<p>Discount carrier AirTran will begin flying from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to Atlanta and Baltimore later this year, sources said Wednesday.</p><p>The move brings a second discount carrier to an airport long dominated by US Airways and plagued by some of the highest fares in the country.</p><p>Officials at Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. The airline has hubs in Atlanta and Orlando and offers service to 46 airports.</p><p>Airport officials scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon at which they said they would make a "major announcement" about service. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and AirTran president Robert L. Fornaro were expected to attend.</p><p>Officials declined to speak publicly about the scheduled announcement.</p><p>But a source said AirTran is expected to provide three or four flights per day to both Baltimore and Atlanta, where the carrier has its primary hub.</p><p>Service could begin within two to three months, assuming a normal schedule for starting operations.</p><p>AirTran flies a fleet of nearly 90 Boeing 717-200s and 737-700s on more than 500 daily flights to over 40 destinations.</p><p>For years, Charlotte has had a love-hate relationship with US Airways. When then-US Air took over Piedmont Air in 1989, the merger made Charlotte the combined airline's busiest hub and gave the growing city more nonstop national and international flights than any comparably sized city.</p><p>The strength of Charlotte's airport has helped transform the city into a business powerhouse and the nation's No. 2 banking center. But Charlotte fliers consistently have faced some of the highest fares in the country.</p><p>US Airways is currently in bankruptcy for the second time in recent years and some have worried that if it ever goes out of business, Charlotte could be left with limited service.</p><p>Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation analyst, said he believes AirTran's move into Charlotte is aimed at outflanking competitor Southwest Airlines, which recently announced service to Pittsburgh, a former US Airways hub.</p><p>Southwest is speculated to be eyeing a move into Charlotte.</p><p>"(AirTran) knows Southwest would move into Charlotte fairly soon, and they wanted to send a message not to do it," Boyd said Wednesday.</p><p>US Airways' bankruptcy reorganization has been aimed at remaking the airline as a low-cost, low-fare carrier that can compete with the likes of Southwest and AirTran.</p><p>AirTran's entrance into the Charlotte market would give the city two discount carriers. Discounter Independence Air began flights from Charlotte to Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport in October.</p><p>A second discounter, ATA, is in bankruptcy and recently halted service between Charlotte and its hub at Chicago-Midway.</p>
