not at all happy with Air Tran...need help :(

[nurseypoo5]

Ok, so i get a call from Disney saying that our flight has been changed (sept 30th) from a nonstop to a flight with a lay over in Atlanta. Now its only an hour lay over in atlanta, but it makes our flight leave at 5:30 am!!!!!!! which means i have to get kids up and out of our home by 3am!!! that sucks to say the least

My real worry is this. My son has never flown before and not only do we all WANT to sit with him and he have a window seat, but for saftey sake i feel I atleast HAVE to sit with him. We plan on showing up early to get our seats...ugh to atlanta, but once in atlanta how in the world will we get seats together???? With less than an hour btw flights, what are the chances that the flight will be over booked, or that we wont all get to sit together?

Can you assign seats the day before??? for both flights?? Do you usually have to change planes or are we picking up and dropping off do you think?

I'm so confused and upset at all this. Seems Air Tran has deleted all nonstop flights out of DFW (dallas) except a 12:30 pm flight getting into MCO at close to 5pm. Much to late due to my sons big b-day dinner ADR we have planned

 

[ccw]

With AirTran, like most airlines, you can check in and get seat assignments 24 hours ahead of your scheduled flight.

 

[safetymom]

When you check in for your first flight you will get boarding passes for the second flight.

 

[taekwondo mom]

They will send you an email 24 hours before your flight ...check in on line and you will have assigned seats for both flights.. Also on your return flight have them to print your boarding passes at the resort also 24 hrs before .. ( This saves time at MCO )

Good luck .. We flew with Air tran in April the staff we assist you if you need any help..

 

[katallo]

We flew AT in April and May. April's trip went smoothly. In May, we learned our returning flight left MCO two hours earlier. This wasn't a big problem since it was an evening flight, however we were never notified by phone or email. I decided to check our online account and learned about it. We are good about making adjustments but would have liked to have been notified. We have a message system at home and AT emails specials all of the time

 

[keishashadow]

We flew AT in April and May. April's trip went smoothly. In May, we learned our returning flight left MCO two hours earlier. This wasn't a big problem since it was an evening flight, however we were never notified by phone or email. I decided to check our online account and learned about it. We are good about making adjustments but would have liked to have been notified. We have a message system at home and AT emails specials all of the time

Yet, each time I call to complain that I haven't gotten notice of flight changes (5 times so far for June trip - over 8 hours!); they insist they send out emails.

Of course, I keep using them for reward flights, must be glutton for punishment.

 

[rparmfamily]

Ok, so i get a call from Disney saying that our flight has been changed (sept 30th) from a nonstop to a flight with a lay over in Atlanta. Now its only an hour lay over in atlanta, but it makes our flight leave at 5:30 am!!!!!!! which means i have to get kids up and out of our home by 3am!!! that sucks to say the least

My real worry is this. My son has never flown before and not only do we all WANT to sit with him and he have a window seat, but for saftey sake i feel I atleast HAVE to sit with him. We plan on showing up early to get our seats...ugh to atlanta, but once in atlanta how in the world will we get seats together???? With less than an hour btw flights, what are the chances that the flight will be over booked, or that we wont all get to sit together?

Can you assign seats the day before??? for both flights?? Do you usually have to change planes or are we picking up and dropping off do you think?

I'm so confused and upset at all this. Seems Air Tran has deleted all nonstop flights out of DFW (dallas) except a 12:30 pm flight getting into MCO at close to 5pm. Much to late due to my sons big b-day dinner ADR we have planned

Okay, here is a question. Why can't you call now and get assigned seats? You are allowed to do it and don't understand why people wait until 24hrs prior to get seats. Just call them and pick your seats and also why would they seperate your son from you? Is he over 13?? They will try not seperate a child under 13 from the parent.

Rex

 

[dudspizza]

Okay, here is a question. Why can't you call now and get assigned seats? You are allowed to do it and don't understand why people wait until 24hrs prior to get seats. Just call them and pick your seats and also why would they seperate your son from you? Is he over 13?? They will not seperate a child under 13 from the parent.

Rex

THe only seats available for advance assignment are the higher priced seats OR seats booked by a TA. Disney should be considered a TA and should be able to get your seats assigned.

I agree with the 24 hour check in.... you should have no problem getting seats together and you will be able to check in for all legs of your flight at one time.

The moral here is to check and re-confirm your itinerary yourself. It isn't hard and it insures you know what is going on. Don't trust an email will come. Keep a close eye on your Itinerary and things will be fine.

Duds

 

[rparmfamily]

THe only seats available for advance assignment are the higher priced seats OR seats booked by a TA. Disney should be considered a TA and should be able to get your seats assigned.

I agree with the 24 hour check in.... you should have no problem getting seats together and you will be able to check in for all legs of your flight at one time.

