HERNANDO, MISS. — On the fifth anniversary of its first flight (June 6, 2013) Southern Airways announces the launch of its interline agreement with American Airlines. Interline American Airline tickets to/from the current Southern-served cities of Johnstown,Altoona, and DuBois are now available for purchase. The American interline for other Southern Airways cities in the mid-Atlantic will be active in the near future.
Southern’s interline with American means local passengers can book a seamless travel experience from Johnstown, Altoona, and DuBois to any of American’s destinations across the globe. These seamless connections include single-point check-in at the local airport for the entire trip and checked baggage that is delivered to the final destination. It also means Southern Airways’ local agents can assist passengers with rebooking an American connecting flight at no cost if Southern’s flights are delayed or canceled.
"We are honored to announce American Airlines as our first interline partner in a line of new Southern partnerships that will be announced over the coming weeks and months,” said Stan Little, Chairman and CEO of Southern Airways. “The passenger experience when traveling on Southern and connecting to other airlines is now at a whole new level.”
American Airlines offers more connections from Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) than any other legacy carrier.
“We are thrilled with the agreement between Southern Airways and American Airlines, “ said Tracy Plessinger, Manager of the Altoona-Blair County Airport. “As the successor to US Airways, and the world’s largest airline, American is the preferred carrier for many of our passengers. This agreement will allow for seamless, hassle-free travel on American, and add an important convenience to the continued expansion of services for passengers utilizing the Altoona Airport.”
Southern Airways is the Essential Air Service provider for all of the Pennsylvania airports that are in that program. “The interline ticketing and baggage agreement with American Airlines is just one of many improvements to local air service in which Southern has made a considerable investment,” said Mark Cestari, Chief Commercial Officer of Southern Airways. “Some of our communities haven’t seen an interline in years. We are confident this new partnership will bring a considerable boost to traffic, giving the Department of Transportation yet another reason to continue its support for the service.”
Southern and American interline tickets for a seamless travel experience may be purchased by calling a local travel agent, calling American Airlines Reservations. They can also be purchased online at popular online travel websites such as Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, and Travelocity.com. Interline tickets are not yet available for purchase on aa.com and iFlySouthern.com, but those distribution channels are expected to come online later this year.
Passengers looking for more information about the Southern and American partnership may call Southern Airways at 1-800-329-0485 or visit Southern’s website at, www.iFlySouthern.com.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Todd Smith ([email protected] 615-202-7944) or Southern’s chief marketing officer, Keith Sisson ([email protected] 228-313-9920).