Airtran

[jlewisinsyr]

Okay, so I'm a regular on this board and travel frequently, but I have never traveled on Airtran. My partner and I are relocating to Charlotte, NC in a few weeks and have a vacation planned a few weeks after we move. So we've already cancelled our flights out of Syracuse and are looking to book new flights out of Charlotte.

The nice thing about Charlotte, is all of the choices in flights to and from MCO, but there is only a handful of flights that coincide closely with flights that our family from Syracuse are taking.

One flight in particular, which aligns nice with no layover is Airtran. Now I know very little about this carrier, it's not one I would have normally selected, etc. That said, for this instance, I am looking for the right time more than cost/carrier preference.

So I know you have to pay for seat selection (ie. $6.00 for most seats and $15.00 for emergency row, etc.). I also know you pay for luggage. What about business class, I assume free luggage, but if you don't book business class up front, when can you upgrade, anytime or only at check-in?

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[TaraPA]

After flying only the bigger carriers for years (mostly USAir & United), Airtran has become my carrier of choice. Mostly because they are the only carrier to fly non-stop from my little airport to MCO - but also for their low prices.

You've got the fees all squared away. If you book Business Class, you get 2 checked bags for free, and you choose your seat right away, not at check-in. If you choose to upgrade later, you choose your seat at the time you upgrade - whether it's a month ahead, or at the gate. They often offer a $69 upgrade to Business Class at the gate if there's room. You can also cash in 4 AT reward points for a Business Class upgrade (those you cannot book until 24 hours prior to the flight).

AT might not have all the bells & whistles of the larger carriers - but then again, they're all taking away the little things too (snacks, blankets, pillows, magazines, etc) that once separated them from the little guys.

I've always had great service & a clean plane with AT. The biggest complaint here on The DIS with AT is that they change flight schedules frequently. I'll be flying them for the 4th time in a year in 2 weeks, and they have changed my flight times on half of those flights. That can be risky if you only have 1 AT flight per day (I'm assuming from Charlotte AT will ofer several flights per day). They have great customer service - if they change your flight time by even 5 min. and you find a better flight that you'd like to change to - even from a different airport, or on a different day, they will move you if there's room.

Sometimes you luck out with their flight changes - coming home next month we were on a 5pm flight. It has been changed to 8:54pm - YAY more time in Disney! Although I know it could just as easily change back to 5pm in the 2 weeks remaining.

 

[lylone]

We always fly Airtran to Florida and this is the first time our flights were changed, but only by like 30 minutes later on the return flight. The first time we flew out of MCO we sat on the tarmac for an hour because of bad weather in ATL. I don't mind waiting for a storm to clear rather than be up in the air.
If you book regular assigned seats and wait to check in at the airport you can get really good deals on upgrading to business class which means free bags. Now there is always a chance that they don't have any open business class seats, but we have only experienced this once.
Our last trip back from MCO we upgraded to business class for only $19 for both of us! Taking that deal was a no-brainer!
Also, if you book way in advance and their rates go down you can get a credit towards baggage fees, upgrades to business class or future flights. This past trip we ended up with $200 worth of credits that we will use on our trip to Cancun next Spring.
They are a great airline and I just hope that SW doesn't ruin it!

 

[vacationclub]

Airtran is very popular for Northeast cities to MCO. They are based in Orlando, and MCO vacation travel seems to be a specialty of theirs. Their hubs are in ATL and BWI but they have a lot of non-stops to MCO, including medium sized cities. They are also usually the cheapest of all carriers. They have the exact same planes, the exact same snacks, and they have free XM radio, and the best frequent flier program in all of aviation.

Their only problems are that their fleet is smaller so they don't have as many flight options, and they have been reducing those options in the last year or two, giving many horrible returns from ATL or BWI to those northest cites, leaving only the non-stop as a good option, which sell out quickly.

Regarding business class, if you can get a $69 upgrade, and have checked luggage, take the upgrade. You save $25 on one bag and $35 on the next bag. You just saved $60 on two bags, leaving only a $9 upgrade to sit in first class!!!!

You can pay the $6 for peice of mind that you have the exact seat you want, but even if you don't pay you can select a seat at check in, and even if you can't get seats together for some reason, they have humans that will help you work that out if you ask at the airport.

BUT, Airtran was recently swallowed up by the "greyhound of the skies"...Southwest. SW is changing AT's A+ rewards program, and more importantly the seating. Airtran will eventually go to the "running with the bulls" approach to airline seating....every man for himself.

RIP Airtran, RIP.