I'm in the same boat. Air Tran got pulled out of Dallas last Nov 23rd.
I usually used them to fly to Orlando 4-6 times a year. Love them and am so sad they are gone. Yeah, they changed their flight times sometimes, but their fares were nearly always cheaper than Delta, American, or Southwest. Planes were always clean, customer service great, and I loved their direct flights.I'm giving Spirit a try for my upcoming May trip and am already unhappy with them. I got an email saying my departing flight had been moved back several hours and my returning flight moved up. I am now losing about eight hours of my vacation. I am used to getting into MCO around 9:30am, but am now not getting in until 6:20pm, so am losing almost all of my first day.
I called to tell them the new times didn't work for me, but was told there was nothing they could do. They have only one flight in and out those days and refuse to refund my money. Air Tran always had great customer service and would switch you to another flight or even refund your money, if they changed the flights by just a few minutes. Spirit was alot cheaper though ($148.00+ the seat and luggage fees) compared to over $450.00 on American, Continental, Southwest, or Delta. Plus all but Southwest also had luggage fees. Before Air Tran pulled out of Dallas the base airfare from DFW to MCO was always around $220.00, but we could always find fares on sale for $158.00-$198.00. Air Tran kept the other airlines in check, but with them gone American has more than doubled in just the last four months. The base fare now seems to run over $400.00.
