Crazy Airfare from Airtran...what could it mean?

[kristenrice]

Here's the scoop...

We're flying with 15 people out of DTW to MCO in June. We bought our tickets (THANK GOODNESS!!) back in December. We had to dip into 2 fare buckets, but basically, we paid $96/$104 pp DTW-MCO and $92/$96 pp MCO-DTW. There are 2 non-stop flights each day and we are on the early one down and the late one back. The non-stops have always been less than the one-stops and often they are the cheapest option altogether.

I check the itinerary everyday (it *is* AirTran) because we'd actually prefer to fly from our home airport (GRR) and we're hoping for a time change. About 3 weeks ago, I noticed that the flight was $397 EACH WAY. Today, it is up to $402! What baffles me is that for the DTW-MCO leg, the other flights (including the other non-stop) range in price from $142-$192. The other leg ranges from $142-$167.

Is there any explanation for why the one flight is so much more than the others on the same day? It just seems very odd.

(Boy, are we glad we got our tickets when we did! We averaged about $225/pp including premium seat selection and taxes!)

 

[LaurenT]

If they work the same way as Southwest, then once the fares in the lower category sell out, the next category becomes the lowest available. If the bottom two categories are gone, then all that's left is business select, the most expensive category. Also, the price even for the lowest category will increase as seats are sold.
If, as time goes by, they see that those seats are not selling, they will lower the price

 

[lions1995]

I was tracking AirTran flights out of PHL and the prices have slowly been going up. If I would have booked when I first looked, I would have saved about $20 per person. I booked last week and prices are still going up. I always liked flying AirTran and really have had no issues with them, but I suspect this is my last flight with them. Once Southwest gets a hold of them, I will certainly not want to fly.

 

[vacationclub]

I was tracking AirTran flights out of PHL and the prices have slowly been going up. If I would have booked when I first looked, I would have saved about $20 per person. I booked last week and prices are still going up. I always liked flying AirTran and really have had no issues with them, but I suspect this is my last flight with them. Once Southwest gets a hold of them, I will certainly not want to fly.

I'm holding my breath as well. First, the "every man for himself approach" to seating can be nerve-wracking, but I'm also worried about costs going up. Nobody touches AT on cost to MCO and many other places, so once SW turns off their competition, prices to fly overall may go up.

To the OP, the cost went up because the flight is selling out. Happens on many airlines the same way.

 

[gmeh1]

I was tracking AirTran flights out of PHL and the prices have slowly been going up. If I would have booked when I first looked, I would have saved about $20 per person. I booked last week and prices are still going up. I always liked flying AirTran and really have had no issues with them, but I suspect this is my last flight with them. Once Southwest gets a hold of them, I will certainly not want to fly.

SWA has already "gotten a hold of them".

 

[JimS4210]

I was tracking AirTran flights out of PHL and the prices have slowly been going up. If I would have booked when I first looked, I would have saved about $20 per person. I booked last week and prices are still going up. I always liked flying AirTran and really have had no issues with them, but I suspect this is my last flight with them. Once Southwest gets a hold of them, I will certainly not want to fly.

We're flying out of Philly on May 4th. Just booked a spur of the moment trip. We also usually fly Airtran, but not this time. Flights have really gone up and times weren't that great. We booked USAirways. Always flew Airtran, but those days are probably over for us as well...

Jim

 

[vacationclub]

SWA has already "gotten a hold of them".

I think that statement was referring to when SW merges AT operations to be exactly like SW. At the moment, even though they've "gotten a hold", they are still basically operating separately.

 

[gmeh1]

I think that statement was referring to when SW merges AT operations to be exactly like SW. At the moment, even though they've "gotten a hold", they are still basically operating separately.

Yep according to the SWA people I speak to on a daily basis complete "morphing" will take about 2 years.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Yep according to the SWA people I speak to on a daily basis complete "morphing" will take about 2 years.

The first of those two years will be up this May.

From a passenger perspective, the question is how long will it take until it appears to be one airline -- even if there is still "morphing" going on behind the scenes?

When will the AirTran fleet be repainted in Southwest colors? When will all passengers get two free bags and be able to make changes with no change fees?

