By Molly Parker
Staff Writer

AirTran Holdings Inc., parent company of the budget airline serving Charleston and 54 other cities around the nation, has posted record third-quarter earnings, tripling its net income in the first nine months of the year compared to finances through September a year ago, the company announced Tuesday.

During the quarter, AirTran Airways Inc. served a record 6.4 million passengers, up more than 25% from the same time last year. Charleston is one of AirTran’s new markets, having started service here in late May after the region was without a discount carrier for more than a year. All told, 69,657 passengers departed or arrived on AirTran aircraft at the Charleston International Airport during the third-quarter months of July, August and September.

The Orlando-headquartered company on Tuesday reported a third-quarter net income of $10.6 million, compared to a $4.6 million loss during the same time last year. AirTran would have posted a more lucrative income of $17.3 million if not for $6.6 million in expenses related to unsuccessful attempts by the company to acquire Midwest Air Group.

“I am very pleased with our third-quarter performance,” Joe Leonard, chairman and chief executive officer of AirTran Airways, said in a statement. “We confronted high fuel costs, adverse weather and air traffic control delays in some of our major East Coast markets, but our operational performance and service levels stayed well ahead of the competition. We remain on track to make 2007 our ninth consecutive year of success.”

During the quarter, AirTran capacity, measured by available seats, increased 20.9% and revenue generated per passenger mile was up 32.3%, the company reported.

The end of September marked the first full quarter for AirTran in the Charleston market. The company’s arrival has driven airport traffic to record highs.

Enplanements in September, the latest available numbers, were up 40% from the same period last year, airport records show. Independence Air, the last budget airline to serve the Charleston market, went out of business in early 2006. Passenger air traffic at the Charleston airport dropped dramatically when the company folded in bankruptcy.

In June 2006 there were 23,113 fewer passengers flying out of the Charleston airport than in June of this year, AirTran’s first full month in the market. In 2005—a “record year” that included service by Independence Air—there were still 12,224 fewer passengers during the same month.

“I believe these are people who have not been flying in the past,” said David Jennings, chairman of the Charleston County Aviation Authority. “If they’re businesspeople, maybe where they had teleconferences in the past they’re now doing more face-to-face meetings. If they’re vacationers, say a family of four who could not afford to fly to Charleston or from Charleston and would choose to drive, now they’re willing to fly.”

Two AirTran carriers depart daily from the Charleston International Airport in the morning, at 6:05 and 10:50 a.m., and two in the evening, at 4:05 and 7:20 p.m.