Difference between AirTran and Southwest

[AngieInOH]

We'll be flying out of Columbus Jan 9 coming home on Jan 16. Right now both AirTran and Southwest have the same price $177 rt.

What are the differences between the two? I understand SW is buying out AT. In order to pick your seats on AirTran do you have to pay extra? What if you don't pay the extra to pick your seats how are you boarded?

If the price were exactly the same which airline would you choose? I've never flown AirTran.

 

[disfan07]

Airtran:
1)costs extra to purchase seats. If you do not purchase seats, there is no guarantee that your party will sit together. YOu you want to sit next to each other...buy the seats
2)They charge for checked luggage
3)they have a tendency to change their flight times. There are a bunch of threads on here talking about their flights being changed more than once by airtran. Last time we flew them (about 2 1/2 years ago) our flight time was change 4 times to california and 3 times going home

Southwest:
1)seating is open meaning that you choose your seats when you board. You get a letter and number (A, B and C) and yo uboard by that number. They also have family boarding (i think its with a child under 5???) between A and B. You can also purcahse ECBI for $10 each which checks you in automatically at 36 hours so you dont have to be near a computer at 24 hours to check in
2)No bagagge fees (2 free bags)
3)Personally, I have never seen or heard of them changing flight times. What you buy is what you get

personally, we like SW much much better than Airtran. Actually, the only airline we ever choose over SW is Virgin America.
I knwo a lot of people dont like what they call "cattle call" boarding but we have actually found it to be better than other airlines boarding procedures.

HTH

 

[AngieInOH]

Thanks! I've typically tried to fly Southwest. And I thought I remember hearing issues with Airtran but couldn't remember. I don't mind Southwest boarding at all. If I check in around the 24 hour mark will I likely get an "A"? I don't believe they had the 36 hour automatic check in the last time we flew.

 

[Inkmahm]

I'd pick Airtran in a heartbeat. I upgrade to business class on Airtran and get free bags that way along with a much nicer seat, etc.

 

[dburg30]

It's 2 hours gate to gate from CMH, so dont put much thought into amenities. Sure you want to be comfortable, but for that length I dont think it will make much difference.

We personally use SW, have flown them for a good number of personal flights in the last 3 1/2 years or so and never had an issue. I think I've had one delayed flight, and it was in Feb when there was some weather around the midwest / eastern seaboard. We werent canceled, just a couple of hours late, along with just about every other airline heading to this part of the country that night.

 

[disfan07]

Thanks! I've typically tried to fly Southwest. And I thought I remember hearing issues with Airtran but couldn't remember. I don't mind Southwest boarding at all. If I check in around the 24 hour mark will I likely get an "A"? I don't believe they had the 36 hour automatic check in the last time we flew.

The 36 hour automatic check in is teh Early Bird Check In. It is $10 per person each way. Personally, we have never done it on an outbound trip from home and we have never gotten anything other than an A boarding pass.

We only do ECBI coming home from WDW because that way we dont have to remember to check in 24 hours before. it's automatically done for us.

If you check in at the 24 hour mark, I dont think you will have a problem, we just do ECBI for convenience.

 

[AngieInOH]

I'd pick Airtran in a heartbeat. I upgrade to business class on Airtran and get free bags that way along with a much nicer seat, etc.

I don't want to pay extra for upgrades or my luggage. I think I'll choose SW, and only go w/ Airtran if SW increases their rates.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would go with SW, and I would buy tickets now if that's a price you can live with.

 

[clanmcculloch]

If I check in around the 24 hour mark will I likely get an "A"? I don't believe they had the 36 hour automatic check in the last time we flew.

It really depends on your flight and your airport. My preferred flight out of my nearby airport typically has a lot of EBCI purchases and I've read of several people who even with buying EBCI still got B boarding positions (meaning boarding positions for people checking in at T-24 were AFTER that) so for me it's worth the price. Some flights don't seem to have any EBCI purchases and people get mid-A boarding positions at T-24.

You really need to decide your own comfort level and maybe look up some boarding position trends for your flight from your airport. For me, the price of EBCI means that for $40 each way I don't even have to think about whether we'll get seats together or not. I consider $40 to be a tiny drop in the bucket for major peace of mind when I think of how much I spend on my trips. That's just my own preference.

 

[jenseib]

So EBCI you can then have your resort print out your boarding pass at 24 hours or less, and you'll be just fine?

 

[dburg30]

So EBCI you can then have your resort print out your boarding pass at 24 hours or less, and you'll be just fine?

Correct, or you can even print them at the airport. But it is nice to have them in hand, so you know your BP #'s before hand, so I have them printed at the resort.

 

[Danibelle]

I love SW even with the boarding procedures. I would recommend EBCI if you have small children (and for anyone during holiday periods). They rarely change their schedule unlike other airlines. The bags fly free doesn't hurt either!

 

[ccgirl]

So EBCI you can then have your resort print out your boarding pass at 24 hours or less, and you'll be just fine?

You do not need EBCI to have the resort print out your boarding pass. They will all do that for you 24 hours in advance. EBCI is for a boarding position to be assigned to you 36 hours in advance. Be aware that if you paid for EBCI and received a B boarding position you will board after the family boarding. I only mention that because I witnessed a very irate customer upset about that.

I love SW even with the boarding procedures. I would recommend EBCI if you have small children (and for anyone during holiday periods). They rarely change their schedule unlike other airlines. The bags fly free doesn't hurt either!

If the child is under 4 I have never paid for EBCI. You will be eligible to board between the A and B groups.

Are the times the same too? I have actually switched from SW to Airtran. So glad I don't have to worry about checking in and boarding positions and all that stuff. I paid $6 each way for an actual seat not just at a chance for a better boarding position. We tend to pack light so the checked baggage fee meant we were still paying $250 less for 4 people for the flight. If you are going to pay the $10 each way for EBCI, make sure you use that figure when comparing the price. It might end up being cheaper (depending on how many seats) to pay the $6 per seat and check baggage.

Good luck with your decision. You will find good and bad opinions of each and every airline.

 

[NancyIL]

I fly AirTran because they're at an airport an hour away with free parking. The closest airport served by Southwest is 2 hours away and charges $9/day for economy parking. I like AirTran just fine, and hope Southwest doesn't drop AirTran's non-stops to Orlando when they take over.