AirTran questions-Please help!

[Karmel96]

I was about to book our flights with AirTran when I read on another thread here that you have to pay an additional $25 per personscared: ) for advance seat assignments (which I like to do since we have our kids with us). When I looked this up on AirTran's website, it stated only $5 per person, per one-way trip (so $10 per person for round-trip I'm assuming). So,...
1) Does anyone know which amount is correct?
2) Can you pay the extra money for the advance seat assignment if you book through Expedia or Travelocity?
3)How is AirTran as an airline-any major problems or concerns?

I'm trying to book non-stop flights, so I'm a bit limited. So far, only AirTran and Northwest have non-stop flights listed on Expedia, and Northwest's flights are about $150-$300 more than for similar flights on AirTran.

Any info anyone can give me would be great! I'm trying to lock in our airfare ASAP so that everything can be done!
Thanks!

 

[keishashadow]

yes, $5 pp, each way

not sure why you want to buy their tix thru expedia; website always seems to have the best deals...have you checkout out Kayak?

IMO, depending on your area (Pittsburgh is especially suject to it ) ATs worst offense is cancelling NS fares entirely and changing flight times repeatedly.

We've had issues with lost luggage & twice with the evening returns out of MCO as to long delays they've termed equipment issues too, always just glad to get home.

Not sure whether it's because they release their schedule so far in advance...we've had cancellations on NS/rebookings and flight time changes up to 6-8 times (i lost count lol) without email notification.

Just make sure you check their site for changes, up to the day before (yes, my DSs honeymoon flight was changed the day before in January, moved up 20 min.).

Other than the above (lol); the planes are newer, satellite radio and usually on time. We flip between AT & SW - whoever has the best flight times/$...good luck.

 

[Karmel96]

yes, $5 pp, each way

not sure why you want to buy their tix thru expedia; website always seems to have the best deals...have you checkout out Kayak?

IMO, depending on your area (Pittsburgh is especially suject to it ) ATs worst offense is cancelling NS fares entirely and changing flight times repeatedly.

We've had issues with lost luggage & twice with the evening returns out of MCO as to long delays they've termed equipment issues too, always just glad to get home.

Not sure whether it's because they release their schedule so far in advance...we've had cancellations on NS/rebookings and flight time changes up to 6-8 times (i lost count lol) without email notification.


Other than the above (lol); the planes are newer, satellite radio and usually on time. We flip between AT & SW - whoever has the best flight times/$...good luck.

As of now, Expedia has a better deal ($683.20 with trip insurance, but not with seat assignments, whereas AirTran would be $779.16, which includes trip insurance and the $5 per person per one-way).
I'm a bit worried about the cancellations and lost luggage (we were planning on leaving MCO in the evening), especially since you've had so many!
Sorry to sound dumb, but what is Kayak?
Thanks for responding!

 

[cbrfan]

It is a $5 fee per person, each way. The $25 you referred to was probably due to the OP having 5 passengers. We fly AirTran almost exclusively and haven't had any real problems with schedule changes. Reading these boards it appears to me to be a bigger problem with certain airports. We've always been very happy with AirTran and have never had a luggage problem.
As for the trip insurance I've found purchasing it through the airlines or travel company can be pretty expensive. I go to www.insuremytrip.com and select the coverage I want (flights, hotel, etc.) and it shows different prices from a number of different insurance companies. You may want to compare those prices to what you're looking at. Don't know if you're booking your trip as a package or booking everything separately but you can insure both ways.

 

[Karmel96]

Thanks for the info as well! Trip insurance through either AirTran or Expedia is only around $15 per person; I just need something basic (my dad's health is not bad, but not great either).
Of course, my DH just told me that there's a slight chance he may not be able to go due to work issues. Last time I checked, there's no coverage for that!
I'm glad to hear that you didn't have any troubles with AirTran; I'm hoping for the same!

 

[niclodn]

My experience with AirTran is that you MUST check to be sure your flight has not changed -- don't expect them to notify you even though their policy states that they will.

Just a couple of examples -- last year our return flight was scheduled to leave at 8-ish PM and we planned to spend that last day at MGM. However, when I called to confirm the flight that morning, they had no record of our flight number. After being transferred to a couple of different agents, we finally found out that our N/S flight had been cancelled and we were now scheduled to leave MCO at 3PM (still N/S thank goodness!). Had I not called we would've missed our flight entirely because I did not plan to be at the airport until about 5PM!

This year my DN will be flying from MDW to CLT (where I live) and then we are driving to Disney. I just re-checked her flight which was orginally scheduled to leave at 11:07AM. It has been cancelled and replaced with a 9AM departure -- as of yet, we have not been notified of the change.

AirTran is not a bad airline -- once you actually get on the plane. They are just incredibly bad at notifying you of changes. As long as you check and double-check your itinerary before you leave and don't mind the possiblity of being bumped to an earlier or later flight you'll be fine

 

[keishashadow]

kayak is a search engine that lists the various prices for airfare, hotels, etc.

searches multiple suppliers (both the airlines & resellers like expedia) & lists them all, it's usually my 1st stop - then i go to the cheapest sites directly.

csa travel also offers trip insurance, not sure if for just flights...might want to check them out. also whether who ever you chose, covers "pre-existing" conditions...good luck.

 

[blanq]

Just to clarify further, advanced seating on AirTran is $5 pp for all coach seats except those in an exit row. If you want an exit row, it will set you back $15 pp.

As far as how AirTran is, as a carrier, I love them and will choose them over any other carrier provided the price is right (which it almost always is). I think they have great service, and their fleet is new. I just flew AirTran this past week, from MSP to MCO for a business trip and I was on a brand spankin new plane. I prefer to upgrade to business class on the day of travel (seats have almost always been available when I have traveled and the upgrade is just $60 one way on the legs I travel). I don't bother with paying the extra $5-$15 for advanced seat assignments. I would suggest monitoring the load, which is easy to do with their new advanced seat assignment policy. If you have young children, and need to sit together, you can do advanced seating as you get closer to your flight, if the plane is booking up. As far as being notified by email of flight time changes/cancellations, just simply signing up to be an A+ Rewards member will ensure notification.

 

[NancyIL]

Yes, AirTran is known to change flight times and cancel non-stop flights. I got a small credit 2 days ago for a flight that went down in price (Nov. 27). When I checked fares today, the same flight's departure time had changed by 4 hours - and not in the right direction! I called and was able to get an evening non-stop, which was even later than our original non-stop flight.

Twice I've booked non-stop flights from Bloomington, IL to Orlando, only to have the non-stop flight cancelled shortly after I purchased my ticket!