Problem with Airtran

[deelam]

I booked a late afternoon flight with Airtran months ago. Our flight was scheduled to depart Philly for Orlando at 3:55 on a Saturday. I needed this late flight because my son is making his first Communion at 10AM that day. The Airtran rep told me that I didn't have to worry about changes because the times wouldn't vary that much. Well I just checked the flight online and they changed the time to 1:20. In addition, this is the only direct flight this day from Philly. This is strange because when I booked the flight there were a bunch of direct flights available. Where did they all go? We can make this 1:20 flight if we really rush. We are about 20 minutes away from the airport. But the festivities at the church may go on until about 12. It would be cutting it close. Really too close, we are talking the Philadelphia airport. I would change flights but no other direct flight is offered. I'm going to call Airtran. I may have to cancel with Airtran and book elsewhere. I'll battle the bill as long as long as I can with my credit card company.

The funny thing is Air tran never notified me of a change. I found this on my own. And what happened to all the direct flights. Now everything is stopping in Atlanta.

Deneen

 

[deelam]

I called Airtran. They said that they booked me on a charter flight in error. This flight was chartered, so they shouldn't have been able to book me on it. They offered to change my flight at no additional cost. But there are no other direct flights that day. I could also fly standby at no charge that day. They also offered to change my flight to the next day at no additional cost. I may have to take them up on this. They also said that they may add or remove flights listed for that day, so the time could change again.

I must say, this is a headache. I know USAir is a mess, but I never had this type of problem with them. Maybe I just got lucky. But US air does seem to have allot of flights, so getting a good time to suit my needs never has been a problem. All of the time changes I've had with USAir have been minor.

So I'm on edge, I have to decide what to do. I booked a length of stay discount at the Royal Pacific, so my rates will go up about $50 per night if I arrive a day later.

Deneen

 

[DebbieB]

I've been watching their website for May 7 to 13 (PIT/MCO) and noticed this weekend that they changed the flight down from 11:50 to 11:10 and the return flight from 6:30 to 5:10. I just wish I could get a good price, both AirTran and USAir are around $300 per ticket.

If they have eliminated many of their nonstops from PHL, it sounds like Southwest is taking their business.

 

[deelam]

I could deal with a change that is only an hour. But to change a flight almost 3 hours is crazy. I'm so stressed over this.

 

[justhat]

Are you totally opposed to connecting in Atlanta? My suggestion would be to take a alter flight that connects, if one is available, that way your room rate stays the same. Sorry about your flights, I know how annoying that is as it happened to us last May. I flew out of DC on US Airways and my mom flew out of NJ on Continental and we planned to arrive at the time same so we could meet at the airport. Well we purposely paid more for flights that were the same time and Continental changed my mom's flight so she was arriving hours later! We ended up staying on the flights and going to the resort separately, but it was a pain! Hope things work out for you!

 

[deelam]

I am thinking of changing flights. It's just that with a stop over the flight will take so much longer. We have a 2 year old. Flying wth small kids is hard enough on a direct flight. Plus, the flights with stoppovers that are available will get us into Florida so late, I'm talking like 10 or 11 at night. That's with us leaving Philly around 4 or 5. I've been spoiled by direct flights. I really feel let down by Airtran. I just don't know what to do.

 

[heatherj]

DebbieB:
I just bought AirTran Tickets from PIT-MCO about 3 weeks ago (give or take) round trip - non-stop for $150 (including tax and fees) -oh and it was for our May trip. Is their sale over????

We flew Airtran last year too and they changed both our flight times as well. Drives me nuts, too. But I have to say that I have flown USAir prior to that and they've always changed my flight times too. I am starting to get used to it I guess. We did end up having to do the Atlanta stop on the way back last year and it wasn't too bad - even with two young boys. I much prefer direct flights though.

Heather

 

[deelam]

I checked Southwest. They have good flight times, that are also direct flights. For only $79 per person. I wonder if Airtran will refund my Money. After all, Airtran cancelled my original flight and placed me on another flight that would be impossible for me to make. If I stay with Airtran and fly later that day, it will take 5 hours to get from Philly to Orlando, due to a stoppover.

Has anyone had any luck with Airtran refunds. I think I have a good reason for a refund.

 

[justhat]

We actually just got refunds from AirTran so you might be lucky. In our case, we were flying home from a cruise (Ft. Lauderdale to DC) and the cruise ship had problems with customs and we weren't allowed off of the ship for over an hour after the time they said. So we got to the airport 20 minutes before our flight and though we had checked in online, they wouldn't let us fly. There were no flights out of Ft. Lauderdale till Thursday (and this was Sunday morning) but staying till then was not an option. We called every airline that flew from anywhere in Florida and the best we could do was Southwest from Orlando to Baltimore at 6:30am the next day, so we got a rental car and drove up there (with a bonus trip to CG for dinner!). Airtran was putting us on standby for flights later that day, but they said it looked grim, so we told them we got another flight and they gave us a refund (which we promptly used when we got home to fly from DC to Myrtle Beach, Savannah to Orlando, and Orlando to DC, so yes, we had very expensive return flights from Ft. Lauderdale). My mom had even changed her flight from returning to DC to NJ instead and they even gave her back the $50 change fee. They seem to be a pretty customer friendly airline so give it a try.

I know it's a pain to change planes with kids, my daughter will be 11 months tomorrow and we've done it more than I wanted to. but if they won't let you get a refund for the outbound flight then I'd just switch to a flight with a stopover. I know it's hard getting in late (our flight to Ft. Lauderdale arrived around midnight on Christmas night), but I would rather do that than pay an extra $50/night at my hotel. The one bright side is that the Atlanta airport has a lot of places to eat and shop so it won't be the worst place in the world to connect. Plus you won't have to worry about getting an A boarding pass (last time we flew with SW they only let kids with car seats preboard) to sit together.

