I need opinions on AirTran airlines!!!!

[karenTX]

Hi all!
I am checking prices for our trip and AirTran has the best but I know nothing about this airline! I'm usually a American/Delta flyer. I am in need of opinions on them! There will be 3 of us with DD in her carseat.
Thanks in advance!!!!!

 

[Freqflyer]

Hello fellow Texan, We fly Air Tran frequently because of their low fares and have always found them to be a good choice. I have never flown AA just because I can never find good fares. And I rate them better than Delta or US Air. You don't get seat assignments right away but you can book your seat 24 hours before your flight. On our last trip to Disney they did not have seats available for my wife and I to sit by our kids so we went to the gate early and the rep moved seats around for us so we could be near our kids. They alos fly newer planes and when I flew last handed out headsets to anyone for free. They serve the typical coke/water and small snack pretzels etc. On one occasion they our luggage got lost and we were staying 4 hours away from the airport but we still had are luggae by noon the next day which we felt was good because we just landed at 1155 PM. I'm not sure which airport your flying out of but they always seem to beet Soutwest on prices out of DFW and Love Field. Good luck.

 

[mom2grace]

We had a terrible experience with them getting out of Orlando. Our kids were 5 & 3, and they expected them to sit with total strangers because our seats weren't assigned together, even though each agent from check-in to the gate, the the back of the plane had a passenger list with each persons age on it (at least the children)...................the flight attendant at the back of the plane convinced some people to switch...........NEVER AGAIN!

We were only asking for 2 sets of 2 seats, not 4 seats together or near each other.

 

[nuzmom]

We like airtrans and will fly with them again. For us, it's between airtrans and southwest. We've had more problems with sitting together for return trips with southwest.

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

I am another mom who will never fly Air-tran again. Several years ago we had purchased a seat for my infant daughter and planned to have her buckled into her carseat. When we went to board they wouldn't let her carseat on. They said it wasn't approved for air travel, when in fact it had the approved sticker right on the seat. I was in absolute tears!! We will never use them again. We wrote a huge letter when we returned home, but the only response we got was the preprinted "sorry your experience wasn't up to your expectations..... blah, blah, blah."

 

[pednurse]

Just returned on 6/7 from our trip to WDW. We flew AirTran for the first time and had a great experience. When we booked (through AAA) we got our seat assignments at that time so we had no problems being seated with our children. The staff was very nice and polite and it was an overall better experience flying than I'd had in a while. The only issue we ran into was the fact that as of right now the resort airline check-in for leaving at the end of your stay seems to be hit-or-miss with AirTran. We were unable to do it (were told that morning that their computers weren't set up to work with AirTran) but from a previous post I made it seems that some others have been able to do so. I would not hesitate to use AirTran again.

 

[Princess Roo]

Since we live in Atlanta and our family doesn't, we've used Airtran many, many times! We like Delta better, but Airtran is often less expensive.

In the past, when you buy a sale fare from them, you don't get to choose your seat when you book. (For regular fares, you do.) The 3 of us have never had a problem with being able to sit together, but we tend to do the on-line checkin as close to 24 hours in advance as possible so that we can get our seats then. BUT, they have also just started offering the option of paying an extra $5 per seat to be able to choose your seat on those sale fares.

 

[luvmy2sams]

We flew AirTran out of DFW in January 2006 with our then 7 and 2 year old kids. We had DS2's Britax Roundabout in a carry-on bag, and DH had no problem installing it in the plane's seats. DS had plenty of leg room, and it really wasn't much of a hassle at all.

As others have mentioned, the discounted fares don't allow you to pick your seats until 24 hours before departure. We had no problem getting the seats we wanted for either the flight down or back home AirTran is now a participating carrier with Magical Express, so that should make checking back in from Orlando easier, too.

We had nonstop flights both ways, and had no problems at all. The flight to Orlando actually arrived 20 minutes or so ahead of schedule. For our trip this October, our nonstop return flight time changed dramatically, and customer service changed us to a better timed flight with no hassles or charges at all.

DH didn't notice a marked difference between flying AirTran versus American or Delta, which is what he flies for business. We'll keep using them.

 

[karenTX]

We flew AirTran out of DFW in January 2006 with our then 7 and 2 year old kids. We had DS2's Britax Roundabout in a carry-on bag, and DH had no problem installing it in the plane's seats. DS had plenty of leg room, and it really wasn't much of a hassle at all.

As others have mentioned, the discounted fares don't allow you to pick your seats until 24 hours before departure. We had no problem getting the seats we wanted for either the flight down or back home AirTran is now a participating carrier with Magical Express, so that should make checking back in from Orlando easier, too.

