I Love Airtran!

[Minnesota!]

In May I bought the cheapest flights for our day, hoping that the flight time would change a bit so I could switch to a more desirable time.

Well, they changed...by 2 minutes on my connecting flight. I didn't think they would let me switch but I called just to see.

I had the sweetest agent - Corrine. She said absolutely I could switch flights. And so instead of flying out at 10am....getting up at 5 or 530 so we can be up and ready by 7 for ME....she switched my family to a 6pm flight. So we get a good 1/2 day at the park, AND instead of a 4 hour layover in ATL, I now have just about an hour in Milwaukee. PERFECT!

Normally I wouldn't do that little time on a layover with a flight leaving MCO (have never had a flight leave on time out of MCO!), but MKE is close enough to home that if we for some reason miss our connecting flight, I have no problem renting a car and driving home, or even staying in MKE for the night.

I am so excited and will be so sad if AT's customer service changes much when they merged with SW.

 

[mom2brooke76]

Fortunately, Southwest has great customer service and it's rare to ever see a flight changed once they're posted. I hope that you'll like them as much as I have over the years

 

[ccgirl]

In May I bought the cheapest flights for our day, hoping that the flight time would change a bit so I could switch to a more desirable time.

Well, they changed...by 2 minutes on my connecting flight. I didn't think they would let me switch but I called just to see.

I had the sweetest agent - Corrine. She said absolutely I could switch flights. And so instead of flying out at 10am....getting up at 5 or 530 so we can be up and ready by 7 for ME....she switched my family to a 6pm flight. So we get a good 1/2 day at the park, AND instead of a 4 hour layover in ATL, I now have just about an hour in Milwaukee. PERFECT!

Normally I wouldn't do that little time on a layover with a flight leaving MCO (have never had a flight leave on time out of MCO!), but MKE is close enough to home that if we for some reason miss our connecting flight, I have no problem renting a car and driving home, or even staying in MKE for the night.

I am so excited and will be so sad if AT's customer service changes much when they merged with SW.

I agree. I have had fantastic service with AT. Actually, better than SW. I am disappointed with the merger as I think Airtran helped SW keep their prices in check. And, if SW didn't I just booked AT tickets.

 

[keishashadow]

I agree. I have had fantastic service with AT. Actually, better than SW. I am disappointed with the merger as I think Airtran helped SW keep their prices in check. And, if SW didn't I just booked AT tickets.

what she said

AT has always stepped up and made compensation for problems, lately they've been very accommodating.

 

[iluveeyore]

Although we have flown Airtran a few times, and I have a flight booked for DD and DS in October, I prefer SWA because of the ease in changing flights like you did, only without having to wait and see if they change the flight time so I don't have to pay a penalty. I booked the kids on a 5 pm flight going down, but now they can leave in the morning, so I am unable to change their flight without paying a hefty $75 each change fee. With SWA, I have changed DH's flight and mine twice to get a lower price and a different time, with no fees at all. I wish Airtran would do that, especially if it's just for an earlier flight on the same day that also costs more!

 

[Fire14]

I personally can't stand Airtran and love SWA. bag fees and fact that the times seem to change A LOT and i don't mean by 3-5 min I'm talking 8+ hrs.

 

[DianeV]

I personally dont like SW because they dont have any nonstop flights from Detroit to Orlando and Airtran does.. I am afraid those will be gone with the merger

 

[Minnesota!]

I am not a fan of SW, either, because of the no non stop from MSP and the fact that they are so much more expensive than Airtran. I will be so sad to see $74/each way prices fall by the wayside after the merger.

I will stick solely to Sun Country and Delta after they merge. Even with paying for baggage, Airtran comes out...usually...about $50 a person cheaper.

 

[nkereina]

It will be interesting to see what happens with AT when they merge with SW. I would fly AT a lot more if their bag fees and seat reservation fees were gone. Their low fares are misleading when you factor those things in at check-out.

 

[mom2brooke76]

It will be interesting to see what happens with AT when they merge with SW. I would fly AT a lot more if their bag fees and seat reservation fees were gone. Their low fares are misleading when you factor those things in at check-out.

It says that once the merger is complete all of the AT planes will become Southwest planes and they sound like they'll keep Southwest's model (no baggage fees and no assigned seating). Here is the link in case anyone was interested:

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=airtran_acq