PORTLAND – A low-fare airline based in Atlanta has landed at the Portland International Jetport, offering seasonal service to Maine travelers.

AirTran Airways will begin service on June 7, offering three daily round-trip flights between Portland and Baltimore. Two days later, it will offer a round-trip flight to Orlando.

“We’re really excited,” said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran’s spokesman. “We love a market like Portland. We think the market is underserved and overcharged – it has a lot of potential.”

The carrier will offer fares beginning at $69 one-way to Baltimore for leisure class and extending up to $239 for business class. To Orlando, the one-way fares begin at $99, with business class travel starting at $339.

Travelers can connect with 13 other AirTran destinations once in Baltimore. The all-Boeing carrier is based in Orlando, but hubbed in Atlanta.

Hutcheson said beginning today, travelers can book flights through Nov. 3. He said the airline hasn’t determined when the seasonal service will end.

“When the season is good, we keep going,” he said.

AirTran offers seasonal service to other cities such as Seattle and San Diego, capturing the busiest flying times for those two cities. Portland is the 56th destination for the airline.

Gregory Hughes, Jetport spokesman, said in a January interview that the airport was doing all it could to attract AirTran to Portland. He cited the high passenger volume of Independence Air as evidence that Maine has a flying public – a pattern that helped bring JetBlue to the airport in May 2006.

Hutcheson said the airline expects to serve a mix of business and leisure travelers, with tourists making up the bulk of the passengers. AirTran offers free XM Satellite Radio programming at every seat.

Flights to Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore depart Portland at 6:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 4:51 p.m. every day and arrive about an hour and half later. The flight to Orlando departs Portland at 1:30 p.m. every Saturday, arriving in Florida just before 5 p.m.

Reservations and more information is available at www.airtran.com