Airtran 2008 Annual Report Download - page 9

PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The Company
All of the flight operations of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (the Company, AirTran, or Holdings) are conducted by
our wholly-owned subsidiary, AirTran Airways, Inc. (AirTran Airways or Airways) (collectively we, our, or
us). AirTran Airways is one of the largest low cost scheduled airlines in the United States in terms of departures
and seats offered. We operate scheduled airline service throughout the United States with a concentration in the
eastern United States. A majority of our flights originate or terminate at our largest hub in Atlanta, Georgia. As
of February 2, 2009, we operated 86 Boeing B717-200 aircraft (B717) and 50 Boeing B737-700 aircraft (B737)
offering approximately 700 scheduled flights per day to 56 locations in the United States (including San Juan,
Puerto Rico). Additionally, we have announced that we will commence service to Cancun, Mexico and
Branson, Missouri in the first half of 2009 and may add additional markets later in the year.
Our service is designed not only to satisfy the transportation needs of our target customers, but also to provide
customers with a travel experience worth repeating. We flew 24.6 million revenue passengers during 2008, a
3.5 percent increase from the 23.8 million revenue passengers we served in 2007. Our operating cost structure
ranks among the lowest among major airlines. We believe that we have the lowest non-fuel unit operating costs
among United States major airlines on an aircraft stage length adjusted basis. We use our low cost advantage to
provide value to both business and leisure customers.
Our principal executive offices are located at 9955 AirTran Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32827, and our
telephone number is [phone]. Our official Web site address is http://www.airtran.com. We make
available, free of charge, at http://www.airtran.com, the charters for the committees of our board of directors,
our code of conduct and ethics, and, as soon as practicable after we file them with the SEC, our annual reports
on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports.
We also post filings under Section 16 of the Exchange Act on our Web site. Any waiver of the terms of our
code of conduct and ethics for the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, any accounting officer, and
all other executive officers will be disclosed on our Web site.
The reference to our Web site does not constitute incorporation by reference of any information contained at
that site.
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is centered on providing quality low fare service by operating a strong Atlanta hub and
network system utilizing a modern aircraft fleet of all Boeing aircraft.
Prior to 2008, we positioned ourselves as a growth airline. We successfully grew our business at double-digit
rates annually from 2000 through 2007, and at a rate of 4.9 percent in 2008. Nevertheless, in 2008, to respond to
the challenges of a volatile fuel cost environment, a weaker macroeconomic environment, and very adverse
capital market conditions, we recast our plans which resulted in our deferral of previously planned growth. We
implemented reductions in fleet size, capacity, and capital expenditures. We reduced capacity principally by
deferring scheduled aircraft deliveries, reducing utilization, and by selling B737 aircraft. We reduced our
capacity (as measured by available seat miles) in the last four months of 2008 from a planned ten percent
increase to a reduction of approximately seven percent compared to the comparable period of 2007. We are
also reducing 2009 capacity. By adjusting our business strategy and implementing revised tactics, we believe
we have positioned AirTran Airways to deal with the volatile fuel cost environment, the current economic
recession, and the reduction in consumer demand. We expect to be ready to resume our historical growth
strategy when the business environment allows.
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