Airtran seating

[sjs314]

Read this thread with great interest, I have never flown Air Tran but did recently wonder about flying them for my upcoming trip since I heard their fares are more reasonable. I must say I do like to choose where I sit on a plane and would be more than willing to pay for my seat of choice but on the same hand I would not give up my pre paid chosen seat to someone who made the choice not to pay and take "pot luck" then have regrets upon boarding. You get what you pay for ring a bell ?

 

[billsfan]

We used to fly Airtran all the time but in my opinion they have been very lacking in customer service. I don't know how many threads I have read where they have changed flight times by 15 minutes and peoples assigned seats they had dissappeared and when they have called to get their seats back they have been told that they are now gone. Also I have read many threads where times change and people are not notified.

I know most people on the DIS are some of the most informed travelers and we know to check this stuff. The normal people do not. For example this past fall I was talking to a friend who had booked Airtran to Orlando and I informed them that Airtran is notorious for changing schedules and not informing thier customers. When they checked back their direct flight changed to a lay over flight and they were never informed.

I do not see it comming but I wish the airlines would remember a little thing called customer service.

I myself now try to fly Southwest. I know they have some policies that people have problems with but at least they are up front about most of them and once their schedules are set they mostly do not change. I am getting a little scared about their customer policy about people of size since I am a larger man. I have never had any issues in the past but it seams like they are now enforcing this even more even if you you are sitting next to someone you know.

Oh well. I guess flying is still better than driving. Not much but still a little bit better.

 

[cbrfan]

If all the seats on the airplane were paid for I agree. Some people do not pay for seats, and they save seats specifically for families, and what every other reasons.
At the time I booked there were no seats available for purchase next to each other it was booked about 2 days before I left. I reserved seats for the way home, as they were available. I feel I am entiled for the option to sit next to my family. If they didn't have room, they should not have sold me the tickets up front. If they charged me 20$ or 40$ at the gate I would have paid it. I would have accepted across the row, or any reasonable option. Not having the option would have drove me crazy, good thing stopping at the MK 4 -5 hours later would have fixed the bad mood!

When being seated together is an absolute must, you can click the seat icon before selecting a particular flight to see if suitable seating is available for purchase. That way if there isn't you can choose a different flight or be prepared for separate seating arrangements.

 

[dis-happy]

This has happened to us before with Air Tran - you have to check your flight status frequently with them - especially when booking really far in advance. They have some sort of a glitch in their computers so that if they change the flight number or the type of plane they're using the assigned seat number you selected doesn't transfer with the new plane / flight!! They will give it back to you without a hassle but you have to call & tell them it disappeared.

It's not just AT with the equipment changes. One time I was flying on USAir, at the gate, ready to board the aircraft that was sitting there, on a coast to coast flight. Guess the flight wasn't full, because all of a sudden they told us there would be a 30 minute delay while they got a different (smaller) plane out of the hangar. Thank God I was booked in the 3rd row of first class and not the fourth row, because that last row didn't exist on the new plane. I don't know what they did to the people who were supposed to sit there, hopefully they were only FF who were upgraded on space available and then downgraded again.

But it just goes to show, it doesn't matter how diligent you are, changes can happen and you are left without a seat assignment.

 

[Inkmahm]

I thought of this thread today when I flew on Airtran to get home from WDW. A family of mom, dad and 2 sons were split up and sat all over the plane in middle seats. The oldest son seemed to be maybe 10 or 11. He sat in about row 16 and complained to his mom at the end of the trip that the fat woman next to him put up the armrest and too about a third of his seat space so he was squished. The younger sone looked to me to be about 4 years old. He was seated in the middle seat of row 19. The mom was back a few rows and the dad was somewhere in the very back of the plane. When the mom dropped off the younger son to his seat, I heard her apologize to the two men already seated in the window and aisle seat that her son would be sitting there because "they split us up all over the plane." To her credit, she was NOT asing anyone to switch seats and no one offered to switch, either.

 

[jenthemom22]

Hmmm. Glad I read this thread. I have never flown AirTran before, and will be using them for the first time for our upcoming trip. I was not aware that this type of seating policy existed. I made my reservations directly through the Disney website. I am assuming that the price I was quoted, and have already paid, DID NOT include the assigned seating. Anyone know?

I booked Airtran through the Disney website for our August 2009 trip. When I read about the seat assignment issue, I wanted to purchase seats so that my kids and I would be together. I called Disney and the rep called Airtran and took care of it for me.

BTW, I was expecting a charge from Disney for the seats, but they never added anything to my bill.

 

[DISNEYLOVER70]

I understand people not willing to give up their seat that they paid for. At this point in my life, my children being 12 and 16, I would give up a seat for a child to sit with his parents in a heartbeat. I paid for my family of 4 seats so that we could be together, but if someone asked me politely if I would mind moving, all it would take would be for me to look a the face of the child and I would do it immmediately. Now, if it were an older child, like my own, or an adult, they could adjust, the flights I take aren't long they will be just fine.

I agree that these parents should think of their children and purchase seat assignments, but I see no point or gratification coming from teaching their parent a lesson by making the child sit alone. And honestly, I don't get too worked up about seat location.

Just double checked and yup: our seat assignements still good for our AirTran flight in 19 days !!

 

[Hannathy]

I heard her apologize to the two men already seated in the window and aisle seat that her son would be sitting there because "they split us up all over the plane." To her credit, she was NOT asing anyone to switch seats and no one offered to switch, either.

Good for her!!! Although I'm not sure why she was apologizing

And see her son lived thru it, just pointing this out for the nonbelievers out there.

 

[Inkmahm]

Good for her!!! Although I'm not sure why she was apologizing

And see her son lived thru it, just pointing this out for the nonbelievers out there.

My guess is she was apologizing for dropping an unsupervised kid between them. But from what I saw on the flight, the kid was as quiet as a church mouse.

 

[Disneylvr]

We just flew back from Orlando this past Monday on AirTran. We paid for seat assignments. The last family to board did not and they had young children. Mom was very upset that her children were going to be separated from her. The flight attendants started looking for people willing to move but most were not willing to. The situation delayed the flight for about 15 minutes or so but 2 passengers did finally volunteer to move. My husband and I did not because we have a young child too and she has autism. It is important that she is seated between us and not next to a stranger. I really think parents with children they want to sit with should purchase assigned seats. All of our AirTran flights for this past trip (STL to ATL, ATL to MCO, MCO to STL) were 100% full as are most flights nowdays.