SW Buys Airtran!

[Gary M]

Exactly! This has ruined my Monday morning. I LOVE Airtran and refuse to fly Southwest. I am NOT a happy camper.

I'm with you on this news. I dislike the cattle call boarding. I know it's not as bad as it used to be, but it's still a cattle call.

We always upgrade to business class and enjoy the comfort. We are older and like the convience, instead of saving a few $$$$. SWA and AirTran are now the only NS flights from Indy to MCO. Look for fares to go up all over the country, with this merger. Not good for SWA or AirTran fans.

We have AirTran reservations for Dec. and early Feb. to MCO, I hope things don't change before then.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

I don't see that it gives anything to the AirTran fans. It takes away all the things we liked and gives us nothing.

That's a nice way of putting it - there are reasons we choose not to fly SW, now we have nothing.

I read through the FAQ someone linked earlier, and now understand that this merger is about SW expanding into markets Airtran already has a presence. This leaves the rest of us in markets where Airtran and Southwest are the only direct competitors screwed. When Northwest merged with Delta, Airtran and Southwest became the only nonstop options to MCO from our airport.

We have always flown Airtran since the Delta merger because we like seat assignments, we like lower fares, and we love business class! I think only once have we not upgraded to business class, where there are no checked bag fees, so Southwest's no fee model isn't alluring to me for that reason. I only learned today that Southwest doesn't have business class, and that was the nail in the coffin for me. We'll be driving to Orlando on future WDW trips if another airline doesn't start offering a nonstop.

This may be great news for some, but for those of us who are losing one of two competing airlines in our market, it's a sad day.

 

[Inkmahm]

When Southwest came to the Minneapolis market, they were promoting themselves like crazy as a less expensive option.
We looked at Southwest for 2 trips to WDW and one conference I went to in July in New Orleans.
Even with bag fees, they were more expensive for the first trip to WDW on Airtran and the second WDW trip and the New Orleans trip on Delta.

So, I don't think it is a good thing - yes, no added fees, but more expensive overall.

Count me as unhappy.
I don't see that it gives anything to the AirTran fans. It takes away all the things we liked and gives us nothing.

Agreed. Same thing in Milwaukee. Southwest promoted itself so much when it came here a year ago. I haven't been able to find decent times on SW to MCO from here OR cheaper fares than Airtran. I have never flown SW as a result. Even with the bag fees, etc, Airtran is cheaper.

You're correct- this sale takes away the things I love about Airtran and gives us nothing in return. Except higher prices and No seat assignments, much less business class seats.

 

[NancyIL]

Yeah...it's opening up international destinations! Looking forward to those....esp San Juan (family lives there and a lot of southern cruises depart from there....which makes me think the southern caribbean ports are gonna get busier...because the airfare will be more affordable!)

I'll be on a cruise that ends in San Juan in December, and I got a great $59 fare on AirTran from San Juan to Orlando. Jet Blue also flies to San Juan.
.

 

[dis-happy]

Bad, bad news for us. My dh flies At almost exclusively and will sorely miss the free business class upgrades on coast to coast flights. Not to mention assigned seating which was given early to top tier customers.

Will have to see how many of those free flghts we can use up in the next few months.

 

[MrMarv]

If you want to blame anybody for SWA's inability to fly nonstop from Love Field to all of the cities that they want to as opposed to those that American can fly to with impunity out of DFW, the Wright Amendment is undoubtedly culprit #1.

Since it allows American to gouge the good citizens of the DFW metroplex with nosebleed-inducing airfares that wouldn't exist if Southwest called the shots as it relates to frequency and destination selection as opposed to those blockheads in Congress, it should never have been enacted in the first place, and should have been abolished three decades ago when it became apparent to everybody that SWA wasn't going away.

The existence of the Wright Amendment has cost SWA billions of dollars in extra fuel costs (and continues to do so), and all for an inexplicably stupid anti-competitve rule which benefits nobody except for American Airlines, certainly not residents of Dallas.

Even when you add the three new markets which Southwest will begin servicing in March (Charleston SC, Greenville/Spartanburg SC & Newark, NY, if the UA/CO merger closes by the end of November), this is indeed terrific news.

I also agree that there's no way that Southwest will keep those 717 jets, or adapt AirTran's business model; I've read far too many horror stories on this board and elsewhere on how Airtan has ruined weddings, vacations and business trips by switchinignaircraft and or middle-of-the-night wholesale route changes without notifying their customers.

The inflammatory article in this morning's USA TODAY condemning all of the airlines except for SWA for their cloak-and-dagger act regarding the extremes to which they've gone to bury their reams of hidden fees is a must-read for everybody on this board.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I'm with you on this news. I dislike the cattle call boarding. I know it's not as bad as it used to be, but it's still a cattle call.

We always upgrade to business class and enjoy the comfort. We are older and like the convience, instead of saving a few $$$$. SWA and AirTran are now the only NS flights from Indy to MCO. Look for fares to go up all over the country, with this merger. Not good for SWA or AirTran fans.

We have AirTran reservations for Dec. and early Feb. to MCO, I hope things don't change before then.

I am with you, Gary. A bummer.

Hey, hope to maybe see you guys in Dec?

 

[dudspizza]

Ok..... I have not read the entire thread....


Question... how is this going to affect my current March 2011 itinerary I have booked on Airtran?

 

[NancyIL]

Ok..... I have not read the entire thread....


Question... how is this going to affect my current March 2011 itinerary I have booked on Airtran?

I just bought a ticket for April 24 today, and I don't expect Southwest to get the sale finalized that quickly. I'm not worrying...yet!

