AirTran Expereinces NS out of ABE - Allentown?

[PSUGuy]

We're seriously considering AT out of ABE instead of PHL but I'm concerned about their reliability there, there seems to be only one non-stop flight per day and if that gets canned, we forced into a connector. Any info regarding this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill From PA

 

[TaraPA]

I've flown AT out of ABE (to MCO) with no problems at all. Not even a schedule change like I see others have had. I have another flight on AT booked since last month, for October of this year (ABE-MCO) and no changes on that yet either! Fight was on time, boarding was smooth & staff was great. My in-laws use either AT or Allegiant for ABE-MCO every few weeks & they've had little to no schedule changes or problems either.

Now my experience with Allegiant from ABE-MCO - that's another story!

 

[DonnaL]

I agree with TaraPA.....we've also used AT from ABE to MCO twice with no problems. None of the delay/schedule changes that occur out of PHL. We still love SWA, but, AT is just so much more convenient out of ABE for us. Also, it seems we always have a problem on our return flights to PHL from MCO with delays and we've had none of that..yet, anyway...the twice we've used them. I did also have the same thoughts as you, Bill, about the possibility of a flight cancellation or adding a stop...which with AT would most likely be ATL...since there is only the one flight..plus, they only fly on Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun so you may need to adjust your stay a bit. Another alternative is Harrisburg...AT also flies from there....I believe every day of the week...flight leaves MDT about 10:30 a.m. arrival at MCO a little before 1:00 p.m. The only drawback with that is the return to MDT from MCO is at 8:00 a.m. We have not flown from Harrisburg, but, may at some point in the future if the days work better for us.

 

[helenk]

I asked the same question a few months ago. I went ahead and booked a flight with Airtran from ABE to MCO for my trip in September.
So far the time for the trip down has changed from leaving at 4:25, arriving at MCO at 6:55 and is now leaving at 5:40 arriving at 8:10. I'm fine with this because my first night I was just planning on going to the MK for late EMH and its open until 1:00 am.
The cost was $69 each way and I paid the $6 to choose my seat each way(total $12). I figure if I went with SW I would have paid $10 for the EB check in, for the flight home, so it's only $2 more chosing the seats both ways.
Right now the cheapest SW flight from PHL is $98 each way so I feel like I got a good deal. If I were checking luggage I might have gone with SW but with the warm weather and since I'm going solo, I going with just carry on.
Airtran's schedule is a bit limited, but again I'm going solo so I can make anything work.
I am anxious to try leaving from ABE, it would be nice to have the luxury of having a 2 airports to consider when planning future trips.

 

[PSUGuy]

Thanks for the encouraging news, everyone! This looks like a 'Go' for next March. One more quesrtion if I might, we flew out of here years ago on a USAir 6:30 am direct to MCO, no longer offered, so I have little expereince with the checkin/security here. Do we need to arrive a full 2 hrs before our flight?

Thanks,
Bill From PA

 

[TaraPA]

Heck no! DH flies out of ABE frequently & he arrives 45 min. prior. I'm a little less risky, I get there a full hour prior, but have never waited more than 5 min. at security, even at peak flight times.

 

[kmermaid]

I've flown AT out of ABE (to MCO) with no problems at all. Not even a schedule change like I see others have had. I have another flight on AT booked since last month, for October of this year (ABE-MCO) and no changes on that yet either! Fight was on time, boarding was smooth & staff was great. My in-laws use either AT or Allegiant for ABE-MCO every few weeks & they've had little to no schedule changes or problems either.

Now my experience with Allegiant from ABE-MCO - that's another story!

Tara what happen wit your Allegiant flight?

 

[TaraPA]

We weren't impressed with Allegiant for anything other than price, and like they say, you get what you pay for!

It was really just the staff we weren't impressed with. They were very unprofessional in my opinion. Boarding was a nightmare - they didn't enforce people boarding by zones - when they called the 1st boarding zone hordes of people in all zones rushed the gate, I guess in hopes of stashing their carry-ons so they wouldn't have to pay to check them. I would have been livid had I paid for preferred boarding & had to wait in a huge line of people that had not paid for it, but were getting on board before me. They were gate-checking carry-ons til we got on, the overheads were full.

Boarding info was slim to none - we had a delay (NOT Allegiant's fault) that started at 30 min. & progressed to over 2 hours - 1st there was a medical emergency on the incoming flight that they had to take care of, then there was ice that delayed us. No information was announced, and I guess they really don't have to announce anything, but no one knew what was going on & there was no one even at the gate area to check with. I found that frustrating considering it was an evening flight. It was just myself & 2 DSs, and we just waited....and waited....and waited....with no updates from Allegiant as to what was going on, or when we would depart.

Once on board the staff was indifferent, no welcomes, smiles or thank you's for anything. One of our seats was occupied & they wouldn't move when I showed them our boarding passes with that seat number. I kindly asked the FA to double check the boarding pass for me & she shrugged & said "whoever is right gets the seat" and walked away.

Once we landed in MCO (at 12:15am!) they blasted the song "Move It" through the loud speaker system, and an FA came on & said "come on people, we want to get out of here too, let's go." I thought that was rude. That was the only communication the entire flight. We never saw a FA the whole time either (there are no snacks on Allegiant).

Would I fly them again for the cheap price? Yes. We got the seats for $39.99 one way (about $60 each with taxes) so it was a good deal. I guess I just had my expectations set too high on the quality of their staff!

 

[kmermaid]

Thanks Tara for the info. My mil was saying how her sister's daughter flies really cheap to florida using them. Now maybe I see why they are cheap. I'll stick with SWA, never had a problem with them and if it aint broke don't fix it!

 

[DonnaL]

TaraPA.....my two sons have flown Allegiant Allentown/St. Pete when they go fishing in the Gulf and they have said the same thing about the Allegiant crews...they said boarding at St. Pete, in particular, is a nightmare. I guess St. Pete must have several Allegiant flights leaving early in the A.M., a few also for some islands in the Caribbean, around the same time as the ABE flight and not enough agents working. They both said they would rather fly to Tampa and either rent a car or have my cousin pick them up.