Airtran - It's not all bad!

[bdrjh]

There seems to be a lot of frustration with Airtran on this board. I, too, had a schedule change but it was only a total of 6 minutes different. However, this small change allowed me to change the dates of my flights and extend my trip. It saved me about $400. Plus, I have had nothing but positive experiences with their customer service agents on the phone!

 

[cg1200]

There seems to be a lot of frustration with Airtran on this board. I, too, had a schedule change but it was only a total of 6 minutes different. However, this small change allowed me to change the dates of my flights and extend my trip. It saved me about $400. Plus, I have had nothing but positive experiences with their customer service agents on the phone!

I think most would not be too upset in your situation. With me (and countless others) they changed a direct flight to one with a stop. For a 2 hour flight (from NYC area) that is just not acceptable. It added 2 hours to my arrival which would have practically ruined my first day.

The other time I used them they most have changed the departure time literally 5 times. I couldn't keep up. I wound up having to leave at 6am instead of 8am. Big difference.

I will say once the flights I were on were great. Very smooth and we left on time and arrived early. They also gladly refunded my money when I chose to re-book with jetBlue. They are almost always my cheapest option. If they would just avoid adding stops to a non-stop I'd have more confidence trying them again. I can deal with the time changes (as long as they aren't several hours in either direction.)

 

[Inkmahm]

There seems to be a lot of frustration with Airtran on this board. I, too, had a schedule change but it was only a total of 6 minutes different. However, this small change allowed me to change the dates of my flights and extend my trip. It saved me about $400. Plus, I have had nothing but positive experiences with their customer service agents on the phone!

That's what I like about Airtran. I count on those schedule changes for being able to change my flights around for free when I want to. Airtran is great for letting their customers make changes when a flight has changed only by a few minutes.

 

[jessrose18]

Thanks for letting me know this my airtran flight changed by 10 minutes later, and I was just wondering if they would let me book an even later flight home becuase of this. I might try now. Do they honor the price you paid or do they adjust it to what the flight is going for now? Thanks.

 

[danielle.st]

Thanks for letting me know this my airtran flight changed by 10 minutes later, and I was just wondering if they would let me book an even later flight home becuase of this. I might try now. Do they honor the price you paid or do they adjust it to what the flight is going for now? Thanks.

They honor the price you paid. Super easy to do.
Like the OP, my flight going to MCO was changed by a few minutes and I was able to switch to the more expensive nonstop without paying extra.
I do not plan anything major on our travel days so that I won't be stressed with flight time changes.

 

[tinkermom23]

We are using Air Tran for the 1st time & I have been nervous because of all the talk on these boards. I check the flights every day and ours hasn't changed more than 10 minutes.

I think sometimes when we are upset we tend to voice it more than when we are satisfied. JMO. Granted we haven't actually flown yet, but we booked 4 months ago and we have 6 weeks to go and the flights might still change.... We're so happy to be going on vacation we'll make it work!

FYI- last year we flew with NWA/Delta and paid more than twice what we're paying this time. They changed our flights 3 times by a few hours, but there wasn't anything better so we had to go with the changes. You know what? It all worked out and we got to Disney and had a great time! And we got back home so we could start planning another trip to Disney!

 

[bear_mom]

I have had no trouble with Airtran and have experienced less changes with them than when we fly Northwest. They are almost always on time (except once when we flew through Atlanta, we were delayed) and we always have good service on the flights.

Emily

 

[DonnaL]

I sometimes believe the airport you are flying to/from has a lot to do with the time changes........not to say the airport is making the changes on each individual airline, but, naturally the busier airports tend to have many more changes on a daily basis than a smaller regional airport. We've flown Airtran on our last two trips from ABE (Lehigh Valley International) and from the time I booked the schedule changed by only 2 minutes.......which doesn't appear to be the case for flights in/out of PHL ever. We also absolutely love to fly SWA, but, unfortunately that's also out of PHL.........and on every single return trip to PHL we experienced major delays.........didn't matter what time of year, weather conditions, etc.........so I'm convinced the airport (i.e. the number of airlines, more flights, etc.) has a major impact on the timeliness of the airlines.

 

[Needafix]

I sometimes believe the airport you are flying to/from has a lot to do with the time changes........not to say the airport is making the changes on each individual airline, but, naturally the busier airports tend to have many more changes on a daily basis than a smaller regional airport. We've flown Airtran on our last two trips from ABE (Lehigh Valley International) and from the time I booked the schedule changed by only 2 minutes.......which doesn't appear to be the case for flights in/out of PHL ever. We also absolutely love to fly SWA, but, unfortunately that's also out of PHL.........and on every single return trip to PHL we experienced major delays.........didn't matter what time of year, weather conditions, etc.........so I'm convinced the airport (i.e. the number of airlines, more flights, etc.) has a major impact on the timeliness of the airlines.

Donna, I was thinking exactly what you're saying and you're making me feel better. In 2 weeks we fly Airtran out of ABE and I've been a nervous wreck every time I come on these boards. They have changed our flights 3 times already and it's more than 1.5 hours later. I can still handle this, but I really don't want them cancelling flights, bumping us, making stops or delaying it any later. I'm glad to hear you've had such good luck.

