air tran anyone?

[Lindy]

Hi!We couldn't help but notice the great fares on air tran.com!(not american trans air)We got $92 going there and $92 coming back.(out of minneapolis)I was just wandering if anyone has ever flown on this airline and if is good???Oh, and is our only option a rental car?We will be going to usf 2 days and the rest of the time will be dependent on disney transportation since were staying on-site!We want a 4-day hopper and one day at our all-star resort.(hopfully music)We will be going in April.Thanx!And please reply I really need the info very much from all of you experts out there!Thanx again!

 

[DrmWvr1299]

We have always taken Air Tran out of Dayton, Oh and it is not too bad. The only problem we had was last year during the tornados in Feb. and we could not leave Orlando until the next day (their hub is in Atlanta where the storms were) and they didn't call to notify us, we found out our flight had been cancelled when we got to the airport.

We generally use Mears bus shuttle to the hotels. Last year we decided to use Atlantis for transportation and they were a no show, we ended up taking the shuttle again, but it was not a big problem.

This year we are doing Air Tran and Mears again.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

I used to work for them and would not fly them. but thats my opinion. I also would not take mears either I would rather rent my own vehicle or take a towncar svc.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Hi, Lindy.

$184 round trip on AirTran out of Minneapolis sounds okay to me. IIRC, MSP is an expensive airport to fly into and out of. I've flown AirTran quite a few times. They're a low cost carrier with few frills.

As for the rental car -- do you think you will want to leave WDW property anytime in addition to the days at USF? If so, I'd consider getting a rental car at the airport. If not, you can rent a car from National's location in WDW for a couple of days.

 

[travelcoupons]

I have flown them and found the flight to be enjoyable. Staff was very competant.
I plan to fly them again sometime out of MSP, so that hopefully they will keep flying out of Minneapolis and give Northworst a little competition, which can only help drive down fares out of this historically expensive airport.

I always like the freedom a rental car offers.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I used Air Trans about 5 years ago. Would not choose to use them again.

They did not have assigned seating so it's "general public seating." The people got pretty agressive just prior to boarding. SWA is also non-assigned seating but uses the first come, first serve (1-20) boarding - (much neater).

With the airfares so low, is that your only option? Does SWA, AA or US Air fly out of MPL?

Thanks, Laura

 

[disny4ever]

Hi Lindy...my DW and I are also taking advantage of the special Florida airfares. We have used Airtran several times out of Bloomington, Illinois, and with the exception of loosing our luggage once, have found them to ok. Their on-time record may not be the best, but it's not too bad compared to others.
I was just happy to find these rates........have a great trip.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

air tran assigns seating on day of departure. some seats are preassigned but they prefer to assign upon check in.

 

[travelcoupons]

Originally posted by Laurajean1014
I used Air Trans about 5 years ago. Would not choose to use them again.

They did not have assigned seating so it's "general public seating." The people got pretty agressive just prior to boarding. SWA is also non-assigned seating but uses the first come, first serve (1-20) boarding - (much neater).

With the airfares so low, is that your only option? Does SWA, AA or US Air fly out of MPL?

Thanks, Laura

They used to have first come first served boarding like Southwest, but after the merger in '97, they went to assigned seating.

Southwest does not, and probably won't fly out of MSP for a long time. (Same reason they don't fly out of Atlanta, Pittsburgh).

AA & US air fly out of MSP, but neither normally offers decent fares.

Air Tran and Sun Country Airlines are really the only carriers which dare to go up against Northworst's monopoly in MSP.

Last year Delta did slug it out with fares out of Northwest's hub cities, which meant some good fares out of MSP, but they haven't done it again this year.

 

[2boys'mom]

several times out of Atlanta to various places. They do want you to be on time for your flight. And they usually go out of a gate that is further away. So don't get there by the skin of your teeth like we have before or they'll make you take the next flight.

The flight attendants are nice and give good, basic service. Delta has alienated so many for their "We don't care about any one" attitude that simple politeness goes a long way for Air Tran.

If there were no Air Tran, we would probably get no flights out of Atlanta under $250 round trip with the Delta monopoly. Northwest can be truly awful, too, but we have to fly them to Indianapolis because rarely does Delta discount. I go for price and the schedule that fits.