Air Tran..seat assignment question

[MissionWDW]

Hello all!

I have a question concerning when to call to request seat assignments. There will be my husband, me and 4 children (9,5,3,2). My in-laws are also flying, but I'm really not concerned if they have to sit seperately....just worried about the kids being with us. So anyway, I've had these flights booked for months now and I'm just wondering when would be the best time to call Air Tran to request/pay for our seats together? I've gotten several flight change notifications. Nothing drastic...just landing or arriving a few minutes later...something like that. Should I wait until I get closer...does these minor changes effect seat request? What would be the best way to go about doing this...calling? TIA!

 

[AKL_Megs]

Time slot changes won't bother any seat assignments... all it means is that adjustments were made for air traffic issues... same plane, same seats, different time.

I'd do it SOON, or there may not be that many seats together available!

 

[MissionWDW]

Thanks for quick response. I will do this asap. Even if DH and I have to split up...as long as the kids have one of us with them, that's fine. Not picky. I'd also prefer not to be in the very back of the plane. Last time it was just my oldest DD and I...her poor ears were in so much pain and I think part of the reason was because we were in the very back right next to bathroom....so loud.

 

[delmar411]

just for me personally, I don't do seat assignments until they are free. Which is at the 24hr mark. Never had a problem getting us 2 rows to sit together in.

And that includes all the out bound flights from WDW where we didn't check in until the airport or at the resort check in location.

 

[Green Tea]

They will almost certainly assign you all together anyway. Then at the 24 hour mark when you see where they put you, you can shift things if you want different seats.

You can do the selection online, if you decide to pay for assigned.

 

[MissionWDW]

That is what I was originally thinking...to check in right at the 24 hour mark and hope to get seats together, but now I'm nervous about it. I've heard a few horror stories on here about kids getting seperated from parents. Ugh...it's $72....and that could be spending cash or even pay for our luggage. Now I don't know what to do...lol. Would love to hear more opinions and other people's experiences with this.

 

[blissventure]

That is what I was originally thinking...to check in right at the 24 hour mark and hope to get seats together, but now I'm nervous about it. I've heard a few horror stories on here about kids getting seperated from parents. Ugh...it's $72....and that could be spending cash or even pay for our luggage. Now I don't know what to do...lol. Would love to hear more opinions and other people's experiences with this.

I think if sitting together is a priority you should pay for and book the seats.
I realize $72.00 isn't cheap, but your peace of mind would be worth it.

 

[RMulieri]

They will almost certainly assign you all together anyway. Then at the 24 hour mark when you see where they put you, you can shift things if you want different seats.

You can do the selection online, if you decide to pay for assigned.

Uh no they don't...that is why I pay for my seat assignments ahead of time. Airtran is under no obligation to seat families ,even those with small kids together, or ask people who paid for their seats to move.I have seen this first hand recently.If you want to sit together you either pay for seat assignmentds or run the risk of not getting seated together

 

[LisaRN97]

We booked AirTran yesterday. I called them after I booked to ask about seat assignments (booked through a site other than AirTran) and the woman I spoke with said they don't assign seats until 24hrs prior to the flight (only if you purchased your seats in advance). I looked on their website at our flight and there were seats left, but not many, so I did pay the additional money. IMO, I would rather pay then stress about it until the day before. Go check out your flight online and see how many seats are left....Good Luck!

 

[byrd328]

Just a quick note for future bookings
I usually book Air Tran through kayak.com and have never payed for seat assignments, not sure if its a fluke or just a discount for booking through them, but several people haven't had any problems. I even had to switch flights directly through Air Tran and kept my seating assignments.

 

[maciec]

Just a quick note for future bookings
I usually book Air Tran through kayak.com and have never payed for seat assignments, not sure if its a fluke or just a discount for booking through them, but several people haven't had any problems. I even had to switch flights directly through Air Tran and kept my seating assignments.

I also did this! It saved us $48.

 

[MissionWDW]

Just a quick note for future bookings
I usually book Air Tran through kayak.com and have never payed for seat assignments, not sure if its a fluke or just a discount for booking through them, but several people haven't had any problems. I even had to switch flights directly through Air Tran and kept my seating assignments.

I know about this now. My sister is flying down a few days after me. I booked my flight a few weeks before she did. So I didn't know until way after the fact. I don't know how they can provide something free through that site, but not through others...kind of frustrating.

 

[Zoo Keeper]

Last time it was just my oldest DD and I...her poor ears were in so much pain and I think part of the reason was because we were in the very back right next to bathroom....so loud.