We had nonstop flights both ways, and had no problems at all. The flight to Orlando actually arrived 20 minutes or so ahead of schedule. For our trip this October, our nonstop return flight time changed dramatically, and customer service changed us to a better timed flight with no hassles or charges at all.

Thanks to everyone for the info!!! I went ahead and got the tickets before I lost the great price! Thanks for the carseat info too! We have a light Graco that we use for the plane and I wanted to make sure it would fit.

I plan on checking in asap to the 24 departure time but what about on the way home? Do I just go over to the flight check-in desk at the hotel the day before we're leave to get the seats? We won't have our laptop with us. Help!!

 

[goofy_kid]

airtran is a ripoff. they told us 7:30 and we didnt leave until almost 10 . do not take airtran!

 

[Max Rebo]

Our experience with AirTran last week was fine.

Inability to reserve seats made me nervous, but if you check-in early, you shouldn't have too many problems. We traveled with DD7 and DD4, and had no problem having one parent with each child. They seemed to act as though it was mandatory that a parent be seated with children this age.

Staff was courteous and friendly. Kids even got little pilot pins at the end of our journey, which DS4 thought was really cool.

And the price couldn't be beat.

I'd travel with AirTran again with confidence.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Thanks to everyone for the info!!! I went ahead and got the tickets before I lost the great price! Thanks for the carseat info too! We have a light Graco that we use for the plane and I wanted to make sure it would fit.

I plan on checking in asap to the 24 departure time but what about on the way home? Do I just go over to the flight check-in desk at the hotel the day before we're leave to get the seats? We won't have our laptop with us. Help!!

You can now purchase your seats for $5/seat as soon as you buy them. I did it last week for both of our flights. To me it was worth the extra $30!

Just go to Airtran and sign into your account. You should be able to choose your seats there.

 

[Cory's Gal]

We flew AirTran in January this past year and in December of '05. We didn't have any problems at all with them and would fly them again, we got great deals both times!

 

[DonaldsDaisy]

We have used Airtran many times and have only once had a delay and that was only because of a hurricane. We are booked to use them for our trip in September.
Last night I was checking the rates because I might take my nephew with us. Our flight that was suppose to leave at 12:58 pm was changed to 5:58 not getting us to Orlando until 9pm. I called AT right away and they changed our departing flight to an earlier one. We had 2 reservations that linked together(added DD). I only got an email confermation for her last night. This morning I still didnt have one for Me and DH. I checked on the website this morning and they never changed DH and I. I again called and got a really great guy who fixed the problem. He asked me to hold and I knew something was wrong. Not only was our original flight changed by 5 hours they altogether canceled our return flight. He had to rebook that flight to a much earlier flight. So our last day we really wont be able to do anything but pack up.

He was nice enough to give us our seat assignments for all the trouble. I would use them again becuase they have great rates and have always had an enjoyable flight. I will just pay attention to the flight times.

He also said that if the original return flight is put back on the schedule just call and they will switch us back.

 

[stepmom3]

I will only fly airtran! My husband has to fly Delta for work and has his flights cancelled or delayed 2/3 of the time! We have never had a problem with Airtran, always on time and very cheap rates! We never had a problem not sitting together, we have always been assigned seats close together.
Last week I just booked 4 of us to Orlando for $24 one way!!!!!! I then choose to pick our seats for $5 more per person!
Also be sure you watch for future sales, if your same flight goes on sale for less money, they will credit you the difference!

 

[McKelly]

Flew Airtran twice, once to Vegas - 6 hour delay, once to Orlando - 2 hour delay! Mechanical problems and they couldn't find a pilot!! Never again!

 

[bear_mom]

Flew Airtran twice, once to Vegas - 6 hour delay, once to Orlando - 2 hour delay! Mechanical problems and they couldn't find a pilot!! Never again!

I think this happens will all airlines. I was flying Northwest once, four legs of our trip. All four legs had a delay of somekind. Two were mechanical, one was the flight attendant needed to rest before she could fly again (something about regulations saying she could only fly x number of hours in a certain amount of time) and one was the previous flight was delayed so in turn ours was as well.

As for Airtran, we have never had a problem with them. Due to the way we bought our tickets for our Disney trip we had to check in at the airport and couldn't do it on-line 24 hours in advance. I called Airtran and they made notes on our tickets to at least put two and two together so our kids wouldn't be sitting alone. Both flights all four of us were in a row.

Emily

 

[thepeach80]

Look up the FAA rules on carseats and flying and take that w/ you as I've heard several people (including a close friend last month) having problems w/ them being able to take their seats on board.