Actual experience airtran through southwest

[pooh4evr]

I've never flown AT before, but will this fall (booked through SW site).

I read this on SW's site before booking: "Customers who purchase an AirTran segment on Southwest channels will be assigned a seat at the time of check in."

Does that mean that when DS and I check in online we will be automatically given seat assignments with no choice in the matter? Or does it mean that DS and I can choose among the then-available seats?

I understand the risks involved and will go with the flow on travel day (and I'll be armed with smiles and bribes if we're seated apart). The only thing that would bug me is if there are 2 side-by-side seats available when I check in, but AT nonetheless gives up 2 seats apart from one another. Because we have 2 different reservation numbers (though the SW service agent told me that they were linked), I assume the likelihood of this happening increases.

As I understand it you will be assigned a seat without knowing what is available- random- but there is a chance you could be together, once you are at the gate you can request a new seat assignment if there are any available to have your seats moved together.

We are booked on AirTran through SW - we had been saving RR points for this trip- I booked knowing there is a great possibility we will be split up and I will prepare my kids for it.

 

[tyzzle]

I don't think AT is bad about sitting families together. We always pay extra to choose where we sit. If a family comes and tries to get us to move to accommodate them...then I am not moving until they give me the $$ I paid for the seat.
I guess those who have kids are entitled over the rest of us....

I wouldn't expect anyone to who paid for a seat to move (so far we are good because I was able to book enough seats through Airtran and my children will have an adult with them). Nor do I think it is entitlement. I do think there is no harm in asking, but I would never be upset with anyone who did not give up their seat. There are some who purchased tickets on southwest and had an Airtran leg added after the fact. These people purchased their tickets thinking they did everything right. They are not being cheap, just unlucky. If someone asks you all you have to do is say no. You don't have to be self righteous about it.

 

[PatMcDuck]

Oh geez, I just read this thread. I have some concerns now about my Sept flights/

Just me and DS, who is 22 years old, Down syndrome and autistic. We usually pre-board with SW, or pick seats with Air Tran. No problems there.

I booked Air Tran flights on the SW site. For a forgotten reason, I mis-understood how this would work, booking AT flights on the SW site. For some reason, I was assuming they would board the AT passengers who have seats assigned, then let us SW people on to pick what was left! Somehow I missed the "assigning seats at check in" instruction. I think for one way we even have different reservation #s.

Ugh. I HATE when people ask me to change seats so they can sit together, and now I will be one of those people! I am so mad at myself. He just cannot sit with strangers, that would be impossible. (he behaves very well and is quiet on the plane, but he is non-verbal and needs assistance). If it was my other kids, or me and DH, splitting up would be fine, hey, I like to read anyway or do a Sudoku....

Do you think I should call SW or AT about it? Can they note something in their system about him? I doubt it, or they would have people calling with all sorts of sob stories. I will have to rely on the kindness of strangers, unless an option comes along that will allow me to pick seats (I will pay gladly). I will also get to the airports early.

 

[leebee]

We are flying from Portland, ME to Dayton, OH with a plane change in Baltimore. Our PWM-BWI segment is on Southwest,departing at 11:40am, and we have EBCI. THe BWI-DAY leg is on Airtran, departing at 2:40pm. I understand that SW will assign us our boarding passes at the 36 hour point. However, the Airtran segment has me puzzled. I will go to the SW site at the 24 hour point (at 11:40am). Will I get my Airtran seating assignments THEN, or do I have to log on at the 24 hour point prior to the Airtran leg (2:40pm) to get my Airtran assignments/boarding passes?

Our return flights have AirTran as the first segment, so I will just log in 24 hours prior to get the assignments and boarding passes. I will assume that our EBCI will have been completed and my boarding passes can be printed out.

There are three of us on the itinerary, but we all have different confirmation numbers. Do I need to check us in separately, or will the site link the three and assign all three of us at once?

Any info/help is greatly appreciated. TIA!

