AirTran Stockholders Approve Southwest Merger

[dioxide45]

I'm confused...isn't this a good thing?? On SW you don't have to pay for seats or luggage...right!?!

What does this mean though since I already booked my Airtran flight for Aug/Sept.?

Some people prefer the product that AirTran offered. IMO it is far better than the product that SW offers. We will truly miss AirTran.

This still needs regulatory approval as far as I know. Hopefully the DOJ will think this removes too much competition from the market and will reject it. Both companies seem to be able to survive on their own and removing competition is not good for the customers.

 

[DebbieB]

For you seasoned air travelers and those that have experience in airline mergers --- what does this mean to me?

I bought tickets on AirTran for our trip this October. We are flying out of Indianapolis; the flight times work out perfectly for us, they are non-stop and I paid for the seat assignments.

I'm assuming I shouldn't count on my flight times staying the same --- or remaining non-stop --- or getting my seat assignments. Would we get a refund for the seat assignment we already paid for? How/when do we get notified of changes?

So many questions. Since I'm not a frequent flyer - but a nervous one! - this has kind of thrown me for a loop. I really don't like the uncertainty.....but I guess that's life, huh?

TIA,
Debbie

It takes awhile for them to actually merge operations. They typically run separate for the flights already scheduled and then start merging the schedule down the line. They have to get new operating certificates to fly AirTran planes as Southwest. They also have to deal with labor issues. This one is different from some of the other ones. When Delta and Northwest merged, they pretty much did business the same so it wasn't a big change. They started doing codeshares on the flight numbers so that the same flight would have both a Delta flight # and a Northwest flight #. That would be hard to do with AirTran and Southwest because of the seating and luggage fee issues.

 

[DebbieB]

Some people prefer the product that AirTran offered. IMO it is far better than the product that SW offers. We will truly miss AirTran.

This still needs regulatory approval as far as I know. Hopefully the DOJ will think this removes too much competition from the market and will reject it. Both companies seem to be able to survive on their own and removing competition is not good for the customers.

If they approved Delta and Northwest & United and Continental, they will approve this one. They were both larger than Southwest and AirTran.

 

[GiJohnsGirl]

The site stated that it may take 18-24 months for the merger to go through all throw precedings and change, until then it will opperate as SW and Airtran seperately.... Until it passes DOJ I wouldn't worry. I liked Airtran for their cheap flights but their timing/lay overs suck.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Blessed ~ So many questions, huh? I am an obsessive planner and a nervous flyer so this is makin' me crazy!

But, thanks to the inforamtion from DebbieB and GiJohnsGirl my mind's a bit more at ease. Thanks ladies!

We weren't even supposed to go to WDW this year; it's our 'off' year. However, my DFIL passed away in January and my DMIL wants to go to WDW - something the two of them didn't get a chance to do again. I really want this trip to go well for her. The flight times are pretty important since DD will be a freshman in HS and we are going over her Fall Break which is only Thu-Fri so we are trying to minimize the time she misses by flying down late Wed afternoon and back Mon afternoon.

I'll definitely be keeping tabs on merger updates.....

 

[aubriee]

I'm still hoping I'll be on AirTran in early December and not Southwest.

I've got trips coming up in late Sept/early Oct and also in early Dec. Flying Air Tran out of DFW I don't know whether to book my flights or not. With the Wright Ammendment Southwest doesn't fly out of DFW. I'd have to change airports, which I'm not willing to do.

 

[aubriee]

I wonder how it will work if you have an existing Airtran credit - hopefully, they would transfer them

I plan to use my AirTran business class upgrade voucher on my flight to Orlando next month.

Oh foot! I hadn't even thought about either of those. I'll have to get my A+ Rewards switched to a voucher and use them for a business class upgrade for my May trip. I've also got a credit for when my flight went down a couple of months ago. If I use the A+ Rewards to upgrade to business class, I won't have any luggage fees to pay so don't know what I'll do about using that credit. I guess I'll just lose it?

 

[aubriee]

I'm confused...isn't this a good thing?? On SW you don't have to pay for seats or luggage...right!?!

What does this mean though since I already booked my Airtran flight for Aug/Sept.?

Not if you are in the Dallas area and fly out of DFW. Because of the Wright Ammendment Southwest does not fly out of DFW, so we'd have to use a different airport. Plus Southwest does not fly nonstop to MCO, like Air Tran does. I have claustrophobic issues and want to sit close to the front of the plane in an aisle seat, so like being able to choose the seat I want and need. Plus even with seat fees and luggage fees AirTran has always been ALOT cheaper than Southwest.

