AirTran? Has anyone used them?

[rascalmom]

How are they? I could save about $900 for our Spring Break trip by flying AirTran out of DFW instead of flying out of OKC. Tempting - anyone have any knowledge of how reliable/comfortable, etc.?

 

[Okiemom]

Hey, I am from OKC too!! I did not know Airtran even flew out of DFW. I heard they have great rates. I wish JetBlue was around here. We are using frequent flier miles, this time. Is Airtran cheaper than SW airlines?

 

[rascalmom]

For the dates we are flying, AirTran is cheaper than SW. All SW has left for our dates are the fully-refundable fares (which would make them even higher than American out of OKC). We are thinking of driving - this is supposed to be a "cheap" trip. We were just there in July & have AP's.

 

[Disneyhappy]

We fly Airtran 1-2 times per year out of Phila. Great airline with great rates. Never had a problem (knock on wood!). One suggestion is to keep checking flight times if you book way in advance. We booked our March flights in November and our departing flight changed and our return flight times changed when I checked last week. The changes messed up our schedule so Airtran gave us different flights at no charge. The new flights are actually better for our schedule. If I waited until closer to our departure, the other flights might have already been filled up. Keep in mind, I have also had this happen with US Air on a smaller scale change but I imagine this can happen with any airline. Always keep checking your flights! Good luck!

 

[wdwmom2]

We flew AirTran last April and loved them. Origionally I was going to book with SW but in the 2 hours after they opened the schedule, all the cheap flights were booked!! I then went to AirTran as they were cheaper than any SW flights left. I booked online and the next day I realized that I made a return flight mistake. I called AirTran and they fixed it without charging me any penalties. Later they added a departure flight that I liked better, so again I called them. Again they changed with no penalties. I was very happy!!! They did change my one flight a few weeks before we left, but it was no big deal. But you do have to keep an eye open for this. The flight was great, everything on time. I will definately use them again.

One thing that they did that I don't understand, was that I got my seating assignments, departure and return, when I origionally booked. Not sure why. Your not supposed to get them until 24 hours before the flight. This was an unexpected surprise!!!

 

[DebbieB]

I used them in early December and they were great.

Regarding preassigned seats, it depends on the fare you buy. If you buy a higher fare, they preassign seats at purchase. If you buy a sale fare, you have to wait until 24 hours. When I checked in at 24 hours both ways, I had a choice of practically the whole plane.

 

[MiJo]

would highly recommend them! We flew R/T, PHL-MCO, last week and had no problems at all. We used their on-line check-in to pick our seats and print out our boarding passes and we skipped the hassle of standing in any lines by checking our baggage in using curbside check-in. We flew R/T from Philly to MCO for $233 (for 2 adults, total)!

 

[wdwmom2]

I used them in early December and they were great.

Regarding preassigned seats, it depends on the fare you buy. If you buy a higher fare, they preassign seats at purchase. If you buy a sale fare, you have to wait until 24 hours. When I checked in at 24 hours both ways, I had a choice of practically the whole plane.

I only payed the fare that was on their website. It was higher than SW's cheapest flights, not substantially higher, but nowhere near what other airlines were charging.

 

[DebbieB]

I only payed the fare that was on their website. It was higher than SW's cheapest flights, not substantially higher, but nowhere near what other airlines were charging.

When you are on their website, if you click on the type of fare (coach, business, internet), it will tell you if you can get preassigned seats.

 

[Okiemom]

What is their website?

 

[DebbieB]

What is their website?

http://www.airtran.com/

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

We loved AirTran! It is soooooooo much better to have assigned seats! We have also flown SW into Orlando. Both are great airlines, but will attempt to book AirTran for our future flights to Disney!

 

[Lucky4me]

We've flown Airtran 5 or 6 times. Nothing not to like. New planes with fresh air recirculating, smooth flights and usually on time. My best fare was from Rochester, NY $104 RT direct flight to Orlando in December!

 

[Jimdamedic]

One other thing about airtran, you can upgrade your ticket to business class (if available) at the gate for $30 per ticket. A great deal for long flights.

 

[skiwee1]

I only payed the fare that was on their website. It was higher than SW's cheapest flights, not substantially higher, but nowhere near what other airlines were charging.

You can still pre select your seats no matter what fare you paid. It just has different times depending on what you paid. For oyu, you can get online exactly 24 hours before your flight and choose seats. I always buy tickets online even getting the web special and always choose my seats 24 hours before flights.

 

[tggrbuny]

AirTrans is great. Most of time they are perfect and we have been delighted. The best part is when things have gone wrong: every employee we have interacted with during a problem has been friendly and helpful. To us, this was a true measure of their customer service skills. When ever we can we upgrade, it is nice way to spoil yourself.

 

[Good Deeds]

Just flew Airfran for the first time last week and had a GREAT flight both coming and going. Slight delay in Orlando for our return trip because of the ice in Atlanta but the pilot kept us abreast of the changes and was very funny!! We left Orlando about 45 minutes late but were only 25 minutes off our original arrival time.

Plane seemed new, very smooth flight. Very nice and helpful attendants. Great prices...we would use them again!!

Another little tip. We were in AK at the 24 hour point to get our boarding passes for the trip home. I went to guest services at the front of the park and they helped me pick my seats and printed my boarding passes, while my girls were playing in DINOLAND....

We got seats together and I didn't miss anytime at the park!!!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

To Good Deads:

Thanks for the tip on finding a way to book those return flight seating arrangements! Last trip my husband had his laptop along (for business purposes), but for our summer trip we won't have that luxury. Great idea!

 

[nan1217]

If only Disney would add AirTran as one of their "Magic Express" airlines!

*edited to add: right after I posted this, I came across this article. Surely they'll be one of the Magic Express airlines if they are partnering like this!

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2005/01/10/daily20.html

 

[fishy_mouse]

When I was looking at packages for June on the disneyworld web site, the flights (PHL-MCO) that Disney offered were on AirTran.

I then went to their web site and booked myself for about half the fare.