 

[helenk]

Oh geez, I just read this thread. I have some concerns now about my Sept flights/

Just me and DS, who is 22 years old, Down syndrome and autistic. We usually pre-board with SW, or pick seats with Air Tran. No problems there.

I booked Air Tran flights on the SW site. For a forgotten reason, I mis-understood how this would work, booking AT flights on the SW site. For some reason, I was assuming they would board the AT passengers who have seats assigned, then let us SW people on to pick what was left! Somehow I missed the "assigning seats at check in" instruction. I think for one way we even have different reservation #s.

Ugh. I HATE when people ask me to change seats so they can sit together, and now I will be one of those people! I am so mad at myself. He just cannot sit with strangers, that would be impossible. (he behaves very well and is quiet on the plane, but he is non-verbal and needs assistance). If it was my other kids, or me and DH, splitting up would be fine, hey, I like to read anyway or do a Sudoku....

Do you think I should call SW or AT about it? Can they note something in their system about him? I doubt it, or they would have people calling with all sorts of sob stories. I will have to rely on the kindness of strangers, unless an option comes along that will allow me to pick seats (I will pay gladly). I will also get to the airports early.

I would think that you and your son would qualify for priority pre-boarding?

 

[delilah]

We had an Airtran flight on Monday home from MCO, there was a mom and daughter behind us. When another woman walked up she said to them that one of them was in her seat. The mom said "Oh there was a switch now you are sitting over there so I can sit with my daughter". She did not ask, and was quite pushy about it.

The other woman said "No that is not ok, I am claustrophobic and cannot sit by the window". I thought it was going to get heated, as the mom kept insisting that she was not going to give up sitting with her daughter.

But another couple rearranged their seating to allow for the woman to sit on the aisle, which helped solve the problem. But come on, if you really need to switch to be beside your child, please be kind about it and actually ASK the person!!!

That is just so rude. We had a similar situation on a flight home on Airtran. I had purchased seats at the time I bought our tickets. The seat configuration was 2 on one side and 3 on the other. I chose seats that were window-aisle-aisle. I was in the window, my son in one aisle, my husband in the other. My husband went to the rest room immediately on boarding, and, just like in the above scenario, a mom plopped her child in my husband's seat. I immediately told her that the seat was taken, and she pitched a histrionic fit that she missed her connection, she was reassigned this other flight, yada yada, blah, blah, blah. Finally, my husband came back from the rest room, and found out that the kid actually had an aisle seat about three rows foreward, so, he took that seat. Not really OK, because she was so rude. I wish I had insisted on getting my $15 back that I paid for the seat.

Can't understand why the mom and daughter couldn't have been in the middle and window seats, though, but, I like window seats best.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

I would think that you and your son would qualify for priority pre-boarding?

Me too, but if they aren't assigned seats together, it doesn't do them any good. I think the best thing to do in this situation is to call now and explain the situation, and see if they will let you pay and choose seats now, as if you had booked on Air-Tran's site.

My youngest is 9, so it won't be the end of the world if we don't sit together, but I am a little nervous about our connection in Atlanta. I just hope one of us is within sight range of each kid, so that we can make sure everyone is off to make the change. We have 4 different confirmation numbers as we booked with SW points, so I have a feeling we will be pretty spread out. One can always hope, though!

 

[anna08]

I booked a flight through Southwest that is Airtran out of Atlanta on one of the first days the flights were actually listed on the Southwest website - had no clue about the assigned seat issue. This is not rocket science and I can't believe in this day and age of technology that Southwest can't get this corrected immediately. Had to call the phone line because I couldn't book minor tickets separately from mine on the website (problem only with Airtran flights.) Needing to use credit on Southwest, otherwise would not fly with this ticketing scenario.

I understand this is so very rare, but are you all okay with someone else helping put on your child's oxygen mask if you are sitting separately??? I'm not sure I want my 8 yo DD sitting rows away next to some random man. And I'm sure no one wants to sit next to my happily conversant, sometimes moody 6 yo.

