MSP folks ever use Air Tran?

[FoggyToad]

Usually fly Sun Country to Orlando but their rates for when we want to travel in June are sky high. Anyone ever use Air Tran out of the Twin Cities to Orlando? Experiences with them good or bad? If they are similar to SC I'd be very happy to fly them.

 

[hercamore]

I've never flown them, but my Air Force son-in-law has. He says most of their planes are newer than Northwests.


herc.

 

[jekjones1558]

I have flown AirTran and been very satisfied. No free cheeseburger like Sun Country, but they also fly out of the Humphrey terminal, which I love. I also like the fact that they participate in RAC, so I can check my bags for the return flight right at my Disney hotel. With airfares becoming more costly, I usually use Kayak.com and choose between AirTran, SC and NWA--whichever has the lowest priced non-stop.
One other note: If you are not at a Disney hotel and have to check bags at the airport, I have found AirTran's check-in lines, even curbside, to be pretty long. So allow LOTS of time.

 

[FoggyToad]

I totally agree about the pleasure of flying out of and into HHH Terminal~~not having to face Lindbergh is a joy for me! But most importantly, thank you so very much for the tip regarding kayak.com. What a great website! Now that I have that tool at my fingertips, this is going to be a lot easier to compare fares out of MSP.

 

[Scrubba2]

Although I am a f/a for another carrier, I have flown Air Tran. (I can't usually find an empty seat to MCO to use my employee passes!) Air Tran has been the cheapest most times.

The planes aren't always newer than the other airlines, and if you buy your ticket a few months away, your flight may have changes to it closer to your departure (just like the other airlines). I have had medium delays (just like other airlines) and the service included a tiny bag of pretzels and a cup of pop (unlike other airlines where you have to pay for a snack but mostly get a can of pop). They also have free headsets for on board radio, and charge for bottled water, but at least you get the bottle instead of a glass.

What I like about Air Tran is the pricing. I like that all of the pricing remains shown until the seats at the price have sold out. I can't figure out pricing on the other airlines. I also like the ease of flying out of HHH, for whatever reason it seems less chaotic at that terminal.

Sun Country out of MSP is the best, IMO, only because it's employees are happy, and it shows. Usually the tickets are higher priced though. Not exactly a free cheese burger!

 

[magicaldisney]

Sun Country out of MSP is the best, IMO, only because it's employees are happy, and it shows. Usually the tickets are higher priced though. Not exactly a free cheese burger!

I agree. The only down side is no RAC, but I REALLY LIKE not having to check the internet every Sunday and worrying about whether the flight times have changed or not. Sun Country does not overbook their flights. Flights are cheapest when first announced.

 

[FoggyToad]

I agree. The only down side is no RAC, but I REALLY LIKE not having to check the internet every Sunday and worrying about whether the flight times have changed or not. Sun Country does not overbook their flights. Flights are cheapest when first announced.

What is RAC?

 

[jekjones1558]

Remote (Resort) Airline Checkin.
Disney resorts have a desk where you can check in your luggage and print your boarding pass. Then when you get to the airport, all you have to do is go straight to the security check line. From a sticky on this board:

Anyone who flies out of Orlando International Airport with a Disney resort reservation can take advantage of Disney's Magical Express ground transportation.
Only those flying participating airlines may check thier luggage & get boarding passes at the Resort Airline Check-in Desk. EVERYONE must be present (exceptions: Adults over 18 can check in for spouse & kids under the age of 18, but not in-laws, grandparents, brother/sister, etc).
Bags may be checked starting at 12 hours prior to flight, up until no later than 3 hours prior to flight departure time. (Bag check process must be COMPLETE by the 3hr mark, regardless of what time the guest gets in line) Please note that this information is subject to change without notice. There have been times when the 3hr mark has been increased to 4hrs. Please check with your particular RAC desk for more details.
Although policy is that they can check luggage starting 12hrs prior to flight, some RAC desks may check luggage greater than the 12 hour mark (still same day only). Again, please check with your particular RAC desk for more details.
Desk is open from 5am-1pm, daily.
**NOTE** jetBlue requires passengers travelling with lap babies to check in at the airport and not a remote site.
Luggage MUST be under 50lbs. They do have a scale, and will weigh bags. They are UNABLE to check bags over 50lbs. There are NO exceptions to this rule.
There may be times where the TSA requires a guest to check thier bags directly at the airport. The RAC desk has no control over this.
All seats are pre-assigned by the airlines, and cannot be changed by the RAC desk. All seat changes must be done at the airport.
Those who are not flying a Participating Airline may still recieve thier boarding passes at thier Lobby Concierge desk, so long as the airline has internet check in.
Non-participating and international airline guests will have to bring thier bags onto the motorcoach, and check it at the airport itself.
Current Resort Airline Check-In Participating Airlines (Domestic only):
American Airlines
Continental
Delta
jetBlue
United/Ted
Northwest
Alaska Airlines
AirTran Airways

(USAirways is in a TEST phase
It will only be available at Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk Resorts.
"Go Live" to other resorts is unknown at this time.
Because this is a Test Phase, there will be times the system is down. Always be prepared to have to take your luggage to the airport to check it.)

 

[TosaTrio]

Usually fly Sun Country to Orlando but their rates for when we want to travel in June are sky high. Anyone ever use Air Tran out of the Twin Cities to Orlando? Experiences with them good or bad? If they are similar to SC I'd be very happy to fly them.

I've not flown on Air Tran from MSP to MCO however my DH and DD age 3 just recently flew frrom Milwaukee to MCO on Air Tran. While the price was right the cleanliness of the plane was not. When we addressed our concern with the flight crew of how dirty the whole plane was they simply said they do not clean the plane after every flight! Maybe Air Tran has a cleaning crew in MSP but they openly admit they do not in MKE. Yuck!

