As a result of our commitment to providing affordable air travel, families can get together more often, business people can actually shake hands face-to-face instead of relying on impersonal faxes and voice mail.

New Leadership
Our first step was to bring in an entirely new management team. Starting at the top with CEO Joe Corr, a thirty-year veteran of the airline industry; a man whose credentials real like a Who's Who of aviation. Joe is a registered pilot certified to fly a 747. At 6'7" tall, Joe's stature is as big as the challenges he takes on. Joe is a hands-on manager with the expertise and people skills required to bring two airlines together as one. He is committed to providing the flying public a better travel experience.

Rob Swenson at the age of 24 became president and chief executive officer of a company which became Mesaba Aviation, Inc. in 1981 which ten years later was voted "The Best Managed Regional Airline" by Airline Executive International magazine. Thus began a long successful career of building and turning around airlines. As the chairman of AirTran Airways, Mr. Swenson has been the driving force in the development and expansion of the carrier's business strategy of providing safe and affordable jet travel with fewer restrictions to give customers the most value for their travel dollar. Rob will serve as non-executive chairman of the merged airline.

Then there's Jim Jensen, our Senior Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering, who comes to us directly from McDonnell Douglas, after first spending 25 years with Trans World Airlines. Nobody knows more about aircraft than Jim.

Jim and his team recently oversaw the rigorous inspection of our entire fleet by the Federal Aviation Administration. Rivet by rivet. Bolt by bolt.

All New Standards
A new airline is more than a new coat of paint. And while ValuJet and AirTran were always known for great low-fares, we believe a new airline should provide much more than that. It's time for some big new ideas. Like a business class any business can afford. Four rows of tow-by-two seats with seven more inches of legroom and four more inches of seat width than the typical coach seats. You can upgrade for as little as $25 over the regular one-way coach fare.

And don't expect a cattle-car boarding procedure like on typical low-fare airlines. Starting in mid-October, the new AirTran will have assigned seating on all of its flights. Low-fares and "seat grabbing free-for-all" are no longer synonymous. We're also developing a new check-in procedure that will whisk you onboard in true 21st century fashion.

As we work hard to win you loyalty, rest assured we won't stop thinking of ways to make low-fare air travel a more enjoyable experience. You'll always be able to count on us for affordable unrestricted fares everywhere we fly. But you can always expect a whole lot more. The new AirTran. It's something else.

Our Report Card
With safety as the primary consideration, the real test of airline performance is whether it operates on time. The airline's on-time performance (percentage of flights arriving within fifteen minutes of schedule) from October 1996 to May 1997 was 81.5 percent compared to an average of 75 percent reported by the ten major U.S. carriers who are required to submit flight delay data to the Department of Transportation.

Airline Reliability Ratings for On-Time Arrivals
Canceled flights are another good measure of reliability, and our record here is equally strong, with a 99.2% completion rate between October 1996 and August 1997.

Airline Reliability Ratings for Mishandled Baggage
Another test of customer satisfaction in a business where people are traveling is whether or not their luggage arrives when and where they do. In this category, too, we are among the best.