Airtran Seating

[Darcy03231]

PSA: If you need seats togther make sure you buy them ahead of time. Don't count on your flight not being full or being able to get seats together when you check in at the airport.

I flew Airtran last week. Of the four legs of the flights only one wasn't full. In fact, on the flight back from Orlando on Sunday morning they were encouraging people to gate check their carry-on luggage for free. I bought my seats as I was traveling with my niece so it wasn't an issue for me, but there were some upset travelers because their family couldn't get seats together and parents were separated from their children. The flight attendants asked people to move voluntarily, but didn't make anyone change seats. If you really need to sit together make sure you buy your seats ahead of time.

 

[PSUGuy]

PSA: If you need seats togther make sure you buy them ahead of time. Don't count on your flight not being full or being able to get seats together when you check in at the airport.

I flew Airtran last week. Of the four legs of the flights only one wasn't full. In fact, on the flight back from Orlando on Sunday morning they were encouraging people to gate check their carry-on luggage for free. I bought my seats as I was traveling with my niece so it wasn't an issue for me, but there were some upset travelers because their family couldn't get seats together and parents were separated from their children. The flight attendants asked people to move voluntarily, but didn't make anyone change seats. If you really need to sit together make sure you buy your seats ahead of time.

I agree, we always pay the 6 bucks. What I don't understand is people who don't pay to guarantee their seats acting all POed when the don't get seats together. They gambled when they chose to bypass the $6 check-box and they lost. Suck it up.

Bill From PA

 

[RMulieri]

We always buy our seats and we are flying Airtran this Saturday to Disney

 

[dioxide45]

Don't pay for those seat selections. Book through Kayak and get those preselected seat selections for free.

 

[bavaria]

May I request OP that you also post this on the Family Board? We say this over and over and over here, but many posters think that we are just evil and nasty, and that people will move. Many posters over there won't read here, or don't agree with us. Perhaps hearing it from you would help.

Airline seating is like a giant puzzle and sometimes not everyone can move, and sometimes the 'other passengers' are also parents with small children.

Carriers have record load factors this year in America, and there is rarely a lot of open seats, if any, on flights anymore.

And factor in that every late departure costs the airlines (and thus the passengers) money, cabin crew really don't have the time to play musical chairs with the passengers.

 

[DIZBOUND]

I am a mom of 2 boys 3 and 7. We traveled on Airtran in Nov and prepurchased our seats. Because Airtran is notorious for changing flight times, we had to change planes. When we changed planes, there were NOT 4 seats together, the only seats available was two together and then the other two were singles not even back to back rows. So every time, you see families who are trying to change their seats, this may very well be the reason why. I had to beg for my refund of the purchased seats since my son could not sit next to either myself nor my husband.

 

[Anal Annie]

We use Air Tran a lot & I have learned to watch their flight schedules for changes like that. I also buy our tix thru kayak.com so I don't end up actually paying for the seat assisgnments. One thing I've noticed with them is if they just change the flight time by a few min. the seats usually stay. IF however they make a BIG change & possibly change the whole flight number too then the seats don't always xfer to the new flight. It's some sort of a computer glitch. So I call and get them added back according to what's available on the new flight. They won't hassle you if you do it ahead of time over the phone. I HAVE heard of them being a little rude on the ground when it's time to board. I don't think their ground crews are aware of the issue but the CS agents on the phone are. Anyway, when we have a trip booked on Air Tran I check our ressie every 2-3 weeks for changes. It's a hassle but they usually have good prices and I like that you can upgrade to Business Class after only 4 flights.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

This was not for AirTran but for my families flight this Saturday from Toronto - Orlando and our flight back home from Tampa - Toronto with WestJet, we pre-paid $15.00 each for 3 exit row seats and think the extra cost was worth it.

 

[Darcy03231]

May I request OP that you also post this on the Family Board? We say this over and over and over here, but many posters think that we are just evil and nasty, and that people will move. Many posters over there won't read here, or don't agree with us. Perhaps hearing it from you would help.

Airline seating is like a giant puzzle and sometimes not everyone can move, and sometimes the 'other passengers' are also parents with small children.

Carriers have record load factors this year in America, and there is rarely a lot of open seats, if any, on flights anymore.

And factor in that every late departure costs the airlines (and thus the passengers) money, cabin crew really don't have the time to play musical chairs with the passengers.

Done

 

[kaytieeldr]

On behalf of bavaria and the other posters who sometimes feel like they/we are banging heads against a brick wall - THANK YOU, Darcy03231!!!!

 

[cbrfan]

We use Air Tran a lot & I have learned to watch their flight schedules for changes like that. I also buy our tix thru kayak.com so I don't end up actually paying for the seat assisgnments. One thing I've noticed with them is if they just change the flight time by a few min. the seats usually stay. IF however they make a BIG change & possibly change the whole flight number too then the seats don't always xfer to the new flight. It's some sort of a computer glitch. So I call and get them added back according to what's available on the new flight. They won't hassle you if you do it ahead of time over the phone. I HAVE heard of them being a little rude on the ground when it's time to board. I don't think their ground crews are aware of the issue but the CS agents on the phone are. Anyway, when we have a trip booked on Air Tran I check our ressie every 2-3 weeks for changes. It's a hassle but they usually have good prices and I like that you can upgrade to Business Class after only 4 flights.

