ValuJet Airlines, whose name became indelibly linked to the Florida Everglades crash that killed 110 people last year, will change its name today to AirTran Airlines.
Company officials will announce the name change at ValuJet’s Atlanta headquarters and will unveil the airline’s new business strategy, featuring the carrier’s first assigned seating and new business-class service.
ValuJet announced in July it would merge with Orlando-based AirTran Airways to form a new parent company, AirTran Holdings Inc.
The merger is expected to be completed later this year. For now, AirTran Airways and AirTran Airlines will operate as separate companies.
Airline officials have yet to announce where the new carrier will base its headquarters, which is expected to bring with it hundreds of jobs.
They have repeatedly said Orlando is the leading contender for the headquarters, and a decision had been expected earlier this month. However, worries by company officials about Florida’s tax structure apparently have delayed the decision.
State and local officials said the airline’s concerns include Florida’s sales tax, which would apply to about $1 billion in new aircraft the carrier plans to purchase during the next several years. The airline would be exempt from the tax in Atlanta and suburban Washington, the other contenders for the headquarters.
Airline representatives met last week with Gov. Lawton Chiles’ staff and Florida Senate President Toni Jennings, R-Orlando, to discuss their concerns about the state’s taxes.
ValuJet began flying in 1994 and posted industry-record profit margins before the May 1996 crash of Flight 592 raised safety concerns that prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground the airline temporarily. The airline has not returned to profitability following the crash.
The new business strategy to be announced today marks a departure for the carrier, which found its niche as a no-frills airline with rock-bottom fares. The changes will include new business-class service with wider seats and reservations available through travel agency computer systems, which until now haven’t been connected to ValuJet.