 

[SiClone]

We flew Airtran down and NWA back up a couple of weeks ago.

The Airtran plane was not as large as the NWA one. I can't remember the exact models, but the Airtran was only 5 seats per row. I LOVED the free XM radio and ear buds! That was awesome as I have XM in our Honda minivan. Flight was very smooth and no delays. Free pretzels and pop. Another plus about HHH, is you would rarely need to be there as early as the Linbergh terminal. There was no line at check-in.

Flying back NWA, there was a definite difference in plane size. There was a lot more knee and leg room. My knees were practically touching the seat in front of me on the Airtran plane, but on the NWA plane, there was plenty of room to stretch out my legs. Seats were more comfy, too. FA's gave out cans of pop as previously mentioned and offered to sell the $5 snack boxes. No XM though....

Funniest thing happened on our way back. We had a full size bag of Lays that was in my DS's backpack. After an hour or so, I went to grab it for munchy time and the thing looked like a fully blown mylar balloon. It would have been hilarious had it blown up in the overhead baggage compartment.

 

[zulaya]

Haven't flown Airtran to MCO yet. Have friends that have.

They enjoyed the flight, no complaints about the service, flight was on-time, etc.

The consistent complaint is that Airtran does change their schedule a lot more frequently than NWA or Sun Country.

Sun Country...I can't think of a recent time they have changed their schedule.

NWA...I haven't had a flight change to MCO in a while...but when I do, NWA is very prompt in emailing me that a schedule change has happened. Usually, it's a few minutes here or there and my seat assignments haven't changed. On the occasion that the flight has significantly changed...as in eliminated from the schedule or an aircraft change...I still get the email with the flights they changed me to and a note to call if the new schedule doesn't work. They have always accommodated me on a schedule that works for me.

Airtran...they don't notify you when the change happens. You have to check the schedule, especially if you book pretty far in advance. They have, in some cases, moved their one non-stop flight time around from 9am departure to 2pm departure. So if you have plans for your arrival day in FL, you need to consider that. My friend who flew last October, their non-stop was completely eliminated from the schedule on their departure day. She didn't know until she checked the schedule. They were able to change their dates around, but it was a hassle.

One thing I do like on Airtran is they do have a 2-seat row. So having an aisle and a window seat and no one in the middle is nice when you have a 4 person group. I sat my kids in 2 seats so they could watch their DVD and my Dh and I sat behind them on a flight once. Nice.

I have dealt with the hassle of this type of situation with Delta because the price was right. However, having done that, for me, I'd have to save a heck of a lot of money to deal with that again. Just my opinion.

 

[kkmauch]

Haven't flown Airtran to MCO yet. Have friends that have.

They enjoyed the flight, no complaints about the service, flight was on-time, etc.

The consistent complaint is that Airtran does change their schedule a lot more frequently than NWA or Sun Country.

Sun Country...I can't think of a recent time they have changed their schedule.

NWA...I haven't had a flight change to MCO in a while...but when I do, NWA is very prompt in emailing me that a schedule change has happened. Usually, it's a few minutes here or there and my seat assignments haven't changed. On the occasion that the flight has significantly changed...as in eliminated from the schedule or an aircraft change...I still get the email with the flights they changed me to and a note to call if the new schedule doesn't work. They have always accommodated me on a schedule that works for me.

Airtran...they don't notify you when the change happens. You have to check the schedule, especially if you book pretty far in advance. They have, in some cases, moved their one non-stop flight time around from 9am departure to 2pm departure. So if you have plans for your arrival day in FL, you need to consider that. My friend who flew last October, their non-stop was completely eliminated from the schedule on their departure day. She didn't know until she checked the schedule. They were able to change their dates around, but it was a hassle.

One thing I do like on Airtran is they do have a 2-seat row. So having an aisle and a window seat and no one in the middle is nice when you have a 4 person group. I sat my kids in 2 seats so they could watch their DVD and my Dh and I sat behind them on a flight once. Nice.

I have dealt with the hassle of this type of situation with Delta because the price was right. However, having done that, for me, I'd have to save a heck of a lot of money to deal with that again. Just my opinion.

I actually flew Airtran last fall to MCO our of MSP. My flights were changed three times and every time it changed they called to let me know and offered to change to a more convenient time for me at no charge. I was flying with two friends and each time one of them didn't get the call, but I always did. Just to be safe, each time I was on the phone I had them change the flights of my friends so we would always be on the same flights and they had no problem with that. We went from great times with no layovers to terrible times with layovers in Chicago on both legs. Really though, we slept nearly the entire time.

On the way to MCO:
Original flight booked: depart 6:05 AM, land 10:15 AM
Actual flight: depart 5:45 AM, layover chicago, land 12:35 PM

MCO--->MSP
Original flight: depart Sunday 7:35 PM, land 10:05 PM
Actual flight: depart Monday 6:15 AM, layover Chicago, land 1:05 PM

Oh well, the price was great, the staff was great and the XM radio was perfect for snoozing to.

Good luck!

 

[kjs1976]

We have exclusively flown AT the past three years because of prices. They have always left on time or early to/from MSP. We did have a delay last Aug. due to storms in MSP, but I noticed we were the least delayed between Sun Country and AT at the HHH. The only down side that people find is that they can chnage the flight times on you a few times. We've only had this happen once and in our favor...flight ended up leaving at 10 instead of 1 and we were stoked! The flights we plan to take this Aug just changed in the last couple of weeks, but again, leaving earlier and getting home later.

We love them and have had excellent everything with them!