At a news conference at the airport Friday, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks said decisions about changes to routes would not be finalized until August, though a preliminary announcement could come as early as Sunday.We are committed to continuing to serve these communities at first via AirTran, and eventually as Southwest, said Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines vice president and chief commercia
l officer and AirTran Airways president, in a news release.We know there are Southwest customers who want access to these cities, but have never had the opportunity, and the markets have long desired Southwest service.Currently, AirTran provides flights from Rochester to Atlanta, Baltimore, Orlando and Tampa.Nearly 20 percent of all passengers flying out of Rochester do so on an AirTran flight, according to a county news release.Brooks expressed hope about the decision.This is an opportunity for new economic expansion, she said.Low-cost airlines are critical, Brooks said. Today's announcement is validation that lobbying paid off. We worked extremely hard to bring Southwest and AirTran together at this airport.Brooks said she is optimistic that Southwest will bring more opportunities for business and family travel out of Rochester. Southwest Airlines has larger airplanes and more destinations in the western states than AirTran did.We will see opportunities for additional travel for people,Brooks said.We'll become a magnet for business.For a half-dozen other cities, the outcome was less appealing. Southwest says that it will drop AirTran service to Allentown, Pa.; Lexington, Ky.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Huntsville, Ala.; Sarasota, Fla.; and White Plains on Aug. 12.
