ATLANTA -- Southwest Airlines has begun booking flights out of Atlanta.
The popular carrier will start serving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in February, following its May purchase of AirTran Airways.
Atlanta was the only major domestic city where Southwest didn't have operations.
Southwest's president and CEO Gary Kelly said he is optimistic he can improve fares, the flight schedule and airline profitability.
Flights out of Atlanta are available to be booked on www.southwest.com. Right now, the window for those first flights is February 12, 2012 through early March. In September, Southwest will add more travel dates.
Initially, there will be just 15 daily departures to several U.S. cities like Baltimore, Austin and Denver. The long-term plan includes more than 100 daily departures from Atlanta.
"There's a lot of uncertainty just in the market right now due to the economy and the outlook for business travel, fuel prices, all of those will have some bearing on what we do in the near term," Kelly said.
Long term, Kelly said he's bullish about his airline's growth prospects.
Southwest is the largest domestic U.S. carrier. Delta solidified its status of being the world's largest airline after merging with Northwest Airlines.
Delta, and other legacy carriers, charge for passengers to change reservations and for checked bags. In fact, combined, the major carriers make billions of dollars a year on fees from baggage handling.
Southwest doesn't charge those fees.
While this will likely add pressure and create a more competitive environment, Jeff Rosensweig, an associate professor of finance at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, said differentiation will be key for Delta.
"I think what Delta is going to have to do is not try to compete with Southwest on Southwest's terms; that's probably going to be a losing proposition, " Rosensweig said. "What Delta has to do is differentiate -- through service, through trying to capture the more profitable traveler, which is the Atlanta business traveler."
In an emailed statement to 11Alive News, Atlanta's hometown carrier said, "Delta competes vigorously with low-cost airlines in Atlanta and nationwide. Delta's customers choose us because of our industry-leading global network, which connects Atlanta nonstop to cities including Shanghai, London, Paris, Johannesburg and Sao Paulo, as well as our amenities including nine Delta Sky Clubs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; in-flight Wi-Fi on our entire domestic mainline fleet; and more First Class seats than any other U.S. carrier."