I think that when your flight number changes, your original flight was canceled and you were rebooked on an alternate flight. When that happens, there may be another passenger already booked into that seat. So it pays to check your reservation frequently and call as soon as you notice a change.

 

[PSUGuy]

I think that when your flight number changes, your original flight was canceled and you were rebooked on an alternate flight. When that happens, there may be another passenger already booked into that seat. So it pays to check your reservation frequently and call as soon as you notice a change.

Agreed, that happened to us this Oct. Because I check my flights almost daily, I caught it well before we got an e-mail notification and to make matters worse, they put us on a connecting flight. I called immediately, told them the change in flight times screwed up our schedule so the agent switched us to a direct flight that actually worked out better. I would have chosen the flight we ended up on in the first place except it was more $$ when we reserved. We actually got the same seats on the 'new' flight as we paid the $6 for on the first flight and we got the seats for no extra cost or fee. AT is very good at satisfying you if you've got a legit complaint or issue.

Bill From PA

 

[bavaria]

On behalf of bavaria and the other posters who sometimes feel like they/we are banging heads against a brick wall - THANK YOU, Darcy03231!!!!

Yes, but did you offer chocolate?

 

[subtchr]

We just flew Airtran direct from Dayton (to MCO 12/3 and home 12/7). Since we got such a great airfare months ago, I decided to splurge and pay for three exit row seats both ways.

No problem going down (wow, the space was nice to have!), but on the flight home they downgraded the aircraft, meaning that our exit row was no longer an exit row.

When I talked to the gate agent, I told him I understand those things happen and I had no problem not being in an exit row, but I would really like my money back! He made a note and told me I had to call the next day. Which I did, and AT promptly refunded the payment to my credit card.

We like flying AT because of the direct flights - in the morning down and in the evening for the return. It's like having two extra days of vacation to us!

 

[hildarumpole]

Don't pay for those seat selections. Book through Kayak and get those preselected seat selections for free.

Kayak and it's "free" seat selection isn't necessarily a bargain. I checked Kayak, but wound up booking directly on Airtran's site. The Kayak rate was double for the exact same Airtran flights. It was $940 cheaper for my family, even with paying for seat selection both ways.

 

[cbrfan]

Kayak and it's "free" seat selection isn't necessarily a bargain. I checked Kayak, but wound up booking directly on Airtran's site. The Kayak rate was double for the exact same Airtran flights. It was $940 cheaper for my family, even with paying for seat selection both ways.

That's strange. When you got the price quotes, did you click on AirTran's link and get the higher quote or was it just what Kayak showed?

 

[hildarumpole]

That's strange. When you got the price quotes, did you click on AirTran's link and get the higher quote or was it just what Kayak showed?

I clicked on AirTran's link on Kayak. The price seemed high, so I decided to go to AirTran's site directly and was pleasantly surprised to discover they offered the same flights for half the price.

 

[dioxide45]

That's strange. When you got the price quotes, did you click on AirTran's link and get the higher quote or was it just what Kayak showed?

I clicked on AirTran's link on Kayak. The price seemed high, so I decided to go to AirTran's site directly and was pleasantly surprised to discover they offered the same flights for half the price.

Did you actually click through the Kayak link to AirTran's website? Not just looking at the fares on Kayak? Clicking through performs an additional search of the fares and likely would have indicated that a lower fare was available and taken you to that fare on AirTran.com. The lower price and free seats would have been yours. Kayak also includes all fees and taxes in their quotes, so while their prices may seem higher, they usually are not since the end price you pay is the same. This doesn't explain a price that is double though.

For those booking a reward flight, you should also attempt a booking through Kayak, but then after logging in at AirTran.com click on the Reservations tab and do a reward search. Complete the reservation and the seat selection is also free. We just did this last night when booking a round trip rewards flight for with 16 credits.

 

[Pinnie]

I am going to second the OPs post. We flew AT out of DTW and my DH and I did NOT pre-pay our seats. When I went to print up our boarding passes, our seats were on opposite sides of the plane. For us it is NO big deal, since we read or nap, but for those who HAVE to be together, pay the $6.

Both our flights were packed and they were offering free gate checking for carry-ons.

pinnie

 

[kaytieeldr]

Did you actually click through the Kayak link to AirTran's website? Not just looking at the fares on Kayak? Clicking through performs an additional search of the fares and likely would have indicated that a lower fare was available and taken you to that fare on AirTran.com. The lower price and free seats would have been yours. Kayak also includes all fees and taxes in their quotes, so while their prices may seem higher, they usually are not since the end price you pay is the same.

Also want to point out that kayak.com is NOT selling anything. They get paid by the service provider when the user clicks through to the end site.