NEVER Flew AirTran.....A Tad Nervous, Don't Know Much About AirTran....FEEDBACK???

[bellenbuzz]

I have been looking for good RT Air rates for months for November trip....
Rates have been getting higher & higher, found a good rate on AirTran for Non-Stop for Perfect flight times so hubby booked it...
Thing is, I don't know anyone who ever flew AirTran, and we never really heard of this Airline......
PLEASE ease my mind !!!! Is it Okay ??? Need a Pep Talk PLEASE !
We have flown Spirit in the past but they wanted $360 pp for this trip...
THANKS DIS'ers !!!
PS: My 2 DD's picked all the Smilie Dudes, they get a little carried away!

 

[dudspizza]

I have been looking for good RT Air rates for months for November trip....
Rates have been getting higher & higher, found a good rate on AirTran for Non-Stop for Perfect flight times so hubby booked it...
Thing is, I don't know anyone who ever flew AirTran, and we never really heard of this Airline......
PLEASE ease my mind !!!! Is it Okay ??? Need a Pep Talk PLEASE !
We have flown Spirit in the past but they wanted $360 pp for this trip...
THANKS DIS'ers !!!
PS: My 2 DD's picked all the Smilie Dudes, they get a little carried away!

Do a search for Airtran on this board. There are a ton of similar posts to yours. They are a newer airline, with newer planes. The only knock is they tend to tweek their flight times a bit, so keep an eye on them. I am flying them in October for the first time, with no worries.

Duds

 

[investgirlmd]

We just got back from Disney April 18th and flew Airtran and it was great. We had no problems and both of our flights were on time.

I like that you can print your boarding passes and check-in online saves time at the airport.

I have nothing but good things to say about Airtran.

 

[keishashadow]

Well, you're already booked, so you're committed.LOL

They're a no-frills carrier but, do have newer planes, attendents always seem grumpy.

We've flown them for a few years & haven't had anything detrimental enough to drive us away (but, we are considering a segment on SWA to test the waters).

Biggest complaint:

1) Lost luggage issue (that they originally denied but, when confronted w/found bags in Flint, MI, did garner lots of vouchers )

2) Incessent tinkering w/flight times. Trip in June has changed @ least 4 or 5 times so far, w/o ever getting email notification of change!!!! Have changed this NS by over 10 hours each way. Does tend to mess up travel planning.

Life is a series of trade-offs to get what you want...in our case cheap, flights.

 

[kbmoo]

I flew air tran in March. I had a business meeting in Atlanta. My friend & kids brought down my son & meet me. We had a connecting flight to orlando. Then on the way back we flew direct. Great service and great price. I'm flying air tran again for 2 of my 3 trips to disney during ddp special.

 

[Jenn]

We have family in Atlanta and they fly direct from Boston so we fly them several times a year. Love them! Great customer service, always on time (knock on wood), and great fares. They also have XM satellite radio at each seat for free -so bring a headset along.

 

[gw_lit]

They're a no-frills carrier....

Heck, flying domestic coach on pretty much ANY airline is no-frills, especially the "legacy" major airlines. In my view, you get more "frills" on the newer smaller airlines:
AirTran - XM satellite radio
Frontier - DirectTV
jetBlue - DirectTV

 

[luvmy2sams]

We flew Airtran for the first time last January. Excellent customer service. Our flight to MCO actually arrived 15 minutes early and return flight was on time. We checked in online at the 24 hour mark and were able to pick our own seats without any problems at all. The flight attendants distribute headphones for free if you don't have any with you for the flight. We'll use them again if the price is right.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

AirTran is not really a new airline, they are the former ValuJet, who changed their name after their crash in the Florida Everglades in 1996.

Their safety record is fine now.

 

[OzFan]

AirTran is not really a new airline, they are the former ValuJet, who changed their name after their crash in the Florida Everglades in 1996.

Their safety record is fine now.

Thanks for that friendly reminder! We are flying out of Chicago Midway with them for our September trip, I guess I will need to up the Xanax! My fear of flying just quadrupled!

 

[dudspizza]

AirTran is not really a new airline, they are the former ValuJet, who changed their name after their crash in the Florida Everglades in 1996.

Their safety record is fine now.

So, the OP is concerned about Airtran so you bring up Valujet. That is not fair. The airline has all new planes, they totally restructered to create this new airline..... Valujet and their old planes are gone forever..... how about looking at all of the positives....

Duds

 

[ameraumi]

We flew them the first week of April. It was my first time ever on a plane, so I was very anxious. I was very happy with our flight. The times were tweaked a bit, but only by 15 minutes both ways (and we did not get an email informing us of this). It is really no frills so be sure to take along a portable DVD player if you want to watch a movie. Snacks consisted of canned Coke products and chese flavored whale snacks (like Goldfish). Like another PP said, online check in saves a lot of time at the airport!

