A&E Network announced yesterday that its hit Airline series is heading back into production for a new season of high-flying half-hour episodes. The series currently airs every Monday at 10:00 and 10:30PM ET/PT.

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Airline, which launched January 5 on A&E, focuses on the highs and the lows of passengers who hop on board Southwest Airlines flights. Heartwarming passenger stories, occasional outbursts, weather-related anxiety, everyone’s urgent timetables, heightened security measures…all come together to create a real life drama that is truly unique to commercial airline travel. Airline also follows Southwest’s staff and crew, from the Customer-focused flight crews to the hard working ground crews who are often on the receiving end of a frustrated customer’s wrath.

“It’s always gratifying when the public and the critics are both enjoying a new series,” said Robert DeBitetto, Senior Vice President, Programming, A&E Network. “Airline has proven to be a show that uses real life in the best ways. It’s funny, it’s dramatic. We’re delighted to bring new episodes to Airline fans.”

“I’m proud of how the Employees of Southwest Airlines continually go above and beyond to help Customers when extraordinary situations pop up,” said Southwest Airlines President and Chief Operating Officer Colleen Barrett. “Our goal in letting the world in for a glimpse behind the scenes is to show how hard we work to connect people for the really important events in their lives—closing the big business deal, reuniting loved ones, and seeing the joy in a child’s first flight.”

Since its premiere, the thirteen original episodes of Airline have drawn an average of 610,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic (with a median age of 46,) making it the youngest skewing show on the network. Airline has increased A&E’s 10-11 PM hour by +53% among A25-54.

Season two of Airline, tentatively scheduled to premiere sometime this summer, will again focus on Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Chicago Midway. A&E has also added a third airport to filming; Baltimore/Washington International, Southwest’s third busiest airport with more than 160 daily departures.

Nancy Dubuc is the executive producer and Patrice Andrews is the supervising producer for A&E Network. Airline is produced for A&E Network by Granada America, New York. Charles Tremayne and Chris Carey are co-executive producers for Granada America. Lee Servis is the series producer.

Southwest Airlines is the nation’s fourth largest carrier in terms of domestic Customer boardings. The airline operates 2,800 daily departures to cities in 30 states with a fleet of more than 380 Boeing 737s. The airline’s 34,000+ employees provide legendary customer service to travelers in 58 cities across the United States.

Granada America, New York is the east coast production base for Granada America, which is part of UK based television company ITV plc. In the last 12 months Granada has been responsible for 125 hours of drama, 15 tele-movies, 80 hours of factual programs, 20 hours of entertainment and six hours of children’s prgramming on US screens.

Now reaching more than 85 million homes, A&E Network brings viewers the Art of EntertainmentTM through a unique combination of three genres – The Art of Biography, The Art of Documentary, and The Art of Drama. A brand synonymous with excellence in television, A&E Network offers a diverse mix of programming ranging from critically acclaimed original series and movies, to innovative documentaries, to the Emmy Award-winning Biography® series, to dramatic specials, feature film presentations, and contemporary performances.

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