Flights to Mexico from Orange County's John Wayne Airport will begin June 3, AirTran Airways has announced.
The airline, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest, will fly once a day in each direction to Cabo San Lucas, a popular resort on the tip of Baja California. A separate daily flight each way will serve Mexico City, the Mexican capital and largest city. The airline will operate new Boeing 737-700s on the routes.
The Mexico City flight departs Orange County at 10:21 a.m. and arrives in Mexico City at 3:56 p.m. The flight from Mexico City departs at 4:46 p.m. The flight time is three hours and 35 minutes. The arrival time will change when the time changes each spring and fall.
The Cabo San Lucas flight will depart at 2:18 p.m. and arrive at 5:35 p.m. The flight from Cabo will leave at 6:25 p.m. and arrive at 7:45 p.m. The flight time is two hours and 20 minutes.
The discrepancy in flight times with departure and arrival times is due to time zone differences.
AirTran announced an introductory fare of $109 each way to Mexico City, but a look at the AirTran website on Saturday (Dec. 17) shows that the lower fare is already sold out on the O.C.-Mexico City segment through the first week of service. The lowest price available on the O.C.-Mexico City segment was $419, just $35 less than the business class fare.
The introductory airfare to Cabo San Lucas is $119 each way. The Register found the fare available in both directions as of Saturday.
The fares don't include taxes and fees. For example, on the O.C.-Cabo route taxes and fees amounted to $38.24 and Cabo-O.C. has $72.19 in taxes and fees. So the minimum $238 base fare works out to a total of $347.53
All fares are available one-way only.
Fares are subject to change and restrictions. For full details, go to airtran.com. Travelers can call the airline at 800-247-8726, however the airline charges a fee of $15 for reservations or changes made over the telephone. Also, unlike its parent company, AirTran charges for checked baggage - $20 for the first bag and $25 for the second.
AirTran also charges $6 each way to select a seat ahead of the flight. Exit rows cost $20 each way and seats near the front of the plane cost $13 to $15 additional each way.
The flights will operate out of the new Terminal C at John Wayne Airport, which is equipped with new Customs and Border Protection facilities to handle foreign arrivals. AirTran announced it would start the service last month after the Board of Supervisors approved a $300,000 annual rent discount for each foreign destination that would use the facility.