 

[cg1200]

I sometimes believe the airport you are flying to/from has a lot to do with the time changes........not to say the airport is making the changes on each individual airline, but, naturally the busier airports tend to have many more changes on a daily basis than a smaller regional airport. We've flown Airtran on our last two trips from ABE (Lehigh Valley International) and from the time I booked the schedule changed by only 2 minutes.......which doesn't appear to be the case for flights in/out of PHL ever. We also absolutely love to fly SWA, but, unfortunately that's also out of PHL.........and on every single return trip to PHL we experienced major delays.........didn't matter what time of year, weather conditions, etc.........so I'm convinced the airport (i.e. the number of airlines, more flights, etc.) has a major impact on the timeliness of the airlines.

Not sure I agree. My usual route is White Plains Regional Airport (HPN) to Orlando. Both times I booked Airtran it was on this airport to MCO. HPN is nowhere near as busy as any of the other major NYC airports. I've flown out of HPN probably 10 times and the only times I've ever experienced flight schedule changes (of significance) has been with Airtran.

 

[DonnaL]

Needafix.........when did you book your flights? We just flew Airtran from ABE on New Years Day and returned on Jan 8th. I think I booked the flights in late October, however, I do remember a few weeks BEFORE I actually booked and looking at the times and now that you mention it.........it was earlier than the current time of 4:25 p.m........but by the time I booked it had been changed and then was only adjusted by 2 minutes. That particular flight is just a turnaround..........the crew is based in Orlando.......the flight leaves MCO about 1:30 p.m. or thereabouts, arrives at ABE about 3:45 p.m. and then just returns to MCO.......which IMO is a plus because you're only dealing with any possible delays at those two airports. The only drawback is in the event of a flight cancellation for any reason since there is only the one flight...... no possibility of just catching a later flight, which usually can be done at an airport with more daily flights on the airline's schedule.........but, I still much rather less travel stress flying to/from the smaller airport.

 

[DonnaL]

cg1200.......I think maybe the issue with White Plains is the flight pattern is probably pretty much the same as the other NYC airports, plus Newark and PHL in the same airspace. I once had a pilot tell me about how crowded the "East Coast" airspace actually is and that it is a major cause of all airport delays on the Coast........he named Baltimore, both Washington D.C. airports, PHL, Newark and both NYC airports. I know ABE flight pattern from Florida follows a more inland route because I'm one of those passengers that loves the window seat on a clear day.....and can pretty much pick out approximately what area we're flying over. I know when we were flying to ABE back in January we flew over western Viriginia and maybe even West Viriginia because I could see the mountain ranges very clearly below us.

 

[Needafix]

Needafix.........when did you book your flights? We just flew Airtran from ABE on New Years Day and returned on Jan 8th. I think I booked the flights in late October, however, I do remember a few weeks BEFORE I actually booked and looking at the times and now that you mention it.........it was earlier than the current time of 4:25 p.m........but by the time I booked it had been changed and then was only adjusted by 2 minutes. That particular flight is just a turnaround..........the crew is based in Orlando.......the flight leaves MCO about 1:30 p.m. or thereabouts, arrives at ABE about 3:45 p.m. and then just returns to MCO.......which IMO is a plus because you're only dealing with any possible delays at those two airports. The only drawback is in the event of a flight cancellation for any reason since there is only the one flight...... no possibility of just catching a later flight, which usually can be done at an airport with more daily flights on the airline's schedule.........but, I still much rather less travel stress flying to/from the smaller airport.

I booked the flights in late November. I booked two sets of the same flights one for March and one for July. They were originally set to leave at 4:25, which would have gotten us in around 7pm. Now they're leaving closet to 6pm and due in at 8:30. I'm just bummed because after a long day at work, and now not getting settled until around 10pm and still needing dinner, I'd rather have gotten in earlier so we could be well rested for the morning, but definitely not something I'm too worried about. They also moved our flights coming home to be later. Again no big deal as long as that's all that happens. They already did the same for my July flights.

 

[cg1200]

cg1200.......I think maybe the issue with White Plains is the flight pattern is probably pretty much the same as the other NYC airports, plus Newark and PHL in the same airspace. I once had a pilot tell me about how crowded the "East Coast" airspace actually is and that it is a major cause of all airport delays on the Coast........he named Baltimore, both Washington D.C. airports, PHL, Newark and both NYC airports. I know ABE flight pattern from Florida follows a more inland route because I'm one of those passengers that loves the window seat on a clear day.....and can pretty much pick out approximately what area we're flying over. I know when we were flying to ABE back in January we flew over western Viriginia and maybe even West Viriginia because I could see the mountain ranges very clearly below us.

I would be inclined to believe this if jetBlue behaved in a similar fashion - but they don't. I've flown JB at least 5 times out of HPN and they have never altered my flight schedule significantly. Not once in either direction. I booked Airtran twice out of HPN and both times they changed my flights. The first time I was able to accomodate their changes because they kept the flight non-stop. The second time I canceled and re-booked with JB.

If the scheduling was due to crowded airspace I would expect all the airlines to suffer and behave like Airtran. In my limited experience none of the other airlines pull this crap.

In fact in my entire life, I have never had an airline change a flight on me from non-stop to a one stop. Seriously (maybe I live a charmed life). Seems to happen all the time (if you read these boards) with Airtran.