Airtran and changing of flight times?

[*WeLuvDisney*]

I'm confused! I've seen a few treads about Airtran changing flight times. Why does this happen and how do I know if it will happen to me? We have tickets for the MNSSHP on the day of our arrival and don't want to chance getting in later than we want. We haven't made reservations on Airtran yet. I'm waiting to see what you all have to say!

Thank you!

 

[helenk]

Most airlines make periodic changes to their schedules. I disliked booking Airtran because of their frequent changes. More than once they completely eliminated our flight.
What you have to do with Airtran is check the schedule on Sundays, that is when they seem to make their changes.
I've gotten better deals with Southwest, because they do not charge for the first 2 pieces of checked luggage. ALso, once they release their schedule they do not make changes.
If your plans are to go to MNSSHP on the night of your arrival, I would book the earliest flight possible in case of any changes.

 

[tlcoke]

Based on what I read recently on their website when they changed one of my flight times, they will reschedule you on another flight if their changes effect your travel plans with no Charge penalties.

 

[NancyIL]

There's always the chance of flight delays or cancellations on any airline. I wouldn't book a prepaid activity like the Halloween Party for my arrival day unless I was on a non-stop flight that arrived fairly early in the day.

 

[WiscMomof2]

Airtran has done this to us several times. It can be a little annoying but most of the time it's not very far off the original flight time. We've never had a problem switching to another flight with no fees if it interfered with our travel plans. They're supposed to contact you when they do this but that's hit or miss in our experience.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

There are basically 2 types of changes.

1.) Changed by only a few minutes.

Each and every flight will have an "On-Time" percentage rating. When this percentage begins to go waaaaaay down, the airline can reschedule the flight by a few minutes thereby resetting the rating to 100%. This is generally a benign change.

2.) Cancelling/rebooking

Easy - when I flight is not going to make enough $$$ for the airlines, they will just....change it. It happened less frequently in years past - and now QUITE FREQUENTLY with Airtran and Delta.



DH and I struggled when making an outbound reservation from BWI to LAX in December. The "mother of all perfect flights" is an Airtran non-stop from Baltimore. Last week we booked it because there were more seats assigned than another non-stop from another (less convenient) airport. Now we hold our breath until November 28th.