Attn Airtran users!

[tcp0421]

I am so glad I just read this post! Otherwise I would have no idea! I looked our flights up the day we leave it did change but only by 10 minutes (no big deal). on the way home our flight is gone. There is one flight that leaves almost 45 minutes later then our orginal flight, but it is not nonstop. With 5 year old and two year old nonstop is our only option. ANother flight on there that is nonstop leave at 3:00 in the afternoon. WHich would really ruin our plans for that whole day! I did not call them yet, but I am totally ticked off!! Thanks for posting this info.

 

[mika911]

It will be interesting to see what happens to people's "seat fees," if they start bumping you onto flights where it's a different plane, or your seat is already taken.

 

[antmaril]

It will be interesting to see what happens to people's "seat fees," if they start bumping you onto flights where it's a different plane, or your seat is already taken.

Yes, that will be interesting.

 

[Ellasgirls]

I called them again today because I really wanted to get onto the direct flight from Milwaukee to Orlando and yesterday the unhelpful lady told me there was only 3 seats left on that flight so we would have to either take a flight w/a connection in Atlanta OR a flight that wouldn't get us to Orlando until 10:30 p.m. Today a nice lady told me that there are plenty of seats on that flight (the direct one) and moved us to that flight for free. Now we are getting in earlier than our original flight but we are still coming home earlier on our last day (4 hours earlier) but it was that or come home at 11:00 p.m. and w/2 kids i didn't think that was a great idea! I am also going to say a little prayer because we didn't pay for seat assignments but I don't think that they can make our 2 kids sit separately from us. BTW I am an A+ rewards member and used that option on the phone. Don't know if it does any good or not...just keep an eye on your flights!

 

[donna in Oz]

Never again. We just traveled with AirTran round-trip to Orlando in mid-May. Not only were our flights changed many times to our actual departure (arriving back home two hours later than originally planned), but our change in Atlanta was less than pleasant.

We had made prior arrangements w/AirTran for a wheelchair to use at the Atlanta terminal; we had a 2-hour layover and MIL cannot walk very far and is blind. The wheelchair was there, but we were only allowed to take it to the connecting gate and even then, it had to be pushed by an AirTran staff member (who was very rude). So, there went our opportunity to go to a restaurant for lunch during the layover.

And isn't it a little odd that three out of six in our party had to buy new luggage when we got back? My suitcase had a 8-inch tear along the seam when we arrived in Orlando. Unfortunately, I did not notice it until we were unloading at the hotel. When we arrived home, two others in our group also noticed large gashes in their luggage. We finally decided that Atlanta must be a rough place to have your baggage changed to another plane, or else AirTran has a disgrunted employee. All three damaged bags had a single long gash near the seam. Odd, don't you agree??

 

[momto2inKC]

It will be interesting to see what happens to people's "seat fees," if they start bumping you onto flights where it's a different plane, or your seat is already taken.

Our flights were changed completely for our Sept trip. One was cancelled completely, and the others the time changed on them.
They were VERY helpful in letting me chose new flights. I had just a few days earlier paid the $5 to choose our seats. We did not have to pay for that again. SHe said you only pay it once.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

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?

I did not have assigned seats when I purchased my airtran tickets in may....I simply went on exactly 24 hours prior to departure and checked in for my flight...all 5 seats were right together!! Then when we were ready to depart WDW we just checked in the am of our flight home (our flight departed at 5:30pm--we checked in at the desk in the lobby of POR) and was assigned 2 seats together and another 3 seats together...they told us at the POR check in desk to get them changed at the airport...once we found the airtran desk at MCO we asked for all seats to be together and it was done...no problem! I do not know if all flights are this easy, but we had a very easy time dealing with airtran....hope yours is as smooth.

 

[going2disney]

I was so glad to find this post. I just checked my September/ October flights from Philly/ Orlando and they were changed! I never received any type of notification. My direct flights were both changed to 1 stop flights and they changed our arrivalfrom 2 pm to 9pm! And coming home they changed us to only getting in at 1 am! I was really upset about this as I am flying just myself and my 5 year old son. I called Airtran and thankfully they changed my reservations without problems and now we have direct flight arriving at 1145 but depart for home at 3 pm. I was really hoping to leave later in the evening. If I wouldn't have caught this thread who knows what flights would've been available until I noticed our changes!

