Air Tran prices????

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

Hi! We are planning to fly Air Tran in October. The stress of not knowing that we'll be guaranteed seats together (flying alone with two kids) has pushed me to buying seats that I can choose when I buy the tickets.

Do Air Tran prices ever change??? No matter which dates or month I choose on the Air Tran website, the price is always the same. I know they do offer certain web specials, but I assume these would only be offered for the cheapest tickets (not being able to pick seats at purchase). Anything I type in between now and Sept. has the same price for most of the ticket choices. I was under the impression that prices changed all the time, depending on time of year for travel, etc.

Has anyone gotten cheaper prices than the website (like going through a TA)? I've never bought airline tickets on my own before. It was part of a total package the last time we did this. I didn't know if better deals can be obtained using a third party.

Any suggestions on if/how you've gotten discount ticket prices...for the pricier seats????

TIA

 

[DebbieB]

I would buy the cheaper tickets. I've flown AirTran several times and always had a big choice of seats when I went online at 24 hours to check-in. Even if you buy the more expensive seats, there's no guarantee your seat assignments will stay if there are schedule changes (that applies to all airlines).

 

[princesspumpkin]

Never mind - I misunderstood the question.

 

[keishashadow]

Not sure what airport you fly out of but, they've sharply curtailed direct flights to MCO from PIT (down to 1/day).

As long as you check in 24 hrs. prior, you shouldn't have a problem getting seats together, somewhere on the plane. Trust me, no one (including AT) wants an unattended child on a flight.

 

[Angie_Ohio]

We have flown Airtran to MCO (Jan '06) for $156 round trip. Plenty of seats, friendly people and on the return was offered first class upgrade for $50.
Also flew them to Boston with the same experience Aug '05.
Angie_OH

 

[we3disneygo]

we are flying in Sept. and have been checking on the flights, it seems the best i can find is 99.00 down and 119.00 for the flight back. not sure if we should go ahead and book now or not. good luck!

 

[keishashadow]

In our area, sales prices have not dipped below $79 one way lately.

Another thing to consider is the demand for seats, there's a lot of Wendy's vouchers out there waiting to be redeemed, might keep sales prices more infrequent.

we are flying in Sept. and have been checking on the flights, it seems the best i can find is 99.00 down and 119.00 for the flight back. not sure if we should go ahead and book now or not. good luck!

 

[JerJan]

We fly AirTran from Akron to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale at least 4 times a year sometimes more. We always buy the cheapest seats (last summer I got each way to and from Orlando for $59.00 each! ) and we always end up sitting together....Believe me no one, including the airlines wants you children sitting alone! One time I did have a small issue with a man who didn't want to change seats with me so I could sit next to my 2 DD's...I just told him to remember that the air sickness bags were in the seat back pockets because both of my girls tend to get airsick! I've never seen someone MOVE SO FAST!

Buy the cheap seats, sign up to receive their emails they always have some kind of sale going on. Good luck and enjoy your trip!
***BWI to MCO is on sale now for $79.00 each way at AirTran.com for travel through October 4, 2006***

 

[Kaybee]

I would wait for the cheap seats to become available. Go to Airtran website and sigh up for their internet specials. They will then email you when they are having a sale. That is how I found our cheap airfare for our May trip. We waited until late in Feb to book!! I just recieved an email this week they are having another sale. Not sure how long it extends to but I think it is into June. I just checked that email and the sale is for those going April 25th through Oct. 4th. You must book your ticket by April 4th. Hope this helps.

 

[studog100]

Air Tran reserves a few rows of seats til the last minute for situations like this. I have 2 kids and although we (DW and I) didn't mind sitting away from each other, we made sure at least we each got to sit with one of the kids.
I would still get the airtran. Unless your kids are like 15, I would believe they would have no problems seating you together.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

OK..you all convinced me to risk the seating issue, and go with the cheaper price. It will be very nice to save over $200, so I hope the seating all works out. I'll just have to review the "what ifs" with my kids. My oldest has Asperger's Syndrome, so these little "what ifs" get me more stressed than they should.

So, now we'll have $200 "extra" to spend in WDW.

OK..another question. The Oct. flights just came out (thank you to the DISer who posted this). Do I have a little time before I need to book, or do they fill up really fast (I notice there are only two non-stop flights that day)? There isn't a web special, as of yet. I don't know if the people who had posted about hoping to get all their seats had some sort of special reward program that had them limited or something. If I'm not flying until mid-October, can I wait a bit, or should I play it safe and book now?

Thanks!!!

 

[yellowfish78]

Book Now! I just lost the sale price for the flight I wanted for October 8th. (And that's only in 2 days since prices came out!) Now I'm seriously considering leaving the day before on their red eye to come back home to save me $50.