Is it safe to book with Airtran?

[lisalonglash]

Thanks to Douglas Bray , I did a little airfare search today and found some great deals for our dates using Airtran.

I have never used Airtran before and I'm wondering the following:

(1) Do the flight times change sometimes? If so, do they let you pick alternate times?
(2) Will they go bankrupt before September?
(3) How is their "on-time" record?

You may giggle at my second question, but we learnt our lesson from Jetsgo. My dh and my oldest son were at the airport, IN THE CHECK-IN LINE, when Jetsgo declared bankruptcy. Never again will we put ourselves in that position if we can help it

Thanks for your help!

 

[realfam]

We love Airtran. We have flown 5 times with them. I prefer them over Air Canada anyday. There prices are outstanding and we can catch at direct MCO flight from Buffalo.
I highly recommend them. We have book to fly with them for our August trip to WDW.

 

[LSmith]

We have flown Airtran 3 times. Although I prefer Southwest and Jetblue, Airtan was fine. Jetblue for the t.v's and Southwest for the service and more leg room.

I also don't like that they now charge a first checked bag fee of $15.00 and a second checked bag fee of $25.00. Southwest has no fee for your checked bags (2 each).

They have never changed our times on us and we always book well ahead.

 

[fan1080]

We are booked with Airtran, for the first time, for our trip next month.

Booked in Dec, flight times have changed twice already. From what I've read, it's fairly standard for Airtran to change flight times. Hoping for the best.

 

[Cottager]

I've had one flight changed about a month in advance but it was only altered by 10 minutes. The email notice gave me the option to select a new flight or accept the modified one.

On another flight, the plane was being serviced in Orlando so they had to arrange to get another plane with delayed the flight by 4 hours so they brought in pizza and drinks for everyone and gave us all a credit for our next flight.

As mentioned, my only beef is with their first bag fee of $15 and the $6 advanced seating fee. You have to add these on to the ticket price to compare them with Southwest since they have no extra fees.

Their flights always seem fully booked for the BUF to MCO run and they don't offer crazy low pricing like Spirit Air so they look fairly stable financially. I too suffered the JetsGo mess but had a week to find another flight and Visa paid back the money since I booked it over the Internet.

 

[Honeystar120608]

we flew out of portland maine with airtran. I thought they were really good. They are an economic way to travel, we got 4 seats for 750, which then we wanted to reserve seats together so an extra...what was it... $80? Now you have to pay the $15 fee. BUT! I saw many people bringing small suitcases with them on the plane. We had transfers, they were always very accomodating to us and our kids. It was our kid's first time flying and the pilot (by coinsedence) was behind us as we were stepping onto the plane and he reassured our son who was in the beginning stages of a freak out, that he was the pilot and its was very comfortable on the plane and he would get us there safely. Once DS saw the inside of the plane the flight attendants gave him cookies right away to keep him occupied. I mean, just great with kids. We never had any 'snobs' or anything like that. No tv, meals or anything, but heck, for the difference in price for us to drive 7 hours from Moncton NB, night with a hotel and all, we will definitely do it again! 4 flights out of here is close to $4000!!! Insane!

As for changing the times, yes, they can and they did. If the times change (which I'd sign up online and check them yourselves as we never got an email indicating that it was changed) they are completely fine with changing you to whatever flight you prefer. In fact, we found out we could save $$ at DW if we went the following week we had planned. No trouble pushing our flights back a week. Kids were fine on a non direct flight (we had originally booked direct flights).

Hope this helps!!! Have a great trip! I can't wait to go back in Nov!!

 

[JW2]

1. Yes they do change times but give alternates, and I've ended up with better times

2. I've heard that they are connected to WDW - owned by them? - not sure but if that's the case, I highly doubt the bankrupt thing. We too got burned by Jetsgo right over March break, a few years ago!!

3. on-time record - great for us - once was delayed in Florida but due to fog in Buffalo (go-figure)

Have fun!!!

 

[disneynuts777]

1. Yes....they change flight times or even cancel flights. They are very nice about trying to help you out when you phone. We went from a connecting to a non stop last year when they changed our flight time

2. No...I do not think that they will go under.

3. They flights we have taken have all been on time.....however on our connector flights our luggage always seems to come on the flight after us.

 

[dis_guy]

Not only will they not likely go under, they are buying aircraft and hiring pilots where most others are not. Probably a sign of a fairly healthy company.

 

[CupidsKiss]

We booked Airtran for Sept. It is our first time with this airline but taking advantage of the webfare it was $99 each way Seattle to MCO. Saved us a bundle for the five of us. It was highway robbery to fly out of Vancouver. The taxes alone were more than what we booked our Airtran flights for.
I have been reading news articles and polls and I have gained some confidence. I hope everything I read is true.

 

[Kaitlyn08]

I've never flown Air Tran before, but I have booked them for May. I can tell you that they DO change flight times (I booked in January, and within 1-2 weeks, they had already changed my return flight); however, I just called today and they were able to change me to a better flight at no additional cost (I didn't even have to complain, they just let me know as soon as I called that they could change it for me). I think they have great customer service.

 

[Sheribo]

Flown Airtran twice now. It was great value for the money. I will fly them again without question. Our flights did change the first time but only by an hour and we were given plenty of notice.

 

[maggieb9975]

I flew Airtran this past October out of Detroit. I had booked my flight way ahead so the times did change frequently. As a PP said, don;t rely on e-mails to tell you, keep an eye on them yourself. Anytime they changed I would call and they were very helpful on the phone.....

I ended up upgrading our seats to first class for $50 when we checked in at airport..it was a lovely experience and one I figure I wouldn't get again for $50!

The staff were all very nice and I wouldn;t hesitate to fly with them again!

 

[tribus121]

We flew Airtan last month and loved them My only tip is to bring your own headphones if you want to listen to the satellite radio as they don't always have them .We booked 4 months in advance and our flights changed 3 time but never more than 10 min

 

[Buzz & Woody]

First off...you are TP'er or former TP'er right? I recognize your name Anyhow. We've flew AirTran from Buffalo 2 times-and loved it. Great prices, great service...no complaints at all!

 

[lisalonglash]

Thanks everyone for your input The consistent replies about AirTran changing flight times is really concerning to me. Our flight from Seattle must leave late enough for us to get there (approx. 2 hour drive to SeaTac from our home + whatever border line-up there may be) after dh gets home from work on the Friday. I think that has put me off the airline, which is sad because their prices are AWESOME!

Oh well, maybe we'll figure it out We have six months to book the flights

Buzz & Woody:
Yes, I was a TPer, but when they changed their format, my computer decided to hate TP Who are you on TP?

 

[SoNewToDisney!]

I ended up upgrading our seats to first class for $50 when we checked in at airport..it was a lovely experience and one I figure I wouldn't get again for $50!

You can upgrade? What are the 1st class seats like? DH would be over the moon if I did this...

 

[tribus121]

Airtran offers passengers upgrads here is a link to their website explining cost and how it works http://www.airtran.com/business_class.aspx

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

DH flies Airtran all the time.

The first class is nice - bigger leather seats - two by two. You get drinks prior to takeoff. One flight attendant looking after you at all times. Better snack choices (regular bags of chips, snack mix, cookies) and you can ask for more. Free drinks.

You can usually upgrade at the airport for around $49+ (I think it's $69 from BUF to MCO)and they will make announcements at the gate if anyone wants to upgrade if there is space.

You can also do this 24 hours prior to your flight - if you checkin on line.

If you've only paid for a really cheapie fare, it can be worth it. But you are paying a bit extra for first on, first off and all the free booze and pretzels you can eat!

 

[AverysMommy]

good cheap flight