Dare I book AirTran???

[delmar411]

There is very little difference in prices that we have found for tix between the airlines but we like the AirTran flight times , leaving at 7am and getting to MCO at 9:15am(non-stop) ....same with leaving it would allow us a full day in the park wiht the flight leaving at 8:30pm....

BUT....

now I see they are imfamous for changing flight times/schedules. We've never flown them...heck we haven't flown anywhere in years and I only fly my older DD with United. Sooo.....are these the type of flight times to be changed/cancelled? I would think the morning flight to MCO would be the full one but maybe not?

TIA for any advice/recs!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

There is very little difference in prices that we have found for tix between the airlines but we like the AirTran flight times , leaving at 7am and getting to MCO at 9:15am(non-stop) ....same with leaving it would allow us a full day in the park wiht the flight leaving at 8:30pm....

All airlines adjust the schedule over time (except for Southwest Airlines and possibly some small carriers, which only release flights a few months before the travel date). Delta Air Lines is especially notorious for schedule changes. The longer it is until your departure, the more likely it is that there will be one of more departure time changes, flight number changes, or equipment changes.

You might want to think more about the 7:00 a.m. departure.

A 7:00 a.m. departure sounds great at first. After all, such an early departure allows you to arrive in Orlando with much of the day still ahead of you. But when you do the math, you may discover that you and your family could be miserable that day because of a lack of sleep.

For example, for me, a 7:00 a.m. departure would mean I should arrive at the airport at 5:00 a.m., so I would have to leave the house at 4:15 a.m., which means I'd have to get up at 3:00 a.m.

If you're super-early risers, this might not be a problem. But for most people, a 7:00 a.m. departure is not a good way to start a vacation.

 

[timandlesley]

I would, in fact I will myself if Southwest doesn't release times by Feb 9th when my tax refund is direct deposited.
We've flown Airtran two times to MCO and love them. They did change our flight time once but it was just an hour earlier on our non stop on the way down so we didn't mind at all. I love the flight times they have getting you there early and leaving late too, that is why I am leaning that way.
Lesley

 

[delmar411]

You might want to think more about the 7:00 a.m. departure.

A 7:00 a.m. departure sounds great at first. After all, such an early departure allows you to arrive in Orlando with much of the day still ahead of you. But when you do the math, you may discover that you and your family could be miserable that day because of a lack of sleep.

For example, for me, a 7:00 a.m. departure would mean I should arrive at the airport at 5:00 a.m., so I would have to leave the house at 4:15 a.m., which means I'd have to get up at 3:00 a.m.

If you're super-early risers, this might not be a problem. But for most people, a 7:00 a.m. departure is not a good way to start a vacation.

we wouldn't have to leave the house until 6am. It is less than 20mins to the airport from here and I only get my DD to her flights 10-15mins in advance. Indy is a tiny airport so unless a flight to Chicago is diverted then it is pretty empty(and even then they let Indy passengers cut the line ). We'd be at the gate by 6:40am and I don't want to wait too long for the flight. Our kids are small so by the time we get there and on the plane the baby will go down for his nap.

I'm thinking that maybe booking their late flight of the day out of Indy the day before would leave us lots of wiggle room. If they cancel the morning flight and put everyone on that flight, we're already set. If they cancelled the night flight and put everyone on the morning flight, then even better for us.

It would be nice to arrive the night before way after bedtime so we grab a cheap airport motel for the night and then hit the parks bright and early and do a pre-check in(drop the bags and check in but not have a room) at POR.

hmmm, still would love more input! Thanks!!

 

[momof2disprincesses]

We fly Air Tran all the time and we love them!

I love being able to pick your flights each way to match what works best for you.

I will caution you though that the farther out you book, the more likely it is that times will get changed (for example, we booked last May for Dec. and our flights got changed). However, they always have early morning flights and I've found they are good about working with you to make you happy. When our Dec. flight was originally booked, it was their only direct flight that day (Milwaukee to Orlando) and it was an early morning flight. Then, they changed their schedule and the direct flight that day would have had us arriving at 6pm, so I talked to the agent and we rebooked for the 6am flight again, but this time with a layover in Atlanta.

Our flight home for that trip was to have an Atlanta stop though and they changed us to the direct flight for the trip home to "balance" things out, which I thought was nice. All of this was no charge because they made the change.

I think if you book the 7am flight and they change it on you, you can contact them and they'll rebook you for a similar flight.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

we wouldn't have to leave the house until 6am. It is less than 20mins to the airport from here and I only get my DD to her flights 10-15mins in advance.

Yikes! That's cutting it awfully close, even at a smaller airport.

Here are a couple of items from AirTran Passenger Check-in Policies. (Other airlines have similar policies.)

Ticket Counter Check-in Requirements
AirTran Airways recommends that passengers arrive at the airport 90 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Due to security requirements, passengers and their baggage will not be accepted at the ticket counter less than 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight (some smaller airports may accept baggage up to 30 minutes prior to departure time). See AirTran Airways' Contract of Carriage for specific airport check-in requirements.

