Airtran 1999 Annual Report Download - page 8

BOEING 717: EQUIPPED FOR THE FUTURE
AirTran Airways took delivery of not only its first new
Boeing 717-200 in September, but also the first-ever
Boeing 717 aircraft, making us one of the youngest
carriers to be a launch customer for a new aircraft.
In May, the first Boeing 717-200 production-configured
airplane, painted in AirTran Airways’ livery, successfully
completed a simulated airline tour. The tour, known as
the Pre-Aircraft Certification Airline Simulated Operation
(PACASO), was used to demonstrate the Boeing 717’s
operational performance as well as our ground support
capabilities. During this ten-day tour, the plane made
stops in each of our markets and was part of media
events in Atlanta, Orlando and New York.
After the successful completion of this tour, we began
pilot, flight attendant, dispatch and maintenance training.
When it was time to bring the first plane home, a group
of employees with perfect attendance records flew to
Boeing’s Long Beach, California, facility for a delivery
ceremony before returning to Atlanta for a press confer-
ence. Georgia Governor Roy Barnes joined Joe Leonard,
chairman and CEO, Bob Fornaro, president and CFO,
and Boeing officials in welcoming the new plane to
Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport and the AirTran
Airways’ fleet. The plane entered revenue service on
October 14 and flew its first flight between Hartsfield
Atlanta International Airport and Dulles International
Airport near Washington, D.C.
Designed for AirTran Airways
The new Boeing 717 was designed specifically for
efficient, short-haul service, fast turnaround at airport
gates and the ability to sustain eight to ten one-hour
flights each day. With a range of more than 1,500
statute miles, the Boeing 717 gives us the opportunity
to serve markets not previously feasible. In addition to
the performance reliability and flexibility this plane
brings to our fleet, it is among the most modern, quiet,
comfortable and safe airplanes available today. It is the
cornerstone of our future growth.
Smart Interior
The Boeing 717’s all-new, spacious interior provides
considerable improvement in passenger comfort.
• 117 seats in mixed class configuration – 12 Business
Class, 105 coach class
• 18 percent increased capacity in EasyFit overhead
bins (same storage capacity per person as Boeing’s
747 aircraft)
• 100 percent fresh air circulation throughout the cabin
• Quiet, in-cabin experience
• Five-across coach class seating, reducing the number
of middle seats to only 21
• Three lavatories with baby-changing stations
• Moveable armrests on 85 percent of the aisle seats,
for passengers with special needs
• Backlit handrails along the EasyFit overhead bins
Flight Deck Advancements
The Boeing 717’s two-crew flight deck was created for
the 21st century with the most modern and proven
avionics technology of any airplane in its class. Pilots
from AirTran Airways, as well as other airlines, met with
Boeing engineers for nearly two years to design a flight
deck that would be as modern tomorrow as it is today.
• Six interchangeable liquid crystal display units,
enabling convenient replacements
• Global Positioning System
• Honeywell flight guidance system
• Dual flight management system
• Enhanced ground proximity warning system
• Predictive windshear detection and guidance
Financially Superior
The new aircraft eventually will replace most of our
DC-9s and all of our Boeing 737 fleet. The 717s are
expected to impact our bottom line by:
• Increasing average seats per departure by more than
eight percent (106 to 117)
• Dramatically reducing costs due to:
– Increased fuel efficiency of the BRR-715 engine,
created by BMW/Rolls-Royce, allowing it to fly nearly
400 miles farther on the same amount of fuel
– Lower maintenance efforts
– 14 percent lower operating costs (estimated)
It is estimated that if AirTran Airways were to fly an
entire fleet of Boeing 717s today, we could save as
much as $65 million in operating costs annually.
Financing
The end of 1999 brought an important milestone in
the turnaround of AirTran Airways’ completion of the
financing for ten of the new Boeing 717 aircraft. We
completed the private placement of $178.9 million
aggregate principal amount of enhanced equipment
trust certificates (EETCs), and the proceeds from the
offering will finance the first ten airplanes.