E
erikthewise
Guest
There have been several posts expressing concern about flying on Airtran. We just got back from flying on this airline, nonstop roundtrip Dayton-Orlando.
The times were very convenient, early morning departure (7:35AM) and late evening return (7:30PM), so we were able to check-in before noon and stay late on our last day. The flights arrived on time and we experienced no problems. Avoiding a transfer in Atlanta is priceless! (I like the Atlanta airport, but not the possibility of delays.) And the price was very reasonable, $176pp.
I had scoured the Airtran web site and noticed that they are currently offering cash upgrades to Business Class (from any coach fare) for $35. I had decided in advance to try and get one for my wife since she had never flown anything but coach.
When we arrived at the airport I asked if any cash upgrades were available on our flight. The agent said, "Well, let me check. Two, four, eight, ... twelve is all we have available." He was being sarcastic, as they only have 12 Business Class seats; they hadn't sold a single Business Class seat on this flight! I asked for two upgrades. After we left the counter, I discovered the agent had given us all four seats in Business Class for $70. Not bad, I thought, upgrades for $17.50 each! You can't beat that! But we did...
On Airtran you don't get advance seat assignments, but you can select seats via web check-in 24 hours in advance. I had done this before leaving but it turned out to be irrelevant due to the upgrades. On our return day, we spent the afternoon visiting relatives, so I used their computer to do web-checkin. When doing that, I found we were in Business Class again!! I called Airtran, and after a 20 minute wait, was assured this was not a mistake and there was no additional charge. So we got a total of 8 upgrades for $70, or $8.75 each!
We will definitely have Airtran at the top of our list for future Orlando travel, but of course we don't expect a repetition of our good luck on this trip (and neither should you).
The times were very convenient, early morning departure (7:35AM) and late evening return (7:30PM), so we were able to check-in before noon and stay late on our last day. The flights arrived on time and we experienced no problems. Avoiding a transfer in Atlanta is priceless! (I like the Atlanta airport, but not the possibility of delays.) And the price was very reasonable, $176pp.
I had scoured the Airtran web site and noticed that they are currently offering cash upgrades to Business Class (from any coach fare) for $35. I had decided in advance to try and get one for my wife since she had never flown anything but coach.
When we arrived at the airport I asked if any cash upgrades were available on our flight. The agent said, "Well, let me check. Two, four, eight, ... twelve is all we have available." He was being sarcastic, as they only have 12 Business Class seats; they hadn't sold a single Business Class seat on this flight! I asked for two upgrades. After we left the counter, I discovered the agent had given us all four seats in Business Class for $70. Not bad, I thought, upgrades for $17.50 each! You can't beat that! But we did...
On Airtran you don't get advance seat assignments, but you can select seats via web check-in 24 hours in advance. I had done this before leaving but it turned out to be irrelevant due to the upgrades. On our return day, we spent the afternoon visiting relatives, so I used their computer to do web-checkin. When doing that, I found we were in Business Class again!! I called Airtran, and after a 20 minute wait, was assured this was not a mistake and there was no additional charge. So we got a total of 8 upgrades for $70, or $8.75 each!
We will definitely have Airtran at the top of our list for future Orlando travel, but of course we don't expect a repetition of our good luck on this trip (and neither should you).
