Attn Airtran users!

[Ellasgirls]

I just checked Airtran to see about flights at the same time as ours for a friend and guess what....it WASN'T THERE! Both our flights-there and back- in Aug/Sept were gone! I never got an email or anything. I called and the lady looked and said "here is your new itinerary, we can change it for free if you would like". Unfortunetly we are now flying earlier in the morning and have a stop in Atlanta (1st flight was nonstop) and we have to fly home from WDW earlier in the day by 3 hours! I am not happy. We have flown Airtran for years and never had a problem. Please check your flights if you are flying Airtran....this makes me so mad!

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

This is the biggest problem with AirTran. Their planes and people are great. BUT they are constantly changing schedules. Normally the first flight out will only change by a few minutes either way, if at all. After that they are always moving times and cancelling flights. You will likely get an e-mail if you purchased through their web site....but if it does come, it comes WAY after they changed the schedule.

Everyone needs to keep checking their AirTran flight times right up to the day before you leave.

 

[MinnieCandi]

I just checked Airtran to see about flights at the same time as ours for a friend and guess what....it WASN'T THERE! Both our flights-there and back- in Aug/Sept were gone! I never got an email or anything. I called and the lady looked and said "here is your new itinerary, we can change it for free if you would like". Unfortunetly we are now flying earlier in the morning and have a stop in Atlanta (1st flight was nonstop) and we have to fly home from WDW earlier in the day by 3 hours! I am not happy. We have flown Airtran for years and never had a problem. Please check your flights if you are flying Airtran....this makes me so mad!

I'm sooo sorry this happened to you. I read your post and checked the Airtran site, ours is still there, but we don't go till November. So I'll keep checking. Thanks for the tip.

 

[AStamm]

Delta did the same thing to us on our upcoming September trip. Back in mid-May they changed flights and never notified us, e-mail or otherwise. The best part of the change???? They rescheduled us to leave MDT at 5:41, arriving at 7:20 in CVG. Our connecting flight to MCO???? oh...that one was scheduled for 4:45. While I realize a computer probably made the changes, shouldn't a red flag go up pointing out that was impossible since we wouldn't be getting on the first flight for almost an hour after.

After an hour on the phone the night he found the problem and another the next day, we've got things reworked (hopefully). The biggest problem is that we'll now have to pull DS out of school an hour early to get to the new flight on time (and he's already going to miss the entire next week).

 

[Dolce27]

Exact same thing happened to me on my last trip in Sept. I had problems the time before that trip with AirTran on a lay-over and missing a flight but when I looked at airfare in April 2006 for the Sept 2006 trip they actually had a direct flight listed - so I booked that.

About two months later I noticed my flight was canceled and they'd moved me onto another flight with a lay-over. I was never notified. I didn't feel that there was enough time to make the connecting flight so I called and asked to be put on a later connecting flight - which they did at no charge.

A couple of months later I saw that they had changed my flight again - bumping me back up to the connecting flight that I had requested to be changed from but I also noticed that they added back the direct flight. I called again and asked to be moved back to the direct flight that I'd originally booked - which they did at no charge.

Fortunately, the direct flight held and it turned out to be one of the best flights of any airline I'd ever flown. We left early, it wasn't completely booked so I had an entire row to myself, and we arrived in Orlando early.

 

[mom2my3kids]

I hope this don't happen to us again, I just called disney today and gave them our flight numbers and all. Non Stop there and back..

 

[belle26]

Whew, I checked our flights for August on Airtran, and so far, they are the same. You made me nervous! We usually have this problem with US Airways, and they don't contact you either. Sorry this happened to you, always gives you a rocky start to vacation. But once you're there, you'll enjoy and relax! Have fun!

 

[cbrfan]

If they have a flight scheduled that you'd prefer just give AirTran a call and explain that your flights were changed by them and you'd prefer this other flight. If there are seats available they'll switch you at no charge. Hope it works out for you.

 

[jcc0621]

I just checked our flights and they were still there for August. What airport are you flying out of? Maybe that has something to do with it

 

[sparmeland]

My Travel Agent called me yesterday to tell me that my Airtran flight was canceled as well. They also automatically put us on a connecting flight. So my travel agent got a refund and we booked a JetBlue departure for two hours later. If they cancel your flight. They will give a refund. This whole thing made me very happy that I booked using a travel agent.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Just flew airtran nonstop in may....left Indy at 7am (on time) and arrived at MCO a few minutes early....upon departure we arrived at the airport to be told there would be a 45 minute delay...within 5 minutes of being told this we were told that things had changed and the flight would be departing on time...we ended up departing and landing (back in Indy) on time...First time we flew airtran and a great experince...except for the 1 year old that kept bouncing the empty juice bottle off of my sleeping 2 year old's head....good thing he had a "bought" with allergies and I had given him Benadryl 1/2 hour before departure time ...and to make it worse, this child and mother moved into these seats from antoher section of the plane...they were not even their assigned seats....some people have no appreciation for a sleeping baby...But that is a whole new story....

