Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION

I, Joseph B. Leonard, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (the "Company"), certify that:

|(1)             | I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of the Company;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
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|(2)             | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
|(3)             | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report,
fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
Company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;                      
|(4)             | The Company's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and
have:                                                                                    
|                | (a)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
|                | (b)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
|                | (c)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
|                | (d)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
|(5)             | The Company's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of
internal control over financial reporting, to the Company's auditors and the audit committee of Company's
board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):                       
|                | (a)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
|                | (b)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
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|August 13, 2003 | /s/ Joseph B. Leonard                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
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