AirTran seating question

[leebee]

I just realized that AirTran charges $6 per seat, per leg, if you pick your seats when purchasing tickets. Does anyone know what it's like if you DON"T pre-select your seats? Do you ever get to pick a seat, or are you assigned a seat, or does it turn into a cattle-call at the airport; those without assigned seats just grab whatever seats (and carry-on storage space) is left after everyone else is seated? It sounds silly, but the $6 per seat will add $60 to our airfare, plus $100 in gas/tolls/parking to get to the "cheaper" airport. Not so sure it's worth it...

 

[bear_mom]

You can choose your seats at the 24 hour check in mark. Keep in mind though that you may not be able to sit together and AirTran will not make people move who did purchase seats to help you.

For me it was worth the additional $48 to be able to sit together.

Emily

 

[irishtigger]

I am not saying this happens all the time but I do know someone who didn't pay the $6 to select a seat and the flight was overbooked and they got bumped to a later flight. Just thought I would give you the heads up. Just because the seats are showing they are open doesn't mean the flight is not full.

 

[dawnmommy]

as Emily said, if you don't pick your seats ahead of time, there is no guarantee that you'll be seated together at all. They won't necessarily seat a parent and child together, either.

For us it was worth the small cost, as airtran's prices are so much lower than anyone else's around Chicago (and flying out of Milwaukee saves us nearly $100 in parking!)

We are a family of 4, with 2 young kids, so I wanted to select our seats well in advance.

 

[leebee]

DD and I are traveling together, and she is 16, so while it's not a huge issue, we would prefer to sit together. It's not just the charge... it's the 140 mile drive each way to the airport, and the parking. I can get airfare from the local airport for only $52 more than driving, parking, and taking AirTran. It's just depressing.. I realize the driving costs were there all the time, but to see $229 for an airfare and then have it work out to so much more in reality... KWIM?