Southwest acquired AirTran

[tnkr mom]

Wonder what this means for our low fare flights to Florida? Just got this email -

On May 2, 2011, Southwest Airlines announced the closing of its acquisition of AirTran Holdings, Inc., the former parent company of AirTran Airways, Inc. (AirTran). Southwest will now begin the gradual integration of AirTran into the Southwest Airlines brand. Eventually, the integration of the two airlines will result in an expansion of already low fares and outstanding service for consumers, but change will not be immediate. The airlines will communicate to Customers prior to any changes that will directly impact the way they currently travel on Southwest or AirTran. For now, it’s business as usual.
Southwest currently expects that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will grant the airline a Single Operating Certificate (SOC) in the first quarter of 2012, at which time Southwest will work toward full integration. After SOC is achieved, Southwest will gradually transition the AirTran fleet into the Southwest paint scheme—one color, one brand. Ultimately, this acquisition will create an expanded low-cost, low-fare carrier with outstanding Customer Service and a unique Culture. Customers will be informed throughout the process with updates on southwest.com, airtran.com and lowfaresfarther.com. In the meantime, Employees from both airlines will continue doing what they’ve always done—delivering world-class Customer Service, operating efficiently and Safely, and taking care of our Customers.
For the latest news and updates visit www.lowfaresfarther.com.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I hate Southwest.

Loved Airtran.

I hope SW doesn't ruin them.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I hate Southwest.

Loved Airtran.

I hope SW doesn't ruin them.

I hate Airtran. I love Southwest. I hope the merger doesn't ruin Southwest.

 

[bowne90]

Maybe we'll get lucky and get the best of both of them (and not the worst)!

 

[Sinderelly]

I love Southwest but don't like Airtran. Maybe this will mean Airtran won't keep chamging your flights once booked.

 

[briar_rose_59]

I'm thinking this is probably going to mean more of the crazy stops Southwest wanted me to pay about $200 more for the privilege of... Got a nonstop flight from DTW to MCO on Delta for about $100 one way (took about 2 hours). Southwest wanted about $300 to leave an hour later and have THREE stops, 2 of which were changing planes (and it would have taken over 5 hours to get to MCO). I don't really care about flight times changing as long as they're willing to let me change my flight if they change the times. But no way in heck am I paying triple for no assigned seats and a five hour flight to Orlando... Also hate the lack of business class (which saved my butt on my last flight, only people that made a tight connection were the ones in business class).

 

[SPBendersky]

WOW never thought I would see SW ever buy someone out. I can say I have flown both Airlines multiple times and have not had problems on either. Flown non-stop and connections on both without mishap. Should make for an interestin market with additional options for airports.

 

[feezle]

I love both. Hope they don't ruin each other.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Well I am a SW fan BIG time, but not so much Airtran....
Funny thing just happened on Friday...... had a family member that had a sw flight and the flight was delayed 1 hour 45 minutes is this whats to come???
Hoping not...
seriously though, it should open up additional cities for us to visit, so, as long as the SW standards stand firm, it should be Great! Fingers crossed!

 

[vsimeone]

Well I am a SW fan BIG time, but not so much Airtran....
Funny thing just happened on Friday...... had a family member that had a sw flight and the flight was delayed 1 hour 45 minutes is this whats to come???
Hoping not...
seriously though, it should open up additional cities for us to visit, so, as long as the SW standards stand firm, it should be Great! Fingers crossed!

I hope you're right about that. I like them both equally. Hate the no seat assignments on SW though and I won't pay extra to do it.

AirTran flies out of the airport that is 3 miles from my house. I have to drive an hour away to fly Southwest. I HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE that AirTran doesn't get pulled out of our regional airport.

 

[Purseval]

I wrote to SW to see if we could start flying Airtran out of Hartsfield using the SW site. They said Airtran will operate independently until 2012 and maybe even 2013. Bad news for people who didn't want to drive to Birmingham to catch a flight.

 

[edk35]

Well this is bad news for us. Our kids are peanut allergic and flying on SW does them in. So .....I doubt they will go peanut free like Airtran.

 

[leahjade]

I think the problem in our area will be PRICE. The two airlines used to compete with each other and without competition, SW can feel free to raise rates as high as they want now!