The moral here is to check and re-confirm your itinerary yourself. It isn't hard and it insures you know what is going on. Don't trust an email will come. Keep a close eye on your Itinerary and things will be fine.

Duds

Duds,
Okay since I am confused on Airtran's policy I did some research and I never knew you had to pay more to get a advance seat assignment versus paying the lower fare and getting a seat at the 24 hour mark. This is very weird to me and I guess that is why I stick to Delta and United. Thanks for the information.

Rex

 

[nurseypoo5]

They will send you an email 24 hours before your flight ...check in on line and you will have assigned seats for both flights.. Also on your return flight have them to print your boarding passes at the resort also 24 hrs before .. ( This saves time at MCO )

Good luck .. We flew with Air tran in April the staff we assist you if you need any help..

I'm not flying out after leaving Disney, were going to the gulf for a week and driving back for a 1pm flight home. I guess all i can do is call them...maybe bring a laptop and visit an internet cafe???

I guess my fear is things will change while on my trip and i wont know about it. The leaving at 5:30 am is a beating i tell you Only other choice is to leave at the 8am time with a longer layover and arriving well after 1pm. To me that is even worse, this way atleast if everyone is that tired we can take a nap in the room for half an hour to an hour and still be ahead...ugh.

 

[ameraumi]

They will not seperate a child under 13 from the parent.

Actually, we saw this happen on our flight in April. A mother and her 2 DDs were seperated on our flight. The man sitting next to the girls would not give up his seat. They tried and tried and he would not budge. Finally someone felt bad and gave up their seat a row behind the girls. But karma bit that guy in the butt because the youngest one cried well over half the flight because she could not hold her mother's hand. He got what he deserved.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

They will not seperate [sic] a child under 13 from the parent.

You are misinformed. I have seen families with very young children separated on flights many times. And haven't you ever seen children under the age of 13 flying alone?

A mother and her 2 DDs were seperated [sic] on our flight. The man sitting next to the girls would not give up his seat. They tried and tried and he would not budge. Finally someone felt bad and gave up their seat a row behind the girls. But karma bit that guy in the butt because the youngest one cried well over half the flight because she could not hold her mother's hand. He got what he deserved.

I don't understand - if you felt this man's actions were wrong, why didn't YOU and your traveling companions give up your seats? And I would assume that karma bit everyone's butts, because I'm sure this crying child could be heard throughout the aircraft.

Quite frankly, I can't see why someone who makes advance seat assignments and gets to the airport on time should have to give up his seat for someone who shows up at the last minute, or who doesn't have assigned seats (whether or not this is their fault or the fault of the airlines), or for any other reason.

 

[lustergirl]

Uh-ohh!!!!!!! Why do these things always turn ugly??????

 

[ameraumi]

Gosh, make a simple statement and you get the 3rd degree!

I did not give up my seat because I was not close enough to the girls. I was also sitting with DD, DH was with DS.

Anyways, to the OP: Get online as soon as you can and get your seat assigned. Also get to the gate ASAP and ask if you can board early if you have a young child.

 

[safetymom]

When asking someone to move how do you know that they don't have a reason for wanting that seat?

If you know ahead of time that you aren't seated together you should get to the airport early. By getting the cheaper tickets you are "gambling" that when it comes time for the seat assignments you will all be together.

 

[disneydaveb]

Gosh, make a simple statement and you get the 3rd degree!

Don't worry. Your post was fine. That's what these boards are for.
You're not the first poster to be jumped on by that person. Especially when it comes to the airlines. For some reason, they get bent out of shape when someone takes issue with or has an opinion about airlines.

 

[airline2]

i have never had any problems while traveling airtran other than time changes which where only by minutes.

 

[manning]

We flew AT in April and May. April's trip went smoothly. In May, we learned our returning flight left MCO two hours earlier. This wasn't a big problem since it was an evening flight, however we were never notified by phone or email. I decided to check our online account and learned about it. We are good about making adjustments but would have liked to have been notified. We have a message system at home and AT emails specials all of the time

Been there, had that happen. Way back when, when you could roam the airport I liked to people watch. So we showed up a couple hours early. We were sitting by the gate our flight would leave from. An hour before our flight was to leave everyone was checking in. I thought it was another flight until I looked up at the sign to discover it was ours. Talk about luck, it was the last one out for the day. They either never notified us or changed it while we were on vacation.

From that time on I always check with the airline the day before.

 

[bfila]

I'm at a loss as to what to do as well. It's very frustrating.

 

[keishashadow]

i have never had any problems while traveling airtran other than time changes which where only by minutes.

Lucky you, our June flight changed 5 times (so far) now, 8 hours later from when we originally were supposed to get home...only 2+ hours earlier for our arrival.

BTW, they're comp'ed/reward tix, couldn't cancel & rebook elsewhere - we're captive.