My DD would always complain of ear pain. I found info on EarPlanes on the internet. You can purchase them just about anywhere (in fact I just picked them up tonight for our trip next month at WalMart) They definitely have made the flights much more tolerable.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

OP, your children are young, as are mine.
Picture this: You decide to use the seat assignment $ to pay luggage fees hoping you'll get seats together. 24 hrs comes and you see that you can't. Your kids are crying on the plane and want to sit with you but others who paid the $ are reluctant to move.
Would you then pay the $ to sit together and hold hands? I know I would and did both times we flew Airtran. I just can't deal with the stress and unfortunately $ can make it go away. (sometimes!)

 

[delmar411]

OP, your children are young, as are mine.
Picture this: You decide to use the seat assignment $ to pay luggage fees hoping you'll get seats together. 24 hrs comes and you see that you can't. Your kids are crying on the plane and want to sit with you but others who paid the $ are reluctant to move.
Would you then pay the $ to sit together and hold hands? I know I would and did both times we flew Airtran. I just can't deal with the stress and unfortunately $ can make it go away. (sometimes!)

See that's what Airtran wants to you believe. That you have to pick. You don't. If you bought your tickets together then they seat you together. It's not that much of an issue. If you want to sit in a certain location then by all means pay the seat assignment as those seats might be gone at the 24hr mark. But we've never had that problem. There really needs to be a poll or thread or something showing who has actually been separated from their traveling party and under what circumstances and going to/from which locations so this issue can be narrowed down to which locations it is happening in.

 

[aubriee]

See that's what Airtran wants to you believe. That you have to pick. You don't. If you bought your tickets together then they seat you together. It's not that much of an issue. If you want to sit in a certain location then by all means pay the seat assignment as those seats might be gone at the 24hr mark. But we've never had that problem. There really needs to be a poll or thread or something showing who has actually been separated from their traveling party and under what circumstances and going to/from which locations so this issue can be narrowed down to which locations it is happening in.

I know flying out of Dallas/Ft Worth to Orlando that parties have been seperated. I saw a mom going ballistic on a gate agent who refused to seat her near her child. She said she could not believe Air Tran would seperate her from her child and the gate agent told her Air Tran didn't. She had the choice to choose their seats and chose not to pay the $6.00, so there was nothing they could do, as the plane was full and they were not going to ask people who paid for their seats to move. She just kept insisting that someone be moved to accomodate her. Once she got on the plane, she tried to go off on the FA, who told her the same thing. She then demanded that the young couple who had seats next to her daughter move. They refused. If she had asked instead of demanded, someone might have been willing to help. As it was the FA basically told her to either sit down or get off the plane. She sat. The kid was fine, looked embarassed over mom's temper tantrum, but was fine.

 

[mikey13v]

Not to be sarcastic, but maybe another airline could be the answer.
The nickle and dimeing of many airlines to provide the services that should be expected by their customers is insane.
I choose an airline that allows you to pick your seats when you purchase. I am loyal to them because they are loyal to their customers. If they change their policies, I'll change my preferred airline.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

See that's what Airtran wants to you believe. That you have to pick. You don't. If you bought your tickets together then they seat you together. It's not that much of an issue. If you want to sit in a certain location then by all means pay the seat assignment as those seats might be gone at the 24hr mark. But we've never had that problem. There really needs to be a poll or thread or something showing who has actually been separated from their traveling party and under what circumstances and going to/from which locations so this issue can be narrowed down to which locations it is happening in.

I know that odds are pretty good my kids would at least get to sit with one of us and not be with total strangers. It's just not a chance I'm willing to take over $6 pp. Maybe if it were $20-30, I'd see how necessary it is.

Also we usually only take Airtran we we fly home from a Disney cruise since Airtran is a participating airline for Onboard Check-in. While we're enjoying Castaway Cay at the 24 hr point, Disney checks in for us then delivers our boarding passes to our stateroom. Once we put our luggage outside our door that last night, we don't see it until we arrive at our home airport.
We can walk off the ship with a small carry on, skip checking bags, and head straight to security/gates.
This service is so convenient, it's the main reason we fly AT.

 

[twooley2]

honestly if you know you need seats together pay the 6 bucks you can afford to go to Disney 6 bucks shouldnt make or break ya. If someone asked me to change I'd think they were crazy if I and others pay and follow the rules so should everyone. Oh and on a flight where is your kid going ??????

 

[Missytara]

I have to agree; if you are spending all that money to go to Disney World, what is the issue with spending the 6.00 to get seats together. Are you saying that instead of the airfare saying $49.00, it was $54.00 dollars one way, now you wouldn't go????

You are going to a place that charges almost $3.00 for a bottled water, but you won't spend $6.00 so your family can sit together???