiary AirTran Airways," Southwest says in a release touting its Key West debut.

Southwest has assumed the two daily round-trip flights to Orlando and Tampa that AirTran had flown up until Saturday.

Additionally, Southwest announced plans to add a new route from Key West: New Orleans, with nonstop flights to begin March 9. Once that route launches, Southwest says Key West will have nonstop or connecting service to 75 of its destinations.

"Our arrival in Key West represents one of the true benefits of our integration with AirTran Airways, allowing us to continue to bring low fares and legendary Customer Service to the Florida Keys," Kevin Krone, Southwest's VP-Marketing, Sales, and Distribution, says in the release. "Key West is a destination our Customers have been eagerly awaiting."

Key West becomes the 78th city with Southwest service

Southwest closed on its acquisition of AirTran in 2011 and has slowly been integrating that carrier's operation into its own.

Southwest has yet to announce a precise timetable for the full integration of AirTran, though it has said it expects to begin selling connecting tickets that bridge both carrier's schedules sometime in 2013. The completion of the merger, however, will likely take several more years.

On that note: Even while Southwest continues to wind AirTran service in some markets, it's adding new AirTran routes in some others. One of the most-recent, comes at Baltimore/Washington, which will get new AirTran service to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic beginning this April.

Southwest, which currently lacks the technological capability to sell tickets on international routes, has been relying on its AirTran subsidiary to provide such service.