How was your Air Tran experience?

[lynn71092]

We're fliying Air Tran for the 1st time after booking through SW and am just a bit leary reading about all the time changes and overbooking issues. I've always had such great flights through SW and am hoping Air Tran will be okay. Any one else have newbie Air Tran stories, good and bad?

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I've pretty much flown Airtran exclusively for the past few years to MCO and have had no problems.

Flight Attendants were professional, luggage arrived at destination and back home with no problems, flights were on time and while they did overbook and ask for volunteers to be bumped who would be given some sort of compensation (I don't know what, I didn't pay attention), I didn't hear of anyone being upset about it.

I wouldn't have a problem flying them again.

 

[Disneylover99]

We flew AT last year and we are flying with them again in August and October.

No delays.
No problems.
Smooth flight.

But I should add I noticed on our way home from Orlando the interior of the plane had not been cleaned properly.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Flew Air Tran in August - Boston to Baltimore to Ft. Myers, FL.
Took off and arrived on time.
Flight attendants were courteous and efficient.
Did not check luggage so I can't speak to that.
We had a connecting flight and on our second flight my tray was covered in some nice sticky purple juice. (This was a late evening flight)

One thing of note: we had the option of paying for seats ahead of time and chose not to use it. Checked in at the 24 hour mark and had no problems getting seats together.
When I got to the airport, it was chaos. The lines to check your luggage was VERY long. I don't know if this was an Air Tran problem or just an Air Tran at Logan problem, but it would have taken at least an hour+ to get through that line.
I saw a very upset woman traveling with her DH and 2 little kids who was just checking in at that time at one of the little self serve kiosks and it wouldn't let her because there were no more seats left on the plane. The flight was definitely overbooked.
I've never been so glad to have checked in early before.

 

[scjo68]

We flew AT to MCO in January, and it was fine. We paid to select our seats when we bought our tickets, and I would do that again. I did hear something about someone getting bumped or moved around on our return flight- don't know the details, but DH said they did not have their seat assignments ahead of time.

I am in the reverse position of OP- The daily nonstop to MCO from here just changed to from AirTran to Southwest. The idea of not having a seat assignment ahead of time kind of throws me.

 

[Iamthequeen]

DH and I flew AT from Baltimore to Orlando a few years ago. The flight down was fine, no problems. Before we left on the trip however, our return flight was changed to a much earlier flight, which did not make me very happy. Besides the fact that it cut our last day at WDW short, it put us back in Baltimore at rush hour - not fun.

One good thing was that when we did check in at the resort, we were given seats that were not even close to each other since I did not want to pay extra, but when we got to the airport, the attendants asked if we would be able to sit in the emergency exit row at no extra charge, so we were able to sit together in a row that had a bit more leg room.

I prefer to fly SW over AT and until AT is fully integrated with no baggage fees, I'll continue to choose SW.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We flew AirTran from Buffalo to MCO on December 23.

The plane was so old, the paint was peeling off the nose in large sections . We are nervous flyers to begin with, so seeing the condition of the plane as we waited to board was a tad unnerving.

We flew business class (upgraded for a very small fee per person 24 hours before our flight) so we had lots of room.

Flight attendants were "okay". Not super friendly but efficient enough.

No trouble with baggage.

The flight was overbooked, and they asked for 3 volunteers to take a later flight on a JetBlue plane. DH and DS wanted to take the offer so they could have their onboard TV's....they weren't thrilled that AirTran didn't have a TV on each seat. It made for a loooonnnnnnggggg flight for these three JetBlue veterans.

 

[tyzzle]

Please keep in mind that since you booked through southwest you may not pick your seats ahead of time. Your seats will be randomly assigned at check in and cannot be changed until you arrive at the gate

 

[melser13]

I'm going to piggy back this thread...

If you book AT through SW it looks like the baggage fees are waived... is this true?

On a side note, we've flown AT and have had no issues.

 

[mrg013]

If you book AT through SW it looks like the baggage fees are waived... is this true?

Yes, currently the system is a bit odd in that you don't have to pay baggage fees for AT flights booked through SW, but the tradeoff ends up being the inability to choose seats ahead of time.

I've flown AirTran a couple of times from PHL-MCO, and I've generally been happy, but feel that they have gone downhill a little bit over time. When we flew them earlier in the 2000s we were really impressed. Then we flew them again on Christmas Day a few years later, and the flight, while on-time, was just ok (the service wasn't great, but it was probably just because no one wanted to be working a 7AM flight on Christmas). I recently flew AirTran to another destination from PHL and was actually pretty disappointed on that trip. The plane wasn't in great condition, the in-flight staff was just ok, and the staff working in the airport were downright rude for no good reason.

Overall, though, AirTran has been fine and prices have always been good, which is my main concern. Plus, they're definitely no worse than any other airline. I just wouldn't say they're a standout in terms of being any better than the rest. I've had similar experiences with Southwest. I felt that they were great when they first started flying out of PHL, and since then, more and more, I've had less than stellar experiences and flight crews here and there. I'm relatively indifferent between flying AirTran vs. Southwest.