 

[Violet Crayon]

I am sorry to kind of deviate from the main topic, but does anyone know if nonstop flights are less likely to be canceled/changed than 1stop/layover flights? We are booking for January 2008 very soon (Milwaukee to Orlando) and there are only 2 nonstop flights offered, one in the morning and one later at night. We want the morning, but all of this Airtran madness I have been reading lately is scaring me. I would prefer Midwest but they might be bought out by Airtran at any moment before January.

 

[jennyl772003]

SHHHHHH!

Please stop!

Our favorite airline, who we happen to have our flights booked with for our next trip, is in the process of being hostily taken over by Air Tran.

So, please, I beg of you, shhhhhh.....

 

[CindyandBrice]

My PIT-MCO flight on Airtran for Oct was cancelled and i was rebooked on an earlier flight. I just called today and had it changed to a later flight (unfortunately there was only 1 non stop flight and it was early in the day). Yes, they changed the flight, but they were dirt cheap and they did accommodate my request to change it to a later time. I can't complain toooooo much.

 

[disneybride96]

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??

I thought I was the only one who felt this way. I pretty much got flamed on the DVC board for not thinking this "service" was wonderful! Airtran could get $90 from our group for doing absolutely nothing other than making a slight change to their reservation program. What a racket!

 

[Ellasgirls]

I am sorry to kind of deviate from the main topic, but does anyone know if nonstop flights are less likely to be canceled/changed than 1stop/layover flights? We are booking for January 2008 very soon (Milwaukee to Orlando) and there are only 2 nonstop flights offered, one in the morning and one later at night. We want the morning, but all of this Airtran madness I have been reading lately is scaring me. I would prefer Midwest but they might be bought out by Airtran at any moment before January.

Both of our original flights were nonstop and were both changed (or canceled in my opinion). This is the first time this has happened with AirTran and we have used them A LOT! My husband used them to fly from Milwaukee to Atlanta at least 6 times last year and never had a problem and throw in the time we took a "bump" for the next flight an hour later we all got free roundtrip tickets anywhere AirTran flew. Up until now I have been very happy with AirTran and I am still happy with them (except the part where they didn't contact me about the original flight being changed) since they did get us on the flight we wanted. Good luck in January! Usually we took the early morning flight to Orlando out of Mil and granted we were a bit tired when we got there because we are from Madison so it is about an hour drive to the airport it was nice to get there early and away from the snow!

 

[amery]

Having read enough horror stories on this topic, I decided to back up my recent online ressies by becoming an A+ member.

Now at the end of the day, this may not amount to a hill of beans but if it ends up giving me a little peace of mind god forbid this scenario should happen to us, it may have been worth it.

That said, if this does happen and we are not blessed with a forgiving alternative thus causing us to lose time at WDW, you may be reading a thread shortly thereafter about some lunatic who stormed the AT HQ's, kidnapped the CEO, forced him to plan his own trip to WDW, book (and pay for) an itinerary on his own airline then sit back and watch him get a taste of his own medicine.

The thread would be titled "Creative Justice".

 

[mika911]

If Aitran cancels my outbound, I'm going to arrive the day ahead and stay the first night somewhere at WDW, to give me more time.

Hoping they don't cancel though!

 

[cbrfan]

I thought I was the only one who felt this way. I pretty much got flamed on the DVC board for not thinking this "service" was wonderful! Airtran could get $90 from our group for doing absolutely nothing other than making a slight change to their reservation program. What a racket!

Paying for advance seating assignments isn't mandatory. You can still check in online and select your seats at no charge 24 hours out. For myself, if I'm travelling with small children I see it as a wonderful option at minimal expense.

 

[poohluvr]

This happened to me too. They changed my returning flight from 5:15 to 3:50I was kind of annoyed because they didn't even notify me or my travel agent. The only way I found out ahead of time is because someone else decided to go with me.

 

[bizeemom4]

My flight is gone too!!!! I would not have known had it not been for this post!!! Our flight was MCO - Philly. The flight is not listed on the website at all.

I'm off to call AirTran to see what I can get. Can you only reschedule for one day either way or can you reschedule for a later date? I've wanted to reschedule this flight ever since I found out that free dining was not going to happen during my dates. I wonder if I can move this to September instead of August. Hmm...