Overall we had a great expierence with them and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

 

[paulmc80]

I believe Airtran mostly flies the Boeing 717's ... which are very nice. The times I've flown Airtran everything has gone very well. The 717's are nice planes, and if I'm not mistaken one of the newest Boeing models.

 

[westjones]

We are trying Air Tran for the first time in June. They did change our schedule from a direct flight in the late afternoon to a connecting flight (the direct flight was canceled). I called and they put us back on a direct flight that is 4 hours early (but we cared more about it being direct).

I just happened to see this change when I was checking on our reservation, they did not notify me. At that time the prices were still the same. I don't know what would have happened if the earlier direct flight was higher in price (as it is now).

I have noticed small changes since then in the time by 10-15 minutes maybe, but that is OK, we are always very early to the airport.

I will know better what I think of them after our first flight in June and can tell you better then.

DJ

 

[purplevalentine]

I've flown Air Tran a couple of times before. I enjoyed each flight. Friendly staff and service. I also like the curosity that they give you when you have a connecting flight. They have a staff member posted outside the arriving gate that will tell you what gate to go to for your connecting flight. Saves you some time and stress but I would suggest checking the departing boards anyway. I had a small incident when I was told one gate and the gate had changed. I was waiting at another gate and almost missed my flight. That's the only problem i've ever had. Small in comparison to some other larger carriers. Enjoy your flight!

KAREN

 

[bellenbuzz]

YES, could have done without the ValuJet reminder YIKES
I will need a double Bloody Mary Before Take Off I Guess !!!

Also, what is this all about that AirTran changes the flight times without notification
Oh dear....I booked this flight because the times were so perfect....how much time difference are these changes roughly????
And how do I find out ???

AND a Big Thanks those of you who eased a Mind a Little Bit
I get nervous flying as it is......
It Sounds Okay !!!
And it sounds like 24 early check-in on-line is the way to go !!
I truly appreciate your replies!!

PS:
My 4 year old DD "needs" to pick out some smilie dudes on Mommy's Message.......Here Goes

 

[gw_lit]

Oh dear....I booked this flight because the times were so perfect....how much time difference are these changes roughly????
And how do I find out ???

There's really no way to find out other than going in and checking your reservation online on AirTran's website. (You could get a call or email notifying you of changes, but I wouldn't count on it.)

And there's no way to know what time difference the change will be until it happens. Sometimes they'll do away with non-stop flights and put you on a flight that makes a connection in Atlanta. Sometimes they just change the departure time or change equipment (going from a 717 to 737 or vice versa). Try not to stress and just keep checking. (Imagine Dory... just keep swimming... just keep swimming...)

One advantage of not having seat assignments early is that you won't lose your seat assignment if/when they change flights on you. We booked tickets for our family of 4 on American about 9 months in advance (FF tickets), and we probably had half a dozen flight changes in that time. With every change they'd re-assign seats, so we'd be scattered around the plane. (A simple call to American got us re-seated together.) The amazing thing is that we ended up leaving our home airport and arriving in Orlando within 15 minutes of the times of our original flights.

 

[bellenbuzz]

Oh Boy !!
We have a Non-Stop on AirTran.......thats why I picked it, I hope they do not make us change planes in Atlanta....that is always a nightmare to me!!

 

[westjones]

Oh Boy !!
We have a Non-Stop on AirTran.......thats why I picked it, I hope they do not make us change planes in Atlanta....that is always a nightmare to me!!

That is what they did with our reseveration (moved us to a connecting flight that went to Atlanta when our direct was no longer offered). If you see that happens to your reservaton, call them. They changed me to the earlier direct flight. I think they were trying to keep our return home to the "time" we pick (the connecting flight took off roughly the same time as the direct we had booked), but we wanted the direct flight MORE than we wanted the later time. So they moved us to the earlier direct flight.

I suggest checking on your flight reservation from time to time and call if you see something change that doesn't work for you.

DJ

 

[dudspizza]

Oh Boy !!
We have a Non-Stop on AirTran.......thats why I picked it, I hope they do not make us change planes in Atlanta....that is always a nightmare to me!!

Keep in mind that this could happen on any airline, not just Airtran. The best thing to do is keep an eye on your flights by checking your itinerary regularly at www.airtran.com Then be prepared to call them if they do make a scedule change that is not acceptable. They should move you to a flight that works better at no charge.

I have flights on Delta next month and they have changed 3-4 times. Each time I lose my seat assignments and have to re-select them. My dad and I have the first exit row, so I am diligent about checking and if the flight has changed I jump back on and grab them again. So far so good, but as stated above, no seat assignments until 24 hours in advance can be an advantage in a situation like my Delta one.

Look forward to your exciting trip. It really isn't worth stressing about. Your flight will be great! Your trip will be great! Enjoy!

Duds