AirTran adds Baltimore, Jacksonville, Orlando flights

AirTran Airways makes money, and one of the reasons it does is that the airline flies to communities willing to subsidize the service. The latest: Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is waiving some airport fees and reimbursing AirTran for $250,000 worth of marketing expenses. Beginning May 4, AirTran will fly twice a day from Grand Rapids to Baltimore/Washington and once a day to Orlando.

Speaking of BWI, AirTran will also launch twice-daily flights to Jacksonville, Florida, on May 4. That’ll put AirTran in direct competition with Southwest Airlines on the route. AirTran will also add weekend Orlando-Des Moines flights on March 6.