Please tell me about AirTran

[czycropper]

My DH has finally given me the go ahead to go down to Florida for Thanksgiving as opposed to the beginning of Nov as originally planned since our DDs have cheer competition commitments at the beg of Nov.

One of the options I'm looking into is flying into Orlandp, renting a car, driving over to my Dad's in Indian Rocks Beach till the Sat. after Thanksgiving, then staying at Universal till Monday for Harry Potter World. AirTran has some pretty reasonable fares out of Allentown, PA which is only 50 minutes away from us.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Purseval]

What's there to say? They get you there on time at a fair price and with you and your luggage still in one piece. The days of fancy air travel are gone. Airtran is like a very fast bus, only better because you don't have to spend 24 uncomfortable hours getting there from Allentown.

 

[uk_wildcat]

We try to fly Airtran as much as possible because we like the prices and have never really had any issues with them. My husband travels a lot for work and likes that he can upgrade his seat easily using frequent traveler points. He has had issues with many of the other airlines - cancelled flights without notice, constant delays, etc. and has not experienced this with Airtran. We always use them to go down to Orlando because they offer a non stop flight from Dayton, OH.

 

[HsvTeacher]

We've made two roundtrips to Orlando on AirTran this summer, and we have two more planned before December. We love them! They are very inexpensive, their schedule works for us, our flights have always arrived early, and we like being able to upgrade to business class for $49.

The only issue we've had was a snotty flight attendant who questioned my DH about a medical device we was carrying on the plane. (She was hateful to everyone, not just us.) For our inconvenience, AirTran gave us a $100 credit toward a future flight. That worked for us!

 

[snowy76]

You might compare rates to Tampa if they're available (I know AirTran flies to both MCO and TPA from up here, out of Rochester). Sometimes Tampa rates are slightly lower. You could fly into TPA to be closer to Indian Rocks Beach, and fly out of MCO.

 

[amylynne01]

AirTran is not on my list of favorites, but they get the job done. I have had issues with flights being delayed by hours, rearranging seats even though we were traveling with 2 under 2, and nonstops changing to one-stops. But it's often hard to beat the price. They were the only ones that flew to Newport News, VA from Boston, so that was nice to visit my sister while she was there.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

We got great rates, but they have changed our flights 3 times in the last 2 months. My folks had a good trip with them, so I'm keeping my chin up. But if I get 1 more "Please read and confirm" email I may be making a new window in my house as I throw the laptop through the wall.

 

[SandrA9810]

Book 1 way trips, there's no price difference in booking this way. And register for the A+ member (free). And bring a pair of headphones, since they have surius radio on flight, and most times free wi-fi.

In the morning the serve biscuit crackers and later in the day pretzels. And a drink.

I've never had any flight issues, except for missing my flight once. It was the last out, so i was put standby for the first one in the morning, and didn't have a problem. And no fee.

I've also noticed, prices don't change a lot. Like it's always 79 from DFW to MCO, but i usually find a coupon to add to it. (same price for the past year)

 

[Shleedogg]

We used to fly Airtran. They consistently had the cheapest prices. If you're looking for comfort, you won't find it with them though. We always felt like cattle or sardines on their planes. Now, they have baggage fees, I think $25 each bag, each way. So figure $50/pp, with that extra price I can usually find Southwest or Jetblue cheaper AND then I don't have to be crammed into the tiniest seat ever. I will never fly Airtran again. They're not worth the headache or the price.

Jetblue is my number one choice for flying. Their seats are so comfortable (relatively speaking, I've never flown business or 1st class, I'm sure that would change my mind), lots of leg room (compared to Airtran), personal tvs at every seat and lots of snack options. Love love love them. We're flying Southwest this time because their flight times worked much better for us and I had that $25 coupon code. It's been awhile , but I don't remember hating our flights last time on Southwest.

But, long story short (too late!), I really really dislike Airtran.

 

[SalandJeff]

I would second the suggestion to check into JetBlue, if they fly out of an airport near you. When you compare the airfare between airlines, don't forget to factor in the luggage fees. Jetblue gives you each one bag free - I think they are the only airline that still does this.

Airtran is notorious for changing your flight times. I like to be able to plan flight times that work for us, and be pretty confident that I'll be able to fly when I want.

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

My dh travels at least once a month for work and he likes Airtran the best!!! Good luck

 

[czycropper]

Thanks everyone!

I have flown JetBlue alot and I do like them but since my DH has waited to give me the go ahead their prices are higher than I would like

I'm now checking Southwest out of Philly since we'll be down in Wildwood, NJ for a cheer competition that Sunday.

Any Southwest codes out there?!

AirTran was working for us only if we left on weird days and since for the first time in about 10 years my DH only has 3 vacation days left (he's usually forced to take vacation at the end of the year or lose it) we have to go a certain time.

 

[Swimalie]

I've flown AirTran to Atlanta from Dulles a lot. They are usually on time and have good service, comparatively.

 

[Shleedogg]

Thanks everyone!

I have flown JetBlue alot and I do like them but since my DH has waited to give me the go ahead their prices are higher than I would like

I'm now checking Southwest out of Philly since we'll be down in Wildwood, NJ for a cheer competition that Sunday.

Any Southwest codes out there?!

AirTran was working for us only if we left on weird days and since for the first time in about 10 years my DH only has 3 vacation days left (he's usually forced to take vacation at the end of the year or lose it) we have to go a certain time.

How much higher are they? Are they still within the baggage fee? I know what you mean though, we waited to book until about 90 days out and there were slim pickings for nonstop flights with cheap prices on Jetblue so we ended up on Southwest. You might try a separate post to see if there are any more codes. I applied for 2, thinking you could only use one/pp, but I didn't need the other code, thank god since my DH thought it was spam and deleted it. I bet there are others out there with one.

 

[ceecee]

We always fly Airtran to FL because it has non-stop flights from our city. We used USAir until they moved their hub and now no non-stops. So for the last 8-9 years it's been Airtran, never had any problems. You do have to pay like $6 to choose a seat when booking online.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

everttime we have flown with airtran, out flights have been changed. By several hours. Three hours at the fewest and six hours at the most. The flight has never been canceled. So when we're trying to get a morning flight to disney, sometimes our flight is changed in the last 24 hours to leave six hours later........ really changes our vacation.

I don't fly them unless I have no other choice.

But that's my experience.