- Airline to Feature Basketball Phenom in Orlando Advertising -

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), announced today the signing of Orlando Magic All-Star Center Dwight Howard. The Olympic gold medalist, 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Champion and leader of the 2009 Eastern Conference Champions will be featured in radio spots, online advertising and high-impact billboards.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091215/NY25990 )

To officially kick off this partnership, Howard, along with AirTran Airways and Orlando Magic executives, unveiled "Magic 1" -- a one-of-a-kind Boeing 717 painted in the Magic's colors -- today in Orlando.

"Dwight Howard is one of the most outstanding young athletes in sports today. His accomplishments on the court and his community involvement off the court make him a great fit for AirTran Airways and what we strive to do as the hometown airline," said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran Airways' vice president of marketing and sales. "We look forward to a long and successful partnership with him."

Since being selected as the first overall player in the 2004 draft, Howard has distinguished himself with numerous awards and accolades, including being named an All-Star three times, being the youngest player ever to reach 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000 rebounds and winning a gold medal with Team USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics. As importantly, Howard has also been involved in several charitable endeavors, including creating the Dwight D. Howard Youth Foundation.

Howard joins several high-profile sports endorsers on the AirTran Airways' roster, including quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Donovan McNabb; hockey stars Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen; baseball all-star Ryan Braun; pitcher Tom Glavine; and IndyCar racer Danica Patrick.

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI) and a Fortune 1000 company, has been ranked the number one low cost carrier in the Airline Quality Rating study for the past two years. AirTran is the only major airline with Wi-Fi on every flight and offers coast-to-coast service on North America's newest all-Boeing fleet. Its low-cost, high-quality product also includes assigned seating, Business Class and complimentary XM Satellite Radio on every flight. To book a flight, visit http://www.airtran.com.

    Media Contacts:  AirTran Airways
                     Christopher White
                     Cynthia Tinsley-Douglas
                     678.254.7442

SOURCE AirTran Airways

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