With this merger I'd be paying alot more for my ticket, won't be able choose my seat, and will lose the early nonstop flight we always take. No thanks! I'll just pay a little more than I do now and fly American which is our other option for nonstop flights out of DFW, so we can choose our seats and get to MCO sooner. I just checked and even with their fees American is also alot cheaper than Southwest.

 

[SondraC]

I'm confused...isn't this a good thing?? On SW you don't have to pay for seats or luggage...right!?!

What does this mean though since I already booked my Airtran flight for Aug/Sept.?

Taking away competition is never a good thing.

 

[seashoreCM]

Because of the Wright Ammendment Southwest does not fly out of DFW, so we'd have to use a different airport. .

I thought that thge reason Southwest does not fly out of DFW was because they could not arrange a gate rental and other support agreement to their liking (less expensive) while they got a better arrangement at Love Field. Even out of Love Field, the Wright Amendment restricts Southwest as to where they can fly from there.

During the transition period there could be a gradual reduction of "Airtran" flights (with seat selection) and a corresponding increase of "Southwest" flights (with open seating).

I would not be surprised if some "Airtran" airports lose service when the gate contracts run out and Southwest has service from a nearby airport and cannot negotiate a new gate contract to its liking.

While Southwest's intent now is not to offer seat assignments, they will receive with Airtran a fully functioning model of seat assigning. Southwest's own short trial of seat assignments a few years ago failed dismally because it was ad-hoc at the airport with random assignments, i.e. no choice of seats given to passengers. Not because Southwest passengers were accustomed to open seating. No one could even draw any conclusions as to whether assigned seats sped up the boarding process because so many passengers appeared to be confused but were really just frustrated over the seats they were suddenly assigned to.

 

[SaraJayne]

SW has made it very clear... AirTran will be moving to the SW model. The big question is how long will the plane "refit" take to allow the removal of "Business Lite" and how will they work in the transistion period.

Long term, it's SW!

Considering the "service" I have received on AirTran.. BRING ON SW!!!!

That's great news! I've heard nothing good about AirTran and refuse to fly them, so I'm glad to hear they will be using the SW model.

 

[SaraJayne]

For you seasoned air travelers and those that have experience in airline mergers --- what does this mean to me?

I bought tickets on AirTran for our trip this October. We are flying out of Indianapolis; the flight times work out perfectly for us, they are non-stop and I paid for the seat assignments.

I'm assuming I shouldn't count on my flight times staying the same --- or remaining non-stop --- or getting my seat assignments. Would we get a refund for the seat assignment we already paid for? How/when do we get notified of changes?

So many questions. Since I'm not a frequent flyer - but a nervous one! - this has kind of thrown me for a loop. I really don't like the uncertainty.....but I guess that's life, huh?

TIA,
Debbie

It's Airtran. The flight times you booked rarely stay the same. Take a look down this page and the next couple and you'll see lots of threads about AirTran changing times.

That's why I don't fly them. I book the time I want and expect it to remain that time. With Airtran, it never does. Their flight times are always a work in progress and never set.

 

[NancyIL]

It's Airtran. The flight times you booked rarely stay the same. Take a look down this page and the next couple and you'll see lots of threads about AirTran changing times.

That's why I don't fly them. I book the time I want and expect it to remain that time. With Airtran, it never does. Their flight times are always a work in progress and never set.

Southwest may be the ONLY airline that rarely changes flight times. AirTran does it no more than Delta or American - the other two airlines I fly.

I like AirTran's non-stops to and from Orlando, and they usually have the lowest fares. I'll keep flying them until Southwest takes over. If Southwest keeps the non-stop to Orlando and the price is reasonable, I'll fly with them. If they connect, just like Delta and American, I'll choose by price.

By the way, if you've "heard nothing good about AirTran," then you've been very selective in your post reading on this board!

 

[Lewisc]

Southwest has a website which answers questions like the ones asked in this thread:
http://www.lowfaresfarther.com/what-it-means/customers/

They intend to go with the Southwest model:no change fees, no checked bag fees, no assigned seats and no first class.

I don't think SW would have posted this information if it was still up for discussion.

You can take a look at flyertalk. The consensus among people who fly SW is open seating works. In many ways it's superior to assigned seating.

