Airtran inconsistencies..

[polineedyan]

Does Airtran think this is good for their business? Just reading all these posts about the switching and whatnot, plus the soon to come reductions..
I gotta tell you that Im to the point where Im horrified to even book with them. Ill pay the extra 150 bucks a ticket just to have the peace of mind of knowing that Ill get the flight I buy thru a major carrier. I know, I know, that could change, too..but how long does airtran think people will play their games?

 

[Jestocost]

AirTran and virtually all of the air carriers are in a difficult position. They could choose to operate as they have or they can increase fares and make service cutbacks. The former choice almost guarantees that they will continue to lose huge amounts money, while the latter offers some opportunity to reduce losses.

It would be one thing if AirTran were the only airline doing that, but virually all of the airlines are in the same boat, and al are raising fares and most are cutting back their schedules. AirTran's cutbacks and changes may be more significant as a percent of their total business, but don't fool yourself into believing that you are certain to get exactly the flight and schedule you booked with a "major carrier." See all of the Delta threads running now, for example, and wait for more changes (i.e. schedule consolidations and cutbacks) at both Delta and NWA once their merger is complete. American has announced that they will cut capacity (in other words eliminate flights) by 10 percent to 12 percent in the fourth quarter of the year, so no guarantees there either. None of these cuts may be huge and the vast majority of customers won't be affected, but if you are one of the ones that do have your plans changed it may be a big deal to you.

Cheerfully yours,

Jestocost

 

[CarolA]

I think the other thing is there are a couple of reasons there are so many changes on here

1. Flights to MCO are amoung the cheapest in the US. They are also the ones the airlines are losing LOTS of money on. If you were flying someplace else you probably wouldn't see as many changes, but MCO is taking over a 10% reduction in flights right now and I expect that to rise. The airlines have to do a better job of matching supply and demand to allow them a decent fare. Right now supply has been too high so they have been giving those seats away to fill them.

2. AirTran's headquarters are in Orlando. THat means they just have a large presence thier. So the one or two AA flights that get changed don't have as many posters on here as the 10 AirTran flights.

 

[Brian Noble]

Remember also that DIS is not at all representative of the "general public". We are the planners. Most people don't even start thinking about flights until much closer to departure.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

I am flying Air Tran in September. Although they did end up changing the time of my flight, their customer service was very helpful in switching my flight, and for no cost.

This is a difficult time for every airline and I think Air Tran is doing the best they can under the circumstances.

 

[danielle.st]

I understand why I have had 3 different itineraries since booking. That doesn't make me angry at all. I am really frustrated that I just checked mine today and they somehow lost 2 of our 4 paid for to be chosen early seats. And when I tried to call in today they managed to hang up on me when they were picking up. I really try to be empathetic, but I just would really like to not have to worry about every little aspect of my flights (and calling about them) all of the time.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

Does Airtran think this is good for their business? Just reading all these posts about the switching and whatnot, plus the soon to come reductions..
I gotta tell you that Im to the point where Im horrified to even book with them. Ill pay the extra 150 bucks a ticket just to have the peace of mind of knowing that Ill get the flight I buy thru a major carrier. I know, I know, that could change, too..but how long does airtran think people will play their games?

Yes, they do think this is good for their business. It's about staying profitable and staying solvent through one of the toughest blips during the "air travel era". If they didn't take these measures, they'd like be dead, but they are doing the smart thing and annoying current passengers who likely booked solely on convenience or budget, knowing that others will do the same in the future.

I know most of us grew up in the customer is always right time period, but for air travel, it's dead.

 

[WendyLovesPeter]

I just took the chance and booked Airtran for August. How close to departure do they make changes? In other words, when will i know I'm safe from changes - prob not til I'm sitting on that plane on the runway.

 

[bicker]

Typically, they won't make these types of changes within three weeks of the date of the flight.