 

[amery]

Nothing gets under my skin more than when something like this occurs because you plan EVERYTHING around your flights right down to being in a park on the day of travel.

In your case, having to go home 3 hours earlier might as well be 8 if you have to be at the airport 2 hours ahead of departure and l;est we not forget how long it would take to get there and more time if you have a rental car.

Fortunately for me, my Airtran itinerary is still intact and was made online but the travel isn't until late November so who knows what can happen between now and then.

BTW - Does anyone consider it a tad odd that Airtran is perhaps the only airline out there that has the audacity to charge a fee just to select a seat when making an advance reservation? What the hell is up with that??

Damn the loved ones who complained about changing planes through another carrier that would have saved me about $100.

 

[TwoRoos]

BTW - Does anyone consider it a tad odd that Airtran is perhaps the only airline out there that has the audacity to charge a fee just to select a seat when making an advance reservation?

I know just what you mean about that. But I went ahead and paid it because it was so important to me that we all sit together. I was wondering though if we'll have any problems with them honoring our seat selections? I'm so nervous that we'll get to the airport only to find some problem has occured that prevents us from sitting together even though we paid for advance seat selection. Does anyone here have any experience with this? Also, someone mentioned that AirTran will give you a refund if they cancel your flight. Is this only if you booked with a travel agent?

 

[mika911]

Wow. Is there a point you guys consider it "safe" that they won't change it?

 

[ursula28]

Happened to me yesterday. Got on line to check flights and my flight to Orlando was gone. I was leaving Fri night for a 4:14pm-6:24pm flight. That flight was canceled and they put my on a flight that leaves at 2:15pm with a 5 hour layover in Atlanta and arriving at MCO at 11:57pm! Not what I wanted and not what I paid for. Called Airtran to see what could be done, after a 25 min. call & being put on hold several times, I was hung up on. Last week we just got online to reserve our seats and our original flight was already over half full. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet but I'm ready to cancel with Airtran and move to Southwest.

 

[Ellasgirls]

I will be checking weekly now. It just ticks me off that we are coming a day early because of the flights that were available and are paying for another night at a hotel (now we start at POP and then got upgraded to OKW....but we could have just started at OKW). Oh well at least we will still be in WDW and that I am HAPPY about! I just wanted to let everyone know that they may or maynot get an email if there original flight has been canceled or moved. Please check your airlines flight schedule often. I know airlines have their flaws and I am not trying to turn this into a heated topic of bashing airlines...trust me I love to fly even with this little bump in the sky! You would not find me driving from Wisconsin to Florida with 2 kids and gas over $3.00 a gallon! Hope everyone has a great flight and a wonderful magical vacation!

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

I received an email from them telling me to call them if the new itinerary wasn't good for me. The man on the phone was really nice and said that when airtran cancels your flight you can choose any flight the day of, the day before, or the day after for free. I actually got a better flight that wasn't offered at the original time of booking. I am arriving 6 hours earlier!

To all those that had a "surprise" flight change, are you A+ members? I am and they have my email info on file. You might update your info with them so that you get the emails. Or it could have gone into your junk folder by accident.

 

[cbrfan]

AirTran has always charged extra to select your seats when you purchase them.....a LOT extra. It's called "regular coach" or "business class". Would I pay extra to book a seat in advance if it's just DH and I? No. We don't care where we sit. If we have our 3 year-old with us? You betcha!! I paid for advance seating both ways for our Nov. flight. After getting non-stop airfare from Flint to MCO for $116 I didn't feel paying the extra 10 bucks each would break us.

 

[budbeerlady]

AirTran has always charged extra to select your seats when you purchase them.....a LOT extra. It's called "regular coach" or "business class". Would I pay extra to book a seat in advance if it's just DH and I? No. We don't care where we sit. If we have our 3 year-old with us? You betcha!! I paid for advance seating both ways for our Nov. flight. After getting non-stop airfare from Flint to MCO for $116 I didn't feel paying the extra 10 bucks each would break us.

Airtran now does pick your seat at time of bookind (any class fare) for $5 per seat. I like this alot better than the old 24hr before check in.

 

[CRSLDW]

I also pay $5 to pick my seats for me and my DH. So all together it cost me $20 around trip. So I guess if you want to sit together you have to pay.