How Sweet! AirTran Airways Unveils a Special Little Debbie Plane to Celebrate 50 Years of Snack Cakes

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), today celebrated Little Debbie's 50th anniversary by launching a one-of-a-kind, custom-designed Boeing 717, dubbed Little Debbie 1. Flight 931, the inaugural flight, will depart from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 12:24 p.m. to Jacksonville, Fla., today.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100212/NY54169 )

As part of the 50th anniversary, AirTran Airways and Little Debbie are giving away 50 vacation packages in conjunction with The Great American Getaway sweepstakes. Each vacation package includes roundtrip airfare for two to anywhere AirTran flies in the continental United States, two nights at a Holiday Inn hotel, rental car for two days and a $200 cash card. Sweepstakes ends May 31, 2010. For more details and the chance to win, visit www.littledebbie.com. AirTran is also offering $10 vouchers toward travel on Little Debbie packaging during this promotion period.

"Not only are we commemorating Little Debbie's golden anniversary today, but we're also giving away 50 vacation packages as part of The Great American Getaway," said Tad Hutcheson, vice president of marketing and sales for AirTran Airways. "Little Debbie has been a fantastic partner to work with and values a key attribute we here at AirTran Airways do as well– quality."

In addition to The Great American Getaway, AirTran Airways and Little Debbie will announce the winner of the Little Debbie Look-A-Like Contest at the AirTran Airways Atlanta maintenance hangar.  The 10 finalists will help unveil Little Debbie 1, and the winner will be chosen by a panel of judges.  The winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship and other prizes.

"Little Debbie is proud to partner with AirTran Airways to celebrate our 50th Anniversary," said Chris McKee, EVP Sales & Marketing for McKee Foods. "This specially designed AirTran Airways Boeing 717 aircraft – Little Debbie 1 – flying all over the country is a fantastic way to launch our next 50 years as America's favorite snack cake."

About AirTran Airways

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 and is the recipient of the prestigious 2010 Market Leadership Award from Air Transport World. 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.

About McKee Foods

McKee Foods, a family bakery with annual sales of more than $1 billion, is a privately held company based in Collegedale, Tenn. The McKee story began during the height of the Great Depression when founder O.D. McKee began selling 5–cent snack cakes from the back of his car. Soon after, he and his wife, Ruth, bought a small, failing bakery, using the family car as collateral. Today, the company employs more than 6,000 people in Collegedale, Tenn.; Gentry, Ark.; and Stuarts Draft, Va. It creates and bakes Little Debbie Snacks, Sunbelt Snacks & Cereals, Heartland and Fieldstone Bakery food products. Visit mckeefoods.com for more information.

SOURCE AirTran Airways