anyone fly airtran lately?

[jgperkin]

Hi guys!

I usually fly jet blue but air tran prices are phenomenal in September. Has anyone flown lately? Is there wi-fi on the entire plane? or do you have to pay for special seats? (that is probably a dumb question, sorry) and is the priority seating worth it? I am not sure I want to pay an extra 15 bucks a seat for that? I am just curious.. Thanks!

 

[azdizzymom]

I will answer about seats. If it is important for you to sit together then buy the $6 seats (you don't need the special ones just cheapest seat price). That way you can select your seats, know they are your seats and sit together. Saw you had a child...if you don't pay the $6 each and wait for the 24 hour mark for free seats you are competing with all the others who chose not to pay. You might not find seats together. Flights to MCO are full of families who want to sit together. They don't have to make people move from their seats...there are reports on these boards about people seeing families separated since they didn't pay and people wouldn't move.

Have a fun trip!

 

[jgperkin]

Thank you so much! Is the wi fi available for the 6 dollar seats?

 

[snowy76]

Yes. Wi-Fi is available to everyone, but you pay to use it - it's called Gogo Inflight (it's on a bunch of airlines).

The XM radio is free - plug your earbuds into the armrest - great way to pass time!

 

[aubriee]

Personally the $13.00 or $15.00 seats are worth it to me. I don't like flying anyway and have claustrophobic issues, so don't like the back of the plane, window seats, or middle seats. I have no problem paying extra to get an aisle seat toward the front of the plane. I also like geting off the plane quicker. Besides that, those seats are guaranteed Boarding Zone 1. I like knowing that not only will I for sure have space for my carryon in the overhead, but that it will be right over my head, making it easy to retrieve at the end of the flight. With so many people carrying on everything but the kitchen sink, more and more bags are having to be gate checked and even if there is overhead space available it may be in the back of the plane. So many people who have seats in the back of the plane just stuff their carryons into the first open bin they see, leaving people who board later (but may be seated closer to the front) having to go all the way to the back to find space for their bags. Then when you land, those people have to wait for everyone else to unload before they can go back for their bags.

I agree with the previous poster who said that if is important that you sit with your party, then you need to buy seats. It's not fair to ask someone who did pay for theirs to move to accommodate your family, yet I see it every single flight I'm on.

 

[AndreaDM]

Once in a while Airtran will have a special where the wi-fi is free. Make sure you sign up for their rewards program and you'll get notification if they do that.

 

[aubriee]

Yes. Wi-Fi is available to everyone, but you pay to use it - it's called Gogo Inflight (it's on a bunch of airlines).

The XM radio is free - plug your earbuds into the armrest - great way to pass time!

Wi-Fi is free for those $13.00 and $15.00 seats though.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Wi-Fi is free for those $13.00 and $15.00 seats though.

It is? I always fly business class and thought even for those it was only free during the free promotions, like last Dec.

 

[aubriee]

It is? I always fly business class and thought even for those it was only free during the free promotions, like last Dec.

I fly Air Tran several times a year purchasing those $15.00 or $13.00 seats every trip and Wi Fi has always been listed as free when I picked my seats, so assumed it was all the time. Out of curiosity I just went on Air Tran's website and acted like I was going to purchase tickets. When I got to the section where you choose your seats, WiFi is listed when you click on the $13.00 and $15.00 Priority seats, but there is a little asterisk beside it. When you scroll down it says, 'GoGo Wifi with Priority Seats is a limited time offer available for purchases by July 31, 2011 for travel through March 31, 2012'. So you are correct! Sorry!

 

[disneychic2]

Dh and I usually fly Airtran and will be flying it in September again. We always just do the 24 hour check in and have never been separated. However, if I had children, I would do as the pp suggested and buy the $6 seats. This year we're traveling with three adults instead of just two, so I'm thinking, after reading this thread, I'd better go and buy our seats ahead!

 

[Inkmahm]

I fly Air Tran several times a year purchasing those $15.00 or $13.00 seats every trip and Wi Fi has always been listed as free when I picked my seats, so assumed it was all the time. Out of curiosity I just went on Air Tran's website and acted like I was going to purchase tickets. When I got to the section where you choose your seats, WiFi is listed when you click on the $13.00 and $15.00 Priority seats, but there is a little asterisk beside it. When you scroll down it says, 'GoGo Wifi with Priority Seats is a limited time offer available for purchases by July 31, 2011 for travel through March 31, 2012'. So you are correct! Sorry!

Cool! That means I'll have free wifi for October, December and next March trips to MCO (as long as they have the March, 2012 schedule released before July 31 and have a sale on those seats...)