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AirTran Acquisition By Southwest Airlines Stirs Up Questions In Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) - With this month's acquisition of AirTran by Southwest Airlines, there's been some talk around Atlantic City about what the transaction will mean for the airport down the shore.

AirTran now offers a pair of daily flights between Atlantic City and their hub in Atlanta. Atlantic City airport managers have made no secret of their hopes that Southwest will increase that service and connect to other cities. For now, it's status quo at both airlines, according to Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon.

"We just closed the deal with AirTran on May 2nd. So now we are beginning to merge the two airlines."

It is a process that could take up to two years to complete. Eventually, they'll all fly under the Southwest brand. But it's way too early to even think about what happens to service. Spirit Airlines, the other low cost carrier in Atlantic City, recently increased its service with non-stop flights to Chicago.

Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio

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