Help with Airfare quest...

[ctc917]

So for the first time our family is looking to go to Florida in June so I have never really looked at airfare during the summer(its booked for the end of June)but now I am and I'm really having sticker shock..

So in checking around and I have found that right now Airtran has the cheapest airfare even with their extra fees and us parking in Boston instead of Manchester but I have read alot of people having issues with them so Im alittle nervous in trying them..

So what I'm looking for from everyone is the good the bad and the ugly on flying with Airtran? Would you book with them? wait it out for maybe Southwest to lower their prices?

Any help would be great

Thanks

ctc917

 

[mdsd8700]

Airfare the last couple of years has been quite high and the summer seems to be one of the higher times, along with the holidays. We always fly SW. We live outside of Chicago and they always seem to have the best prices. We were lucky this year that I was able to get a free flight with my SW Card but I still paid $335 per person for mid June round trip to/from Orlando. I checked prices today on SW and they went up more than $100 per person for the round trip. Initally I wasn't happy I had paid what I did, now I am thrilled I already purchased. Of course I am sure this has to do with the crazy high current gas prices so hopefully those prices will come back down soon. It is always hard to gauge what airline prices will be. I would come up with a number that seems reasonable and affordable for you and when you find that I would jump on it. Good Luck.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

The issue with AirTran is their schedule isn't final when you are likely booking. The departure and arrival times can change significantly.

That being said, if you book a flight that does change, you can almost always change to any available flight on the same day without penalty.

 

[azdizzymom]

All airlines can change their schedules ...I am flying Delta in April. So far I have had 2 schedule changes. My outbound flight changed for the better by 2 hours (reducing a layover from 3.5 to 1.5 hours---longer layover was on cheapest flight). On return we were on two different flights (hubby/son on one and me/son on another) to SLC then on same flight to IND. My son and myself had 3 hour layover...hubby/son had 1 hour 5 min layover. Looked over weekend (which is key when booking flights a few months out---this is for April and I booked at end of September). Found their flight changed and they had 45 minutes. That was cutting it too close leaving out of PHX where flights can be late, etc. We are on last nonstop out of SLC and I don't want to get stuck there so I called Delta. They were great and put them on the same flight at no charge as us so now longer layover but fine. Also our flight going to IND now arrives 30 minutes earlier (fine again because went from 10:30 PM to 10PM).

I just check seats too...which is A BIG THING ON AIRTRAN. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if it is important to sit with your family purchase the seats prior to trip. Don't wait and expect there to be the free seats at the 24 hour mark together. If it is at all important make sure you just pay the extra to ensure you are together! They don't HAVE to move people who have purchase seats prior to make room for those who choose not to. Won't go further into this cause if you do a search there is an entire thread on that subject and it is touchy. In the end people have been separated from young kids....and people who buy seats do refuse to move too.

We flew Airtran to MCO a few years back and LOVED it. Yes there were schedule changes but like others said they put us on a new flight no charge. Just keep checking the times weekly that way you can get change right away. Also anytime you change check the seats (these can change even if they change aircraft).

 

[goofy4tink]

I have only flown AirTran for one trip...Boston to Ft Lauderdale. And because I booked it last minute (3 days in advance), there wasn't time for them to make any changes.
So...my experience was a good one...all around. They do tend to make a ton of flight time changes. As does Delta...I think these two are the worst. This is the reason I have stopped flying Delta unless I absolutely have to.

 

[sharona]

I agree. All that checking and rechecking to see what their latest schedule changes are is just too stressful for me!!! Delta and AirTran change their flights more often than not. I know you can call and sometimes get a flight change that is to your advantage but monitoring all that is like having a second job. I would rather pay a bit more for SW or Jet Blue to know that the majority of the time the schedule is the schedule. Also not a fan of playing seat roulette.

I totally get it if you have a large number of travelers as the savings for booking the cheaper flights can quickly add up. For our party of 3, the $$ difference is usually not worth the hassle.

Anyway, just my opinion - which I'm sure you were waiting for

 

[sharona]

Had to come back and eat my words! Just got a call from JB that they are changing my flight time. That has never happened to us on JB before. Fortunately it is only about 20 minutes and it will get us there earlier instead of later so not a problem but just annoying. One of the main reasons we choose JB is to avoid all the changes that happen on Delta and AirTran.

So much for my strategy!