A couple of posters reported Airtran assigning the same seats to more then one passenger. The maximum size luggage Airtran will check without charging for an oversized bag is 61". Industry standard is 62"

Reduced competition might lead to higher fares but financially stronger airline.

Most people on DIS are interested in the cost to fly, number of stops (if any) and schedule. Airline loyalty isn't high on the list.

The airtran schedule won't disappear overnight. I'd be surprised if you saw any major change in flights throughout the rest of this year.

 

[keishashadow]

jmho in smaller markets such as PIT AT merging w/SWA will mean higher prices and less flights

concerned re my primary CC (signature line of credit thru barclays) being tied into AT rewards, currently those earned are good for 2 years, still not sure how if the branding will change outright or it will mesh/convert with new point system @ SWA (despite reading the information on the SW website several times). All i know is i sure don't want to be flipped to a Chase CC

 

[AmongMadPeople]

Sad news for all those of us in markets losing direct competition.

I have had several months to get used to the eventuality of open seating and no business class. Then, I looked at Southwest's nonstops to Orlando. I would never choose the nonstop times they offer between IND and MCO. No thanks, I'll drive.

I would like to be hopeful and say that they'll add more nonstops once they've merged with the only competition they have in our market, but when Delta and Northwest merged they dropped their nonstops to Orlando completely. I don't know what will happen, but I'm hoping another airline steps up to compete with Southwest out of IND.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

It's Airtran. The flight times you booked rarely stay the same. Take a look down this page and the next couple and you'll see lots of threads about AirTran changing times.

That's why I don't fly them. I book the time I want and expect it to remain that time. With Airtran, it never does. Their flight times are always a work in progress and never set.

Oh, I've experienced flight time changes with AirTran before. We flew on AirTran in 2008 and our flight times changed but not by much -- I think maybe 30 minutes if I recall correctly. I had a good experience with AirTran.

I was just curious what happens to booked flights when an airline mergers with another airline. Are my flights gonna go 'bye-bye' requiring me to start at Square One ....

 

[JB2K]

I've got trips coming up in late Sept/early Oct and also in early Dec. Flying Air Tran out of DFW I don't know whether to book my flights or not. With the Wright Ammendment Southwest doesn't fly out of DFW. I'd have to change airports, which I'm not willing to do.

Southwest has already went on record to say they have no plans to continue AirTran's existing DFW routes (because of the Wright Amendment).

Once the deal closes and AirTran becomes a Southwest-owned airline, they will cease flight operations at DFW -- keep in mind, there will be a lengthy period where AirTran will still look and function like the AirTran you always knew, but will be owned by Southwest -- that will be what industry people calls the "transition period".

My best advice is to monitor this site, frequently -- once AirTran stops trading under the ticker symbol "AAI", it will be then they become Southwest-owned (and stop services to/from DFW).

I know a lot of you really like AirTran, but obviously, their business model wasn't working -- otherwise, they wouldn't sell-out to SWA.

 

[Minnesota!]

Some people prefer the product that AirTran offered. IMO it is far better than the product that SW offers. We will truly miss AirTran.

This still needs regulatory approval as far as I know. Hopefully the DOJ will think this removes too much competition from the market and will reject it. Both companies seem to be able to survive on their own and removing competition is not good for the customers.

For the record, I voted against it, as did a lot of other stockholders that I know of. I cannot believe it passed by such a huge margin!!

I think losing competition really really stinks for the consumer.

Looks like Sun Country will be getting all my business from here on out..

 

[JB2K]

No thanks, I'll drive.

Even in the era of potential $4-$5 a gallon gas??

I would like to be hopeful and say that they'll add more nonstops once they've merged with the only competition they have in our market, but when Delta and Northwest merged they dropped their nonstops to Orlando completely.

You have to remember, both Delta and Northwest (prior to their merger) both went in and out of bankruptcy. Southwest, on the other hand, was the only profitable of the major U.S. air carriers. Plus, as Delta still maintains a larger-than-normal presence at nearby Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, I wouldn't expect them to maintain former Northwest routes @ IND.

Plus, as Orlando is a major market for Southwest, it's only a matter of time (given the economy continues to improve and more people start to take vacations) before they start adding MCO nonstops from places like IND.

I don't know what will happen, but I'm hoping another airline steps up to compete with Southwest out of IND.

You may as well "wish upon a star", as upstart airlines have a poor track record in succeeding...the best you can hope for is expanded service from the existing major carriers.