Airtran through Southwest, how does that work?

[Disneyplanners]

We currently have our flight booked, nonstop pit - mco, both flights on SW. We are thinking of extending our trip, and our new return flight would be through airtran.

Am I correct in thinking that we still would not be charged checked bag fees, since we are going through southwest's website? Will there be any hassle with using the resort's airline check in, and checking in our bags there as well?

How does seating / checking in 24 hours ahead of time work with airtran? We have never found the need to purchase EBCI because I always check in 24 hrs ahead exactly. If I don't purchase our seats, do we then get to choose our seats at the 24 hr check in, or are they assigned to us? Thank you for any help and sharing your experiences!!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

You won't be charged bag fees. I believe the seat assignments are made for you at the 24 hour mark, but I'm not sure. I've only had one experience flying AT booked on SW.

One word of warning, if this is important to you...you won't be able to do Resort Airline Checkin and leave your baggage with them at your resort if you fly on a mixed itinerary. So, you'll be taking your luggage back to the airport yourself. For some people this isn't a big deal, but we were pretty annoyed to find this out as we were trying to drop our luggage. Many people have reported this has happened to them, so I don't think that it's something that has been "fixed."

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Did you check AirTran's website? Your questions are answered there.

http://www.airtran.com/faq/index_faqs.aspx

 

[rdevine10]

when flying airtran via the southwest site we were able to pay $10 pp and pick out our seats in advance. As we are travelling with children I was too nervous to wait for the 24 hour mark. However, I took a chance with our flights home and checked in EXACTLY 1 second after it turned 24 hours and we did end up in the A zone.