I think I am worrying for nothing...

[kristenrice]

...but we leave in 2 weeks and I see that our flight appears to be only half-full!

We are flying AirTran out of Grand Rapids. There is only 1 non-stop flight per day. I booked it back in April and it has since had one time change which was only 5 minutes. I think I read somewhere that the little seat map is not an accurate representation of the actual tickets sold so I think I am worried about nothing. What is concerning me is that I can't believe that they would fly a half-full plane to Orlando. There is a flight that takes off at 6am and another that takes off at 6pm. Each of these have various layovers and I am afraid of our flight being cancelled. I certainly do not want to leave at 6pm and 6am is just soooo early.

Somebody tell me that there is nothing to worry about....

 

[ccudmore]

The seat map is only a representation of the seats that no one has been assigned to. There's probably lots of people who have booked a ticket but haven't done seat assignment yet.

Don't worry about it.

 

[Missytara]

Watch at the 24 hour mark, when people check-in and can choose seat assignments w/o paying the fee.

They are not represented on the seating chart.

 

[dudspizza]

Airlines don't cancel flights simply because they are half full. That plane is on a schedule and is needed in the next location to take passengers from there to another location. Simply canceling a flight would cause a ripple effect across the whole system....

You are worrying yourself for nothing....

Have a wonderful trip.

duds

 

[DebbieB]

...but we leave in 2 weeks and I see that our flight appears to be only half-full!

We are flying AirTran out of Grand Rapids. There is only 1 non-stop flight per day. I booked it back in April and it has since had one time change which was only 5 minutes. I think I read somewhere that the little seat map is not an accurate representation of the actual tickets sold so I think I am worried about nothing. What is concerning me is that I can't believe that they would fly a half-full plane to Orlando. There is a flight that takes off at 6am and another that takes off at 6pm. Each of these have various layovers and I am afraid of our flight being cancelled. I certainly do not want to leave at 6pm and 6am is just soooo early.

Somebody tell me that there is nothing to worry about....

The thing you have to remember is that plane is coming in from somewhere else with passengers and will be going somewhere else after your flight. If they were to cancel your flight, it would be out of position for those flights. It's rare from them to cancel flights last minute because they are not full. They typically look at their schedules months in advance and adjust as necessary.

 

[dioxide45]

I am willing to bet that when you fly almost every seat will be full.

 

[kristenrice]

Thank you all!

That's what I'd assumed, but I only fly about once every two years so I thought i'd ask te experts. I plan on doing the BC upgrade at 24 hours so I haven't selected a seat yet.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay, do you see the irony here? You haven't selected a seat - so you're not 'showing' as a passenger on the flight - but you're concerned because so many seats appear empty?

Considering how few Business Class seats there are, you might want to consider selecting Coach seating now - in case you can't upgrade, you won't be stuck with random Coach seats.

 

[quirty30]

Thank you all!

That's what I'd assumed, but I only fly about once every two years so I thought i'd ask te experts. I plan on doing the BC upgrade at 24 hours so I haven't selected a seat yet.

Just so you know, if you pay for your seat assignment when you book, and then decide to upgrade to BC, you get credit for what you've already paid. I always hope to get the BC upgrade, but it isn't always available. And if you haven't paid for a seat assignment, then you might be left with poor choices.

 

[kristenrice]

Just so you know, if you pay for your seat assignment when you book, and then decide to upgrade to BC, you get credit for what you've already paid. I always hope to get the BC upgrade, but it isn't always available. And if you haven't paid for a seat assignment, then you might be left with poor choices.

I think my chances of getting the upgrade are pretty good. I always check in at exactly the 24-hour mark. I just looked at the non-stop flight that leaves today (in 90 minutes, to be exact) and there are still 3 BC seats available. If by some chance we don't get the upgrade, I am not too concerned with where we sit. We are two adults without kids so we're not picky.

 

[Lisa0620]

Kristen,
We had the same thing when we flew that flight last Nov. (early in the month, not TG) and the flights there and back both appeared to be full. Good luck!

 

[kristenrice]

Kristen,
We had the same thing when we flew that flight last Nov. (early in the month, not TG) and the flights there and back both appeared to be full. Good luck!

I'm now down to 11 days out so I am fairly confident that our times are safe. I also see that there are no prices listed for any coach fares...just BC...so I am guessing that the flight is full. I will be on my computer at 12:30pm sharp the day before (flight time is 12:36pm) so I am confident that if I don't get an upgrade, I'll hopefully get a decent seat.