AirTran ??

[ltl engine]

First, Thank You DIS!!!! I booked on Kayak and saved seat fee
Now--I have a few questions since I have never flown AirTran...if we have young children do we pre-board or just based on seating? I have read mixed reports about the baggage fee when using Resort Check In, can anyone confirm--do we pay or not?

TIA!!!

 

[kevgraub]

First, Thank You DIS!!!! I booked on Kayak and saved seat fee
Now--I have a few questions since I have never flown AirTran...if we have young children do we pre-board or just based on seating? I have read mixed reports about the baggage fee when using Resort Check In, can anyone confirm--do we pay or not?

TIA!!!

Not sure on preboarding. If you don't preboard, then the way Airtran boards the plane is by first letting on the last five rows, followed by the first five rows (although that might be reversed), and then they alternate back and forth in 5 row segments until everyone has boarded.

As for the baggage fee, I am fairly certain you do have to pay it when doing the RAC. I believe there is a number you call and provide your payment information, and then it goes into the system that you have paid and RAC will accept the bags.

Good to know the kayak thing is still working!

 

[VAN]

We flew on Airtran to/from Disney last September. I believe that you have the opportunity to go on-line to your reservation and pay your checked baggage fee PRIOR to your trip. When you check your bags at your resort, they will see that you are all set; otherwise, I think you will need to check them at the airport yourself.

Recommend you take care of this PRIOR to your trip.

As for pre-boarding, I don't recall; however, because of it being Orlando and most flights have a lot of families, some of the airlines do not preboard families. Some still do though.

The one thing I do remember is that they want all of the children to hold their own boarding passes when you go up to the jetway (of course infants are excluded, LOL). They have too many families that walk up with a bunch of kids and then just hand over all the boarding passes. I do remember them announcing that everyone should hold their own passes.

 

[kevgraub]

We flew on Airtran to/from Disney last September. I believe that you have the opportunity to go on-line to your reservation and pay your checked baggage fee PRIOR to your trip. When you check your bags at your resort, they will see that you are all set; otherwise, I think you will need to check them at the airport yourself.

Recommend you take care of this PRIOR to your trip.

I am almost certain that you do have to pay the luggage fees prior to checking them in at the resort - but I am also pretty certain this can be done over the phone the day before, or even the day that you leave Disney World.

According to WDW's website (which is not exactly known for its accuracy):

Q. Is there a cut-off time for paying the airline luggage fees?

A. No. The applicable airline luggage fees can be paid any time prior to check-in at the Resort Airline Check-In desk.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

We just got home Sunday from WDW and flying AirTran. The bag fees can be paid the day you leave. The airline checkin desk has cards with the number to call and a place to write your conf number.

Boarding is by zone, no pre boarding for families with small children. We upgraded so we were always zone 1.

 

[aubriee]

I usually fly Air Tran out of DFW and have never seen families preboard unless they are Make A Wish kids. I have seen some families with babies ask and the answer has always been, "We don't preboard families. We board by zones". I have seen wheelchairs preboard though. When you check in 24 hours before your flight, a box will pop up asking how many bags each person is checking. Be sure to check only the number of bags that person is checking, not the total the whole family is checking. It then gives you a form to put in your credit card info. You can only pay for your departing flight. At WDW you will get a DME packet on your door the morning before your departure. It will have a sheet in it telling you your DME pick up time and a message telling you to call BAGS (with their phone number listed) with the number of bags you are going to check on the way home. It also tells you to have your credit card ready. Once you call that number the rep is very short and to the point (at least our has been). They barely say "hello, BAGS", then immediately asks for your name, flight number, how many bags are you checking, and credit card number. Make sure you have a pen handy, as she will then immediately give you a confirmation number. The next morning when you check in for your return flight at the DME desk, the CM will ask for your ID and flight info. It then pops up on his computer that you have paid for a certain number of bags. He will tell you how many bags they have on record that you are checking and then ask for the bags and weigh them. If they look even close to being oversize, they will also measure them. I saw them measuring a bag when I was there a couple of weeks ago.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

Oh yeah, they weigh them LOL. We had to move things around a little because we were 2 pounds over *yikes*

 

[flyguychi]

I used to be a flight attendant for AirTran, and I can say that the gate agents very rarely let families pre-board, especially on flights where there are a lot of families (Orlando) because it really wouldn't make a difference I don't think. Also, someone above was correct in saying that people in wheelchairs are boarded first which is required by the FAA I believe.

My best advice is to just have things organized and ready to go, because boarding can be a bit hectic at times, just go with the flow and take your seats and know that very soon you will be in the Happiest Place On Earth!

Hope you have a wonderful vacation!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I've flown AirTran out of White Plains New York my past few trips to Disney, and they boarded families first and then by rows. White Plains is a really small airport, with only 2 gates total so I don't know if this has any bearing on how they board.

Flying home from Orlando they always board strictly by zones, with no family pre-boarding. There was woman in line in front of me complaining to the attendent that she wasn't able to preboard with her kids, and they guy must have been having a bad day. He flat out told her "this is Orlando, everyone is flying with kids."

 

[kevgraub]

Man, just think of the mess they would have in Orlando if they allowed preboarding with kids:

"We are now allowing the approximately 75% of our passengers that are traveling with small children to board all in one group regardless of where you are sitting. The remaining 25% of passengers, please sit still for about 30 minutes while we get the preboarding mess straightened out, then we will seat you by rows."

In general, preboarding with kids is great. In Orlando, I just don't see it being much of an option.

 

[ParrotBill]

Heh heh, I think it was 8 years ago when Orlando stopped trying to board families early... always saying the same thing, everyone's got children.