I'll be happy when Southwest no longer operates AirTran under the old rules, but as part of an expanded Southwest.

 

[seashoreCM]

Since Southwest has already gotten a hold of Airtran, ticket pricing no longer has to be competitive between the two.

There are still some governmental regulation and labor union hurdles that are in the way of fully morphing them into one.

 

[vacationclub]

Since Southwest has already gotten a hold of Airtran, ticket pricing no longer has to be competitive between the two.

There are still some governmental regulation and labor union hurdles that are in the way of fully morphing them into one.

What are the governmental regulation issues? Aren't they pretty much completely approved for takeover at this point? Also, what are the labor union hurdles?

 

[kristenrice]

...now the flights are down to $183 each way...

FWIW, I am not watching the prices as much as I am watching the times. I know that we will not see fares below what we paid for them, but I am concerned that our times might change.

 

[gmeh1]

The first of those two years will be up this May.

From a passenger perspective, the question is how long will it take until it appears to be one airline -- even if there is still "morphing" going on behind the scenes?

When will the AirTran fleet be repainted in Southwest colors? When will all passengers get two free bags and be able to make changes with no change fees?

I'll be happy when Southwest no longer operates AirTran under the old rules, but as part of an expanded Southwest.

ME too!!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Here's the scoop...

We're flying with 15 people out of DTW to MCO in June. We bought our tickets (THANK GOODNESS!!) back in December. We had to dip into 2 fare buckets, but basically, we paid $96/$104 pp DTW-MCO and $92/$96 pp MCO-DTW. There are 2 non-stop flights each day and we are on the early one down and the late one back. The non-stops have always been less than the one-stops and often they are the cheapest option altogether.

WOW, 15 people - sounds like a party

I too don't understand how the non-stops tend to be less than the one-stops but I'm glad because I prefer n/s.

It's always a tough choice deciding the best time to buy airfare, we go through the same thing but once we got our vacations approved, I went ahead & booked our flights because I did want to be sure to get those n/s flights.

I'm glad I did. The exact same flights I booked about 3 weeks ago are now about $50/more per person. Perhaps it may drop as we get closer to the date, but at least today I'm feeling kinda good about booking early

We booked AirTran too, generally use AirTran to go to WDW due to the n/s service and our experience has been that other than a few minutes one way or another, we have been fortunate in them NOT changing our flights. I've heard horror stories of this happening to folks but we'll cross our fingers our luck holds out. Here's some pixie dust for our good luck

 

[DebbieB]

What are the governmental regulation issues? Aren't they pretty much completely approved for takeover at this point? Also, what are the labor union hurdles?

They still need to be issued a single operating certificate from the government but I think that's just a formality. I'm not sure where they are with the unions voting for a single contract. USAir and America West employees are still working under 2 contracts close to 7 years later.

On May 2, 2011, Southwest Airlines announced the closing of its acquisition of AirTran Holdings, Inc., the former parent company of AirTran Airways, Inc. (AirTran). Southwest will now begin the gradual integration of AirTran into the Southwest Airlines brand. Eventually, the integration of the two airlines will result in an expansion of already low fares and outstanding service for consumers, but change will not be immediate. The airlines will communicate to Customers prior to any changes that will directly impact the way they currently travel on Southwest or AirTran. For now, it’s business as usual.

Southwest currently expects that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will grant the airline a Single Operating Certificate (SOC) in the first quarter of 2012, at which time Southwest will work toward full integration. After SOC is achieved, Southwest will gradually transition the AirTran fleet into the Southwest paint scheme—one color, one brand. Ultimately, this acquisition will create an expanded low-cost, low-fare carrier with outstanding Customer Service and a unique Culture. Customers will be informed throughout the process with updates on southwest.com, airtran.com and lowfaresfarther.com. In the meantime, Employees from both airlines will continue doing what they’ve always done—delivering world-class Customer Service, operating efficiently and Safely, and taking care of our Customers.

 

[Toni1019]

We are flying Airtran from DTW to MCO, and yea, flights ranged $1000 weekly. I ended up booking at $400 a person They kept creeping up and I got afraid of them going higher!