DH flew his first Airtran flight and confirmed what my sister describes as "the Greyhound of the Skies" as everyone in ATL calls it. Window seat had much smaller leg area than other seat, plane was old and worn appearing, employees with none of the Southwest friendliness. He won't fly them again.

I have been flying Southwest almost exclusively for the past 20 years, but this has made me start looking at other airlines now. I am really shocked that this merger is taking so long and that they didn't immediately apply Southwest policies.

Flights are next week so I'll write back to update how it went.

 

[anna08]

Just called Southwest's customer relations department and spoke with "Nick".
Was amazed at how poorly he did his job - no empathy, very aggressive almost immediately!!

He stated "based on MY flying experience I have never seen someone not be able to sit by their child..." I really could care less about his flying experience. Someone who works for an airline has access to other information and benefits that the average Joe doesn't when flying/booking.

Said multiple times "It's no different than any other airline" Huh???

He said the Southwest policy conversion is slated to happen no sooner than Jan/Feb/Mar of 2014 so I wouldn't look for this to improve until then.

Needless to say, he did nothing but hurt Southwest's image.

 

[MacDalt]

I booked a flight through Southwest that is Airtran out of Atlanta on one of the first days the flights were actually listed on the Southwest website - had no clue about the assigned seat issue. This is not rocket science and I can't believe in this day and age of technology that Southwest can't get this corrected immediately. Had to call the phone line because I couldn't book minor tickets separately from mine on the website (problem only with Airtran flights.) Needing to use credit on Southwest, otherwise would not fly with this ticketing scenario.

I understand this is so very rare, but are you all okay with someone else helping put on your child's oxygen mask if you are sitting separately??? I'm not sure I want my 8 yo DD sitting rows away next to some random man. And I'm sure no one wants to sit next to my happily conversant, sometimes moody 6 yo.

DH flew his first Airtran flight and confirmed what my sister describes as "the Greyhound of the Skies" as everyone in ATL calls it. Window seat had much smaller leg area than other seat, plane was old and worn appearing, employees with none of the Southwest friendliness. He won't fly them again.

I have been flying Southwest almost exclusively for the past 20 years, but this has made me start looking at other airlines now. I am really shocked that this merger is taking so long and that they didn't immediately apply Southwest policies.

Flights are next week so I'll write back to update how it went.

Please do! I'd like to know!

 

[maxiesmom]

I booked a flight through Southwest that is Airtran out of Atlanta on one of the first days the flights were actually listed on the Southwest website - had no clue about the assigned seat issue. This is not rocket science and I can't believe in this day and age of technology that Southwest can't get this corrected immediately.

There is nothing for them to correct. They are still booking as 2 separate airlines. And there is a notice about how the seat assignments work, depending on which airline you are on. You must have passed it over.

I've flown Air Tran many times, and have nothing but praise for them. Sorry your family has had bad experiences, but I have had nothing but good ones.

 

[keishashadow]

fyi checked in @ T-24 for my AT flight PIT - MCO (booked via SWA)

DH & I on same confirmation, received adjacent seats (window & middle) row 24 in zone 5...better than i had expected.

 

[lylone]

I wouldn't expect anyone to who paid for a seat to move (so far we are good because I was able to book enough seats through Airtran and my children will have an adult with them). Nor do I think it is entitlement. I do think there is no harm in asking, but I would never be upset with anyone who did not give up their seat. There are some who purchased tickets on southwest and had an Airtran leg added after the fact. These people purchased their tickets thinking they did everything right. They are not being cheap, just unlucky. If someone asks you all you have to do is say no. You don't have to be self righteous about it.

Yes, I am self righteous when a parent thinks that I should give up my seat because they have kids. They don't ask, they just give dirty looks when getting on the plane after having a fit at the counter when no one volunteers to move for them.

 

[anna08]

There is nothing for them to correct. They are still booking as 2 separate airlines.

