Anybody familiar with Air Tran?

[dbond]

Considering purchasing a flight on Air Tran Airways. I see that it has an Atlanta hub, mostly flies on the East Coast. They have the cheapest air fare I need from DFW-MCO. I am not at all familiar with this airline, they must be fairly new to the DFW market or I just have not noticed. We usally stick with American, but the fare I was quoted was about $800 less than the AA fare. Can anyone comment, positive or negative? I'm a little concerned about this comment from their website,"Effective October 8th, 2002, Routes and schedules are subject to change without notice." Not sure what to make of that. I need the flights for Feb.2003 and I can't wait until after Oct to book. Any comments on the solvency of the airline? With the US Airways issue, I'm a little nervous about booking a flight on an airline that I'm not familiar with.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

AirTran has been around a while. I flew them into DFW about two years ago and I've flown on them quite a few times, having lived in GA until about 4 years ago.

I'll caution you right now -- you're bound to hear a wide range of comments about AirTran, so just be ready to hear what everyone has to say.

JMO -- they're no better and no worse than any other airline. They are a no-frills low-fare carrier along the same lines as Southwest. No meal service, no first class section (but they do have a business class section with wider seats). Basically, expect to get what you pay for in that regard. People have posted about poor customer service from AirTran. I haven't experienced any major problems with them myself.

Their main advantage is that they have a young fleet of planes. AirTran was the launch customer for the Boeing 717 (similar in design to the MD-80 series). They have been replacing their older 737s and DC-9s with these, although they do still have a few of the other planes in service.

That "subject to change" disclaimer was probably put there after the recent news about Vanguard, US Airways, United, and American. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[Ned Land]

We fly AirTran out of Akron. I have had nothing but positive experiences. This is the former Value Jet and they have cleaned up their act. They have newer planes. Service is not quite up to an AA or Continental, but we have never had any major complaints. It is similar to Southwest in that you don't receive a seat assignment until you check in the day of your flight. You don't even receive a ticket. You just get a confirmation number over the phone. They were one of only three airlines to be profitable last year.

 

[Debby7]

I just flew Air Tran to MCO for the first time because of a great rate($135). I give thumbs up based on my experiences. They were on time, new planes, smooth flights adequate on board service. Only negative was a long line waiting to check in and get seat assignments. Allow yourself plenty of time for that. Otherwise , go for it !!

 

[WiscMomof2]

We are flying Airtran in Oct for the first time so I can't comment on the flight service, but I did have a nice experience the other day with a very helpful rep. I had received an email from Airtan that our return flight which is connecting through Atlanta was changed and we were going to have a longer layover time than was originally scheduled. Instead of around 1 1/2 hours in Atlanta it was going to be almost 4. I called and asked if there was anything I could do to change our flight. She spoke with her supervisor and they put us on the nonstop return with no change in fee. I was very happy because the only reason we didn't book the nonstop to begin with was that it was a lot more expensive (still is because I checked after they switched us). I don't know if this is the norm or not since I've never had an experience where the airline made an adjustment to our itinerary, but I really wasn't expecting them to do that.

 

[nataliel]

We took AIr Tran 2000, flight and service was great- we are using them again in October. Have a safe trip!!!

 

[travelcoupons]

I flew Airtran a couple years back with good experiences...excellent customer service and on-time flights.

As far as their financial condition, they, along with Southwest are really in good financial shape right now.

For the second quarter of 2002, they posted a $5.1 million profit.