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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: (Media) Andrea Apter
407/251-5578
(Financial) Arne Haak
407/251-3618
AIRTRAN HOLDINGS, INC., (AAIR) REPORTS RECORD SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
. Record Second Quarter Earnings of $22.6 Million
. Sixth Consecutive Profitable Quarter
. Earnings Per Share Growth of 50 percent year over year
. All Time Record Quarterly Revenue of $160.8 Million
. All Time Record Revenue Per Available Seat Mile (RASM) of 10.66 cents per
mile
. All Time Record Passenger Enplanements - 1,962,710 passengers
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 12, 2000) -- AirTran Holdings, Inc., (NASDAQ: AAIR), the
parent company of AirTran Airways, reported record second quarter net income of
$22.6 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $15.0
million, or 22 cents per diluted share, for the second quarter of 1999. Total
operating income for the second quarter of 2000 increased by 47.4 percent to
$31.6 million. Operating margin grew to 19.7 percent, an improvement of 4.4
points over the previous year.
Total revenue grew by 14.8 percent to $160.8 million - a quarterly revenue
record for the company. Passenger unit revenue increased by 9.7 percent to
10.66 cents per mile, also a company record.
"Second quarter 2000 is AirTran Holdings' sixth consecutive profitable
quarter," said Joe Leonard, AirTran Airways' chairman and chief executive
officer. "We continue to see steady growth in both the business and leisure
market segments, allowing us to simultaneously raise both load factor and
yields. Our record revenue growth has allowed AirTran Airways to achieve strong
earnings growth in a period of abnormally high fuel prices. Perhaps most
important were the efforts of our dedicated employees who delivered high-quality
service during a quarter of heavy loads and a difficult air traffic environment.
Now that we have established a sound financial and operational foundation, we
are poised to grow the company in the second half of the year," stated Leonard.
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AirTran Holdings, Inc., Reports Profit In Second Quarter 2000/ Page 2
AirTran Airways' traffic, or revenue passenger miles (RPMs), grew 13.3
percent on a 4.8 percent increase in capacity, or available seat miles (ASMs).
Load factor increased by 5.5 points to 72.8 percent. AirTran Airways' yield
(average fare per mile) grew by 1.4 percent to 14.64 cents. AirTran Airways
carried 1,962,710 passengers in the second quarter of 2000, which is 11.3
percent more than in the same period last year and a company record.
AirTran Airways' non-fuel cost per available seat mile (CASM) dropped by
6.5 percent to 6.75 cents. Operating costs, including fuel, increased 3.9
percent to 8.81 cents as compared with 8.48 cents in the second quarter of 1999.
AirTran Airways ended the second quarter with $96.8 million in cash, of
which $29.5 million is restricted. EBITDA improved to $36.7 million, a 23.5
percent improvement versus last year's second quarter.
Highlights of the airline's accomplishments in the second quarter 2000
include:
. Initiated service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago (Midway)
. Arranged financing for all Boeing 717 aircraft through Feb. 2002
. Placed the airline's eleventh Boeing 717 in service
. Booked nearly a third of its tickets via the Internet
. Contracted with PROS Revenue Management to provide a new automated
revenue management system to forecast demand and optimize the allocation
of seat inventory
. Testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate,
regarding AirTran Airways' potential to offer a low-fare network at
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
. Improved hub structure in Atlanta by offering more and better-timed
flights and by increasing frequencies to markets where demand warranted
. Appointed W.J. (Bill) Usery, former Secretary of Labor, to the Board of
Directors
Systemwide, AirTran Airways operates 292 daily departures to 31 cities.
Offering the convenience of easy, same concourse connections in Atlanta, AirTran
Airways operates 133 daily departures from Hartsfield Atlanta International
Airport, the world's busiest airport.
AirTran Airways provides everyday, affordable air travel throughout the
eastern United States, and unlike other airlines, never requires a roundtrip
purchase or Saturday night stay. AirTran Airways is the launch customer for the
Boeing 717, today's newest, most innovative commercial aircraft.
AirTran Airways is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAIR).
Effective July 14, 2000, AirTran Holdings' common stock will be traded on the
American Stock Exchange under the
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AirTran Holdings, Inc., Reports Profit In Second Quarter 2000/ Page 3
ticker symbol AAI.
For more information and reservations, visit AirTran Airways' Web site at
www.airtran.com, call your travel agent or call AirTran Airways at 800-AIRTRAN
(800-247-8726) or 770-994-8258 (in Atlanta).
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Editor's note: Statements regarding the Company's growth in market segments,
revenue, earnings, load factors, yields, Internet bookings as well as statements
about the Company's financial and operational foundation, future profitability
and their impact on 2000 are forward-looking statements and are not historical
facts. Instead, they are estimates or projections involving numerous risks or
uncertainties, including but not limited to, consumer demand and acceptance of
services offered by the Company, the Company's ability to maintain current cost
levels, fare levels and actions by competitors, regulatory matters and general
economic conditions. The Company disclaims any obligation or duty to update or
correct any of its forward-looking statements.
** Attached: Consolidated Statements of Operations **
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AirTran Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data and statistical summary)
(Unaudited)
For the six months ended
June 30, Variance
2000 1999 Percentage
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<S> <C> <C> <C>
Operating revenues:
Passenger $ 284,749 $ 250,960 13.5%
Cargo 2,073 1,966 5.4%
Other 6,355 6,962 (8.7%)
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Total operating revenues 293,177 259,888 12.8%
Operating expenses:
Salaries, wages and benefits 66,267 57,050 16.2%
Aircraft fuel 59,172 31,349 88.8%
Maintenance, materials and repairs 34,546 49,164 (29.7%)
Distribution 19,391 19,404 (0.1%)
Landing fees and other rents 13,739 13,011 5.6%
Marketing and advertising 9,044 10,007 (9.6%)
Aircraft rent 4,992 2,646 88.7%
Depreciation 10,223 15,643 (34.6%)
Other operating 32,343 31,158 3.8%
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Total operating expenses 249,717 229,432 8.8%
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Operating income 43,460 30,456 42.7%
Interest (income) expense
Interest income (2,254) (925) 143.7%
Interest expense 19,099 11,902 60.5%
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Interest expense, net 16,845 10,977 53.5%
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Income before income taxes 26,615 19,479 36.6%
Income tax expense 1,125 1,466 (23.3%)
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Net income $ 25,490 $ 18,013 41.5%
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Basic earnings per share $ 0.39 $ 0.28 39.3%
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Diluted earnings per share $ 0.37 $ 0.26 42.3%
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EBITDA 53,683 46,099 16.5%
Operating Margin 14.8% 11.7% 3.1pts.
Basic shares outstanding 65,724 64,936 1.2%
Diluted shares outstanding 68,990 68,147 1.2%
Six Month Statistical Summary:
Revenue passengers 3,554,093 3,262,861 8.9%
Revenue passenger miles (000's) 1,922,386 1,752,706 9.7%
Available seat miles (000's) 2,803,657 2,734,550 2.5%
Passenger load factor 68.6% 64.1% 4.5pts.
Break-even load factor 62.2% 59.1% 3.1pts.
Average fare $ 80.12 $ 76.91 4.2%
Average yield per RPM 14.81 cents 14.32 cents 3.4%
Passenger revenue per ASM 10.16 cents 9.18 cents 10.7%
Operating cost per ASM 8.91 cents 8.39 cents 6.2%
Non-fuel operating cost per ASM 6.80 cents 7.24 cents (6.1)%
Average cost of aircraft fuel per gallon 87.86 cents 45.97 cents 91.1 %
Number of aircraft in fleet at end of period 50 49
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