That is exactly what they can correct. They could immediately make their booking policies uniform, or do not merge the booking schedule on the website. Notice how the Airtran label is very faint next to each flight number. This disclaimer was not there the day I booked this flight -

This itinerary is operated by AirTran.
What you need to know to travel:
Don't forget to check in for your flight(s) 24 hours before your trip on southwest.com, your mobile device, at the AirTran Ticket Counter, or Airport Kiosk.
AirTran has assigned seating. Advanced seat assignments are not available. Customers who purchase an AirTran segment on Southwest channels will be assigned a seat at the time of check in.
Once you check in, you will not be able to change your seat until arrival at the airport.

I'm hoping your experience will be what we experience too. Southwest's fares are not even competitive anymore so I will have no trouble looking elsewhere for flights. I'm sure I'm not the only customer displeased.

 

[maxiesmom]

That is exactly what they can correct. They could immediately make their booking policies uniform, or do not merge the booking schedule on the website.

Why would they do that? They are trying to merge slowly, and are still flying and booking as 2 separate airlines. Air Tran still has Air Tran rules, Southwest still has Southwest rules. Each site clearly states which one your flight is owned by.

From what I understand when other airlines have merged quickly it has been mass chaos. Way above having to know how you are getting seat assignments. Kudos for them for not just throwing both airlines together helter-skelter and having even more issues.

 

[helenk]

fyi checked in @ T-24 for my AT flight PIT - MCO (booked via SWA)

DH & I on same confirmation, received adjacent seats (window & middle) row 24 in zone 5...better than i had expected.

Glad to hear this has worked out well for you. It does appear that most people have gotten acceptable seating assignments.

 

[DebbieB]

Why would they do that? They are trying to merge slowly, and are still flying and booking as 2 separate airlines. Air Tran still has Air Tran rules, Southwest still has Southwest rules. Each site clearly states which one your flight is owned by.

From what I understand when other airlines have merged quickly it has been mass chaos. Way above having to know how you are getting seat assignments. Kudos for them for not just throwing both airlines together helter-skelter and having even more issues.

They should have waited until everyone could book under the same rules. If you book AirTran on the SW site, you could buy advance seat assignments. If you book SW on the AirTran site, you could buy EBCI. Otherwise, leave them separate until AirTran is gone.

 

[maxiesmom]

They should have waited until everyone could book under the same rules. If you book AirTran on the SW site, you could buy advance seat assignments. If you book SW on the AirTran site, you could buy EBCI. Otherwise, leave them separate until AirTran is gone.

How would that even be possible to do quickly? You would still have guests who (pulling random dates out of thin air) booked a November 10 ticket in May and were able to purchase seats. And then all of a sudden in June whammo! No one is allowed to purchase seats for that flight as as both airlines are now Southwest. You still have the same issue of some with seat assignments and some without.

At any rate, none of this debate is helping anyone. Southwest/Air Tran are doing things the way they see fit. As of know guests need to know the rules, and to read carefully when purchasing airline tickets on either airline. If someone is upset they should e-mail the airlines, though I doubt it will change anything.

 

[dedex13]

They should have waited until everyone could book under the same rules. If you book AirTran on the SW site, you could buy advance seat assignments. If you book SW on the AirTran site, you could buy EBCI. Otherwise, leave them separate until AirTran is gone.

And then everyone would book through Southwest... 2 free bags and no change fees? When choosing flights, I decided to forgo those benefits in order to ensure that I will sit with my family (since that is more important to me).

As far as reward flights go, you can transfer between the two. Hard to tell when SW has availability unless you have the vouchers in your account, but everyone with an A+ rewards account can check on AT reward flights.

 

[helenk]

And then everyone would book through Southwest... 2 free bags and no change fees? When choosing flights, I decided to forgo those benefits in order to ensure that I will sit with my family (since that is more important to me).

As far as reward flights go, you can transfer between the two. Hard to tell when SW has availability unless you have the vouchers in your account, but everyone with an A+ rewards account can check on AT reward flights.

SW does not use the vouchers for their reward flights any more, you have your points in your account. Anyone can check the number of points needed for any flight. You just go to the SW site an select to look at the fare in points instead of dollars.