Air tran Question

[eliza61]

My family and I have planned a WDW vacation for the end of August to Labor day. I've been reading the boards for travel tips and I came across a thread about Airtran changing flight times. We are flying out of Philly and we were thinking about using Airtran because of the low cost but now I'm not so sure. Does Airtran change folks flights often? We love to get to Florida early and usually catch a 7:00 am flight out of pHL, I would really be upset if my flight got bumped back to noon. I went on travelocity and found a few flights for $187.00 bucks (including taxes and fees) pp non stop.

Has anyone else had problems with the discount air carriers? Should I steer clear of Airtran? From previous threads on this board they seem to be the worse.

Southwest and USA 3000 (us airways) don't have their August schedule up yet so I can't check their fares yet, hopefully by the end of this month.

 

[frankiemom]

I booked the same time you are going Aug 28-Sept 4 Mon. to Mon. I booked it when it was $79 each way. This is the 3rd time I will be flying Airtran and haven't had a problem yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I did hear that USA 3000 will not be flying to Orlando after I think it was April something. I flew them(USA 3000) in Oct and was happy especially since they are so cheap. I would book AirTran if you can find a good deal.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

We have flown Airtran from Philadelphia a bunch of times in the past few years and only once have we had a flight change and that was our return flight. It was moved up leaving Orlando. We have always been very happy with Airtran and we also have booked a 7am flight, that was never changed.

For our July trip, we decided to try Southwest. The nonstop flights were very expensive and the times were not great either. I am so glad I booked the day Southwest released its schedule as times and fares are not available. I was always nervous about the boarding policy but I am just going to hope for the best.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[FINFAN]

I am also looking into flying Airtran for the first time, needing 4 seats mid August. We need a very late flight on a Friday night as DH can't leave work early...I am concerned that after needing this the flight may be moved up. I was reading about the flight insurance offered for $13 per person covering things like bad weather/natural disasters(hurricanes) illness etc. Has anyone used this insurance? I did see that a normal change fee is $50 + any fare increase...pretty standard...actually better than a lot of the major carriers who charge $100 each! I am afraid that when SW opens up for our dates they will not be any cheaper, but I do think they are pretty reliable for their flight times. Any opinions? How is boarding for AT? I have only flown SW 2x, and was there plenty early so never really a problem getting our seats together at check-in.


Pam

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

If you use the first flight out to MCO on AirTran you should be fine. If they change the early flight at all it's only by a few mintues either way. It's the flights later in the day that AirTran loves to move around the times. Last June we flew AirTran out of Philly at 7am with no problems. Before booking I wondered whether we should take the 2 something or 4 something flight back home. Since I wanted our last day in the World to last a little longer we decided on the 4 something flight. Turned out it was a good decision because later on they cancelled the 2pm flight and had a few posters here pretty upset.
Good airline that would be much better if they just posted a schedule and stuck to it.

 

[Dopey & Grumpy]

We've flown AirTran out of Pittsburgh a number of times and only once did they change our flight times. They changed them a few weeks before we were scheduled to leave but changed them back to the original times before we actually flew out. We've never had a problem. They always have great rates to Orlando.

 

[erikthewise]

We have flown Airtran out of Dayton the last three years, and though flight times have sometimes changed, it was never by more than 90 minutes. Since the flights are nonstop and the time are pretty much perfect for a Disney trip (early departure, late return), I have no complaint at all.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We have always flew AirTran, the past 3 times we went to WDW. They had great flight times out of PIT. Recently I seen they changed the non-stops out of PIT. 12noon departure and 9am return. That won't fly for us. So if the flight times don't change, we won't be flying AirTran again.

 

[ameraumi]

We are flying out of Dayton on 4/2 and so far the flight was bumped back 20 minutes. I think we are the 2nd flight out that day. Return home we are their last flight and it got bumped back 20 minutes also. But I have been watching like a hawk to make sure it doesn't change much more then that. This will be our first flight with them and I am nervous but crossing my fingers all goes well.

 

[bsusanmb]

Flew 4 times out of Phila to MCO in the past 12 months and never had a flight change. Maybe I was really lucky!