 

[Kathi OD]

I sure hope this doesn't affect AirTran's MUCH lower pricing. I've never flown SW due to their outrageous prices, and I much prefer AirTran to USAirways!

 

[MEM]

Well this is bad news for us. Our kids are peanut allergic and flying on SW does them in. So .....I doubt they will go peanut free like Airtran.

SW can be peanut-free for your flight, if you tell them in advance. I fly SW almost exclusively and I have been on several flights where it was announced that a traveler had a peanut allergy and no peanuts would be served and that anyone with a peanut-containing snack product was asked not to open it while on the plane.

 

[lmc318]

Funny, I've known about this buy out for ages. I thought it was announced long ago. I figured that's why AirTran prices were so much lower than SW. It hadn't been that way in the past.

Anyway, I figure AirTran will remain the "bargain" flights of the two, but who knows? I've always loved SW and I love the service. I hope they bring the same quality to AirTran. I don't mind not having seats in advance. At least on SW you have a shot of getting a decent seat even without paying to board first if you get an A boarding pass. With AirTran you almost HAVE to pay to pick your seat or you have no shot of sitting together. Yeah, try that with a 2yo! Anyone want to sit next to my kid without me there???

 

[irishbosoxfan]

We loved Airtran because it was cheap and we could sit together. And while they did change flight times they were always accomodating if you called and said that the new time wouldn't work for you.

We have had 3 flights on Southwest and all of them bit the big one. First was from Vegas and DH and I had to sit seperate from each other. We ended up with a "C" boarding pass and that was after checking in online about 2 hours after we were first able to and arriving at the airport 3 hours early. We were in the last group of 4 people and they had no seats left. They ended up making the SW employees ride in the cockpit and jump seats to make room for us.

Second/Third was to and from Mass just a few weeks ago. We chose them because they were the same price as Airtran but we didn't have to pay $60 for our luggage. Never again will I be that cheap. It was me,DH and both DDs. None of us were able to seat near each other on any one of the 4 flights. This time we had checked in right on the dot of 24 hours before and still ended up with "B" boarding passes.
When we arrived at the airport we explained that we had our kids and asked what could be done and was told "nothing". That "A" passes were for business people then the Rapid Rewards people THEN those who chose to pay the extra fee and everyone else got at minimum a "B".
BUT... We were told that even if we paid the extra $80 that we weren't guaranteed an "A" pass and could very well end up in the same boat that we were in without paying the extra money.

So for us no more Southwest. I actually like my kids and don't mind sitting with them. And had the plane run into trouble..I would've been one of those objects flying around the cabin as I made my way to my kids.

 

[Friendly Frog]

I hate Southwest.

Loved Airtran.

I hope SW doesn't ruin them.

While I don't hate SW I have never flown them due to higher prices and flight restrictions.

I LOVED Airtran and would usually choose them first ( and avoid American when I could.)

I am going to venture that we will all see higher prices due to the merger.

For those in the Dallas/Fort Worth area we may have even larger problems at least for a while, due to the Wright Amendment* restrictions on direct flights.

We already pay some of the highest airfares in Texas.

Details on the Wright Amendment here-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Amendment

 

[edk35]

SW can be peanut-free for your flight, if you tell them in advance. I fly SW almost exclusively and I have been on several flights where it was announced that a traveler had a peanut allergy and no peanuts would be served and that anyone with a peanut-containing snack product was asked not to open it while on the plane.

Oh we tried it a few times and it was still bad. There were peanuts in the seats, on the floor and the dust is on stuff. They always let us board first to clean off the tray tables but we would always find a stray peanut here and there. The only flight they will guarantee to have none anywhere is the first flight of the day.

 

[pigletto]

Maybe we'll get lucky and get the best of both of them (and not the worst)!

One can hope
I have Airtran flights for the first time this summer for our Disney trip. I like Southwest.. but I have to be honest. The lining up like cattle and checking in on the dot for boarding position was one of those things I tolerated because of their low fares. It's not quite so tolerable with the fares out of Buffalo what they are
We driving 5 hours to Detroit and using Airtran this summer. It's saving us almost 1000 dollars over Southwest out of Buffalo.