Gate Check-in requirements
Customers must present themselves at the flight departure gate no later than ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Failure to comply will cause the customer to lose their reservation and, if so, they will not be eligible for denied boarding compensation.​

 

[disneymomof6]

I was a TA for years and also we are a family that flys out from a small airport... so arrival times arent always indicitive to small airports. If I fly out at 7am... which we will on feb 8... we dont have to be to airport until 6:00am or so because the counters are not open until then... When we used to fly out from minneapolis the arrival times were very important.... SO... I understand the OP's thoughts on getting there for a 7am flight.

AS far as Airtran goes.... Its a good airline but like others have said.... flights can change if you book too far in advance... MOST of the time the changes are not make or break but rather by 30 minutes here or there... sometimes things change and unfortunately people put all this blame on the airlines when in fact that isnt entirely the case as airports have to schedule flights coming in and leaving and sometimes they have to re-adjust airlines schedules...

 

[delmar411]

Yikes! That's cutting it awfully close, even at a smaller airport.

Indy isn't small...it's tiny. I'll be sure to check and see what time the airport opens. I think it opens at 6am but good idea to double check on the specific arrival times. I did forget we would have bags (and bags and bags LOL) to check. Ah well up at 4am, the kids and DH up at 5am and out the door by 5:30am. Thank goodness for kids who go to bed at 6:30-7pm.

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

We also fly out of Indy, we personally love the early flights with children. I can get them out of bed, and they go right back to sleep in the vehicle, wake up for a short time at the airport, then sleep on the plane. Last year we had a 600 am on Delta, I really did like how "empty" the airport was
After checking what SW current schedule is, we have decided not to wait on them, and I did go ahead and book airtran while they are having their sale.

 

[simzac]

Indy isn't small...it's tiny. I'll be sure to check and see what time the airport opens. I think it opens at 6am but good idea to double check on the specific arrival times. I did forget we would have bags (and bags and bags LOL) to check. Ah well up at 4am, the kids and DH up at 5am and out the door by 5:30am. Thank goodness for kids who go to bed at 6:30-7pm.

How do you consider Indy a tiny airport? Most ticket counters at Indy open by 5am. I would not arrive less than one hour before your flight. You don't say when your flying, that will make a difference as far as how busy the airport will be.

 

[delmar411]

How do you consider Indy a tiny airport? Most ticket counters at Indy open by 5am. I would not arrive less than one hour before your flight. You don't say when your flying, that will make a difference as far as how busy the airport will be.

It's tiny in comparison to Washington Dulles and JFK. If I can arrive, go through the ticket counter, go through security, go to the very end of the gates all in 10mins...that's a small airport! I can't get from the parking lot to the doors in 10mins at Dulles! The flight we are looking at would be 7am. So there at 6am, that's a solid 60mins pre-flight time and then some as the flight is a bit after 7am.

I'm just not as anal about being at the airport 2hrs in advance...to do what? Sit there for an hour and 50mins?? Truely a waste of our time and my kids patience.

 

[smiller]

Yikes! That's cutting it awfully close, even at a smaller airport.

Here are a couple of items from AirTran Passenger Check-in Policies. (Other airlines have similar policies.)

Ticket Counter Check-in Requirements
AirTran Airways recommends that passengers arrive at the airport 90 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Due to security requirements, passengers and their baggage will not be accepted at the ticket counter less than 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight (some smaller airports may accept baggage up to 30 minutes prior to departure time). See AirTran Airways' Contract of Carriage for specific airport check-in requirements.

Gate Check-in requirements
Customers must present themselves at the flight departure gate no later than ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure of their flight. Failure to comply will cause the customer to lose their reservation and, if so, they will not be eligible for denied boarding compensation.​

I flew AirTrain once with Dsis (pregnant at the time) and DNiece2. They were VERY serious about this checking in 45 minutes prior. Sounds easy, but when you're schlepping luggage and small children and standing in a line (no matter how unbusy), time gets away from you. We learned the hard way - they wouldn't allow us to check in to our flight - and we were only about 3 minutes late. Just keep that in mind!

I'm such a Southwest girl; it's either Southwest or an international carrier!

 

[mrsmom]

We flew airtran last Novfor the first time and got there 90 minutes early out of dayton , Ohio and our flight left about 10 minutes early and arrived 20 minutes early to Orlando. So i would get there early. I am flying with them again in April, we really enjoyed airtran.
Kim

 

[disneyfanfamily]

We are thinking Airtran for our June/July trip. I can get family of 5 roundtrip for $980. Not great, but not too bad. I definitely like the times better than SW times that they have showing now for the days that we would fly (Wednesdays and Saturdays). I do understand that they could change, but all airlines change, don't they? We have flown Delta twice and both times the flights changed. They were 2 hours later. That isn't too bad.

Hoping Airtran won't change flight times much more than 2 hours either way.