Good luck and I hope you can get things to work out the best way possible.

Edited to add that you might have more luck if you keep your return flight with Airtran rather than trying to cancel the whole trip. If you explain the situation and that you'll still be flying home with them, you'll probably have more luck.

 

[deelam]

I have 2 plans of action. The first would be to cancel Airtran and book with Southwest. I will call my credit card company before I call Airtran. I just want to know if I have a grounds to dispute this before I ask for a refund.
My point is that the main reason I picked Airtran was because the flight time was right. I wouldn't have booked with them had I known that they might move my flight time up by 3 hours.

My second option is to fly on Airtran with a stop over in Atlanta. I found one flight that departs a little after 2 and arrives in Florida after the layover at a little before 8. It just seems like were are waisting so much time travelling.

I really don't think I will use Airtran again. There aren't enough direct flights out of Philly for my comfort. It's really weird, because there were plenty of direct flights when I booked my flight. Maybe Airtran isn't competing for that USAIr bussiness anymore now that it looks like USAIR will be around for a while.

Is Airtran's hub in Atlanta?

Deneen

 

[DebbieB]

DebbieB:
I just bought AirTran Tickets from PIT-MCO about 3 weeks ago (give or take) round trip - non-stop for $150 (including tax and fees) -oh and it was for our May trip. Is their sale over????

For some reason, the Saturday non-stops are very expensive and were not included in the sale. $184 to Orlando. The Friday return is $99. Add taxes and you are around $300. I'm going to hang in, USAir's flights for those dates are practically empty so they have to come down.

 

[tripletrouble]

We just got an Email from AirTran yesterday that the flight that we were taking from PHL to MCO was cancelled and they put us on a flight that was 4 hours later than the original flight. I called to see what we could do and AirTran said that they could offer us a flight a 6AM with a layover in Atlanta that wouldn't have us arriving in Orlando until 12.

We have 5 year old triplets and this is their 1st time flying. We REALLY didn't want a layover so AirTran said that they will reimburse us by credit card. We booked a flight on US Air, which leaves PHL at 6:10AM, but has us arriving by 9:00 in Orlando.

 

[justhat]

As far as grounds for cancelling, I was told on Continental that it has to be over a 3 hour difference for you to be able to cancel. Since your change is about 3 hours give them a call and see what you can do. I still think you'd have better luck with them if you just ask about the one way, since you're only inconvenienced one way and SW's fare will be the same regardless of wheter or not you book RT.

 

[deelam]

Tripletrouble,
When are you flying? I'm also flying out of Philly on a Saturday. Airtran changed all of the Saturday flights starting in March. I checked every Saturday flight on my computer from February through May. It seems that only flight from March on are effected by their new schedule.
The new schedule has less to offer with direct flights out of philly.
I never called them last night. I got to busy with my son's basketball game.

To anyone familar with Airtran. How likely is it that they will add more direct flights to their Saturday routes?

I still haven't received an email from Airtran. I found the flight change myself. they never notified me.

I realy am thinking of cancelling. However, I will keep my return flight. Again the times are right. I just hope they don't change to times for that flight too.

 

[tripletrouble]

The date we are leaving is April 16.

 

[gw_lit]

Is Airtran's hub in Atlanta?

Yes.

To anyone familar with Airtran. How likely is it that they will add more direct flights to their Saturday routes?

My guess would be that they won't add more direct Saturday flights. Since Saturday is traditionally one of the slowest travel days, I imagine that they cancelled some of their direct flights and have flights stopping in their Atlanta hub in order to get more planes flying full.

Airtran was one of the few airlines to make a profit in the 4th Quarter, and in order to do that they need full planes, so these schedule adjustments can probably be attributed to that. But, I know that doesn't help your travel plans!

 

[deelam]

I have a question for anyone who is familar with Philly's airport and the Airtran terminal. How much time do I really need? If I arrive at the airport by 12:15, can I still make a 1:20 flight. I will have bags to check and I would want to gate check my stroller. I can print the boarding passes at home. But since I have to check bags I'm not sure if that would help anyway. Also, does Airtran have curbside check in?

 

[CarolA]

I flew out of Philly last week and I have to be honest, I think you will need more time. Security seems to be wedged into the airport so the lines can be long.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Just a suggestion...

- Since Airtran's connecting flights get you to your destination too late maybe they would let you connect to another airline in Atlanta? ATL is also a Delta hub.

- If they won't let you do it for the price of your ticket maybe it would be cost effective to get a one way ticket anyway (ATL to MCO).

- What about flying out of BWI or EWR instead? Although you'd probably arrive at the same time as connecting in ATL what with having to travel by road or train.

 

[deelam]

I'd like to stick to Philly's airport because it is the closest. Since we are staying in Florida for 10 days, we decided to take a taxi to the airport. This way I can avoid the parking fee.

Does anyone know if AIRTRAN has curbside check in for luggage?

I'm trying to think of ways to save time if we do try to make this 1:20 flight.
I'll print the boarding passes the night before. So, if I can check my luggage curbside, I could run to security, then run to the gate. Arriving at 12:15 (There is a chance I can get there by 12) is going to make this tight. I think I have to be at the gate 30minutes before takeoff. SO basically, I would have a little over 30 minutes to get through security and to the gate.

Is the security check usualy backed up at the Airtran area.