Southwest adds flight from Nashville to Atlanta, joins Delta with service

Southwest Airlines is adding a flight to Atlanta, bringing more options and price competition to travelers, officials announced Thursday.

The flight will be offered five times daily and will begin Aug. 7. A special rate of $19 one-way and $32 round-trip will be offered through Feb. 17.

Delta is the only airline that currently offers an Atlanta flight. Nashville business leaders had been pressing airport officials for more flight access to Atlanta, given the large number of employees frequently traveling there.

“No longer will you be faced with outrageous prices on such a short flight and, of course, the fees that other airlines charge for those flights," said Trevor Stedke, vice president of technical operations at Southwest. "Our schedule is designed to be convenient and easy so you can have a meeting in Atlanta and be home for dinner with your family that evening."

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Tommy Lewis, a senior vice president at Change Healthcare, said his company has 2,500 employees in Atlanta and 1,000 in Nashville. Company leaders are often driving back and forth, losing valuable time on the road.

While flight options exist through Delta, booking a flight on short notice can be cost prohibitive, as high as $900, he said.

"While they are driving, they can't really be productive," Lewis said. "If they choose to take the flight, that shortens their time. They can work from the plane."

Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said the airline had not determined standard fare beyond the discount rate, but that it will market-based.

Doug Kreulen, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority CEO, said an additional Atlanta flight has been a focus for a while because of customer demand.

"It helps drive the competition to low fares, which hopefully, from the airport's perspective means more passengers, more travel to and from Nashville," he said.

Kreulen said the airport is working on more travel options to Portland, Ore., as business leaders, especially in health care, have also indicated that as a key need.

Nashville tourism and business officials praised the new flight, describing Atlanta as a feeder city to Nashville.

"This is an important market for us," said Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Butch Spyridon, recounting conversations with airline officials years ago. "It’s a drive market. It needs to be a fly-drive market because it is critical for our future success... With this announcement, in August, Atlanta becomes a fly-drive market."

Southwest began operating in Nashville in 1986. It has eight nonstop departures to Chicago and Houston. It is the largest carrier at the Nashville airport.

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 at @JamieMcGee_.