 

[NancyIL]

I also agree that there's no way that Southwest will keep those 717 jets, or adapt AirTran's business model; I've read far too many horror stories on this board and elsewhere on how Airtan has ruined weddings, vacations and business trips by switchinignaircraft and or middle-of-the-night wholesale route changes without notifying their customers.

AirTran DOES notify customers when there is a schedule change. I got an e-mail yesterday that my flight from San Juan to Orlando in December has a schedule change (it departs 30 minutes later), but I already knew that from checking fares myself. I think 2.5 months' advance notice is more than adequate.

 

[edk35]

I am bummed by this. We quit flying SW because they serve peanuts. Our three kids have peanut allergies and we can't fly SW anymore. grrrrrrrrr

 

[verlee]

Agreed. Same thing in Milwaukee. Southwest promoted itself so much when it came here a year ago. I haven't been able to find decent times on SW to MCO from here OR cheaper fares than Airtran. I have never flown SW as a result. Even with the bag fees, etc, Airtran is cheaper.

You're correct- this sale takes away the things I love about Airtran and gives us nothing in return. Except higher prices and No seat assignments, much less business class seats.

I agree. We flew Airtran a year ago. It was fine. We found a great price on SW this year because they were just coming into milwaukee. It was a great flight at a great price. This year SW prices were so high until AT put out $77 flights. It forced SW prices to drop. But AT still had better flight times. This takes away the one bit of competition that brought better prices. I am not happy about this. Both airlines had positives and negatives but a monopoly is never good for the customer.

 

[deide71]

Grrrrrrrr, MSP is back to only Delta and Sun Country flying nonstop to MCO...And I am afraid SunCountry is flying on borrowed time

I have seen some decent fares from MSP to MCO on Southwest. I was able to get $209 R/T over MEA week but I had to grab them immediately after the flight schedule was released last March and prices have gone up since then. I also have to stop at MDW. Now with Airtran I was able to get $190 non-stop MSP-MCO for December, I am afraid those days may be gone. Less competition is never a good thing.

 

[deide71]

Ok..... I have not read the entire thread....


Question... how is this going to affect my current March 2011 itinerary I have booked on Airtran?

I wouldn't worry about that...remember how long the NWA/Detla merger took? Granted this merger is nowhere near as big, but it sounds like they still need regulator approval, etc.

 

[Dan Murphy]

AirTran DOES notify customers when there is a schedule change. I got an e-mail yesterday that my flight from San Juan to Orlando in December has a schedule change (it departs 30 minutes later), but I already knew that from checking fares myself. I think 2.5 months' advance notice is more than adequate.

My experience also. I just received an email over the weekend regarding about a 50 minute change to one of my Dec flights. I just clicked the link to okay it. If it was not okay, I would have been able to call and make a change, suitable to me, at no cost.

I have pretty high expectations from an airline, having flown Midwest Airlines for 12 years. When they were bought by Frontier, I switched to AirTran. I felt like I was still flying Midwest. AirTran will be missed.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I wouldn't worry about that...remember how long the NWA/Detla merger took? Granted this merger is nowhere near as big, but it sounds like they still need regulator approval, etc.

We can only hope it will not be approved.

 

[Lewisc]

A reduction in the number of lower cost airlines won't be good for fans of Southwest or Airtran. Fares are likely to go up. Fares to destinations that only sell if deeply discounted fares are offered (Orlando) are particularly likely to go up and the number of flights is likely to be reduced.

JMO but higher fares/reduced number of flights to Orlando is the big picture. Assigned seats, change fees and checked luggage fees is really secondary. Current SW seating isn't really a "cattle call".

 

[sjs314]

A reduction in the number of lower cost airlines won't be good for fans of Southwest or Airtran. Fares are likely to go up. Fares to destinations that only sell if deeply discounted fares are offered (Orlando) are particularly likely to go up and the number of flights is likely to be reduced.

JMO but higher fares/reduced number of flights to Orlando is the big picture. Assigned seats, change fees and checked luggage fees is really secondary. Current SW seating isn't really a "cattle call".

I think the out come will be higher fares since they will create more demand for flights to popular places like Orlando where now they both fly to since it is almost a given some flights will be cancelled.

 

[If U Had Wings]

Add me to the list of people not terribly happy about this. I pretty much only use Air Tran or Jet Blue out of White Plains for my trips to Orlando and West Palm Beach. Even with the added fees on Air Tran for luggage and picking a seat, my fares have always been less than SW flights out of nearby Bradley. Not once have they ever beaten the price I've gotten from Air Tran. It's great to tout "no baggage fees", but if it's not cheaper it's really not so much of a deal.

I hate the seating on SW too. I don't mind paying for the piece of mind of having my seat reserved for me. I shudder to think of how this will end up working at Westchester airport. It's a tiny airport with really only a handful of gates. It gets crazy with regular boarding there.

It looks like I'll be sticking with Jet Blue now, either out of White Plains or Bradley. I'm just hoping that with the lose of competition the rates don't get too crazy.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I just want to know what (if anything) will happen to my 717's, business class, assigned seating, XM sat radio, and WiFi?!

I am not an expert, but having friends who work for SW and having lived in a big SW "hub" city.

1. Business class - GONE
2. Assigned Seating - GONE
3. XM Gone
4. Wi Fi probalby gone.

Sorry, but with SW it's "play our way"

Of course on a positive note.. your plane might leave somewhat close to on time (My last AirTran flight 30 minutes after scheduled departure I asked the gate agent when we were leaving "ON TIME" was the shouted response. When I pointed out that was "half an hour ago" she said just walked away... for the next 15 minutes there was NO one to respond to questions... Customer service )