If the price is right, I'd definitely choose AirTran, but I think it's somewhat hard to say what to expect. I'd say you should go into it with the attitude that it will be "ok", and you'll be setting yourself up to either have your expectations met or have a pleasant surprise. We're flying AirTran on our upcoming trip to MCO, and I'm hoping to have good things to report!

 

[jeffp66]

We flew to MCO from Houston on June 7th on Air Tran. It was me DW, DD15 and DD11. I got bumped!!!! The girls flew on without me (they were visibly upset when I had to tell them). I was offered two round trip tickets or 4x what I paid for my ticket, so I took the $650!!!!! They got to MCO at 12:30 and I arrived at 4. When they were leaving I told them that we would still have fun and not to worry. I told them that they could either hang around the resort and swim until I got there or go to MK (thinking there was no way that they would go to MK without me). Well, they went to MK without me!!!! They were completely lost without me "the planner". They rode BTMRR and watched Mickey's Philharmagic and went back to AoA to wait for me. Doubt I'll be able to convince the fam to fly Air Tran again!!!

 

[livndisney]

Airtran via SW? HORRIBLE!

Direct flight earlier this month-they lost our luggage. Told us they would find it and get it to us "when they could". Currently fighting with them to reimburse items we had to purchase.

 

[lylone]

We have been flying AirTran for 7 years and never have had an issue with service or the cleanliness of the planes. I have never seen a plane that was badly maintained or considered "old". They actually have one of the newer fleets in the industry.
I am surprised that we haven't seen spilled on things on the plane, you know the FAs do clean the planes in between each flight and I doubt they have time to check every tray on the back of the seats in case someone spilled their drink all over them. I would blame the previous passenger more than a FA. I think it is very inconsiderate to not let someone know about a mess you made. Plus I am sure that if asked a FA would clean it off for you.
As long as the seat I sit in is clean, the plane gets to it's destination in one piece and on time....I am happy. I guess I am easy to please.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

AirTran tends to have HORRID luggage check in lines (No idea why they seem to be clueless that folks have luggage to check) In Atlanta the gate staff is generally just plain rude.

Sadly, what I see is SW heading the "wrong' way. Flew them for the first time in quite a while last week and it did nothing to encourage me to fly them more.

 

[lylone]

AirTran tends to have HORRID luggage check in lines (No idea why they seem to be clueless that folks have luggage to check) In Atlanta the gate staff is generally just plain rude.

Wow... I never have had an issue with checkin or the gate staff at ATL for Airtran. And we have used curbside, main, and even the Marta checkins and everyone has always been friendly. Now, I do admit that all I have never had a reason to walk up to the gate counters... just had them check my boarding pass and then a pleasant "welcome aboard" on the way to the plane.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

My last AirTran flight..,. 10 minutes after scheduled departure when the sign still said on time and the agent had made no announcements a passenger went up and asked about the flight. Agent screamed. 'You will get on when I say you can,'. Typical IMHO

 

[livndisney]

AirTran tends to have HORRID luggage check in lines (No idea why they seem to be clueless that folks have luggage to check) In Atlanta the gate staff is generally just plain rude.

Just last month we waited in over 2 hours to check bags at MCO on Airtran.

 

[lylone]

My last AirTran flight..,. 10 minutes after scheduled departure when the sign still said on time and the agent had made no announcements a passenger went up and asked about the flight. Agent screamed. 'You will get on when I say you can,'. Typical IMHO

Wow... Only 10 minutes after scheduled departure...I probably would have snapped too.

Was the day that you waited two hours to check bags the same day the lines were backed up halfway through the atrium?

We were there once and DME was late also that day..

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Wow... Only 10 minutes after scheduled departure...I probably would have snapped too.

Was the day that you waited two hours to check bags the same day the lines were backed up halfway through the atrium?

We were there once and DME was late also that day..

So next time you fly if the airline has not started boarding your flight after the scheduled departure time and has not bothered to tell you when they do expect to leave you think it is unreasonable to ask what is going on?

If this is your standard then AirTran is good, but most passengers like to be kept informed. It is not acceptable to yell at customers for reasonable questions.

 

[lylone]

So next time you fly if the airline has not started boarding your flight after the scheduled departure time and has not bothered to tell you when they do expect to leave you think it is unreasonable to ask what is going on?

If this is your standard then AirTran is good, but most passengers like to be kept informed. It is not acceptable to yell at customers for reasonable questions.

10 minutes. Being in customer service...no I wouldn't go ask the desk why our flight hasn't boarded yet. They can still make up the time in the air.

This is not my standard of Airtran but more of a consideration
of the poor people behind the desk who are only doing their job. You don't know what was going on with the person behind the desk. You don't know how many others have come up to her and asked the same question. Maybe her manager won't let her make an announcement. You don't know...do you? I have been in situations like this and I guess I am more patient and relaxed on a vacation and usually are happy just getting to my destination in the end.

I am more considerate of anyone in a customer service position....maybe because I have been in their same shoes for years.

And that one incident makes all gate agents rude...yeah ok