SW Buys Airtran!

[TDC Nala]

I've been flying United a bit lately (SW got rid of its nonstops between Dulles and MCO so I am exploring other airlines). Boarding on United at Dulles, if you are not an elite flyer or first class, is far more of a cattle call than boarding with SWA. Yes, even with reserved seats.

 

[Donut23]

I've been flying United a bit lately (SW got rid of its nonstops between Dulles and MCO so I am exploring other airlines). Boarding on United at Dulles, if you are not an elite flyer or first class, is far more of a cattle call than boarding with SWA. Yes, even with reserved seats.

Nala......too far to BWI?

You can grab an amtrak train to the BWI rail station...take the free shuttle to the closeby airport. Ok, now that I think about THAT route.....it would probably take longer to get to BWI than your 2 hour flight to MCO.

There are many choices of non-stop flights to and from Orlando daily.

If you want to give BWI a try and you are driving......checkout Preflight Parking. You can download a coupon - makes it affordable....they drive right up to your car to pick you up. I use Preflight because of the frequent renters program (my parking for disney trips is generally free with reward coupons so I'm more familiar with Preflight). There ARE others too....Econopark and Fast Park. ALL are far easier than the big, bustling airport lots.



Sorry about Dulles.

 

[aubriee]

As in all things business, some people are going to win, others will lose.

Winners in this case:
SW Airlines
Fliers that will now have SW available in their airports (ATL,EWR ..)
Probably Airtran owners/stockholders.
SW Lovers

Losers in this case:
Airtran Lovers--ME!!
Airtran elite club members (or whatever their club is called)--It's A+ Rewards members and again: ME!!
Fliers that will now not have a choice of airlines for their flights--ME!!
DFW fliers--again ME!!!

There will be more winners and losers, but the above are just a few I thought of.

I'm losing my favorite airlines, assigned seats, cheaper flights, direct flights and will have to use an airport that is further away and much less convenient. Sorry, but I see nothing positive about this merger. Oh, well American Airlines here we come.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I've flown out of EWR twice in the last 3 years and in all honesty, if Newark were a city in Pa., I'd be happy to have the rest of the world think it was in NY.

Bill From PA

Exactly. I never thought of it as a town to be proud of.

Never even knew of that sore spot either....

 

[NJRRK]

Newark is not that bad. For ruadisneyfan2, from Southern NJ, Camden is such a wonderful place, and it's the "gateway" to Philadelphia. To anyone else that bashes Newark I'm sure I could come up with a city, or two, or three, in your state that has areas just as bad if not worse than Newark!!
We who are residents of a state should be proud of EVERYTHING in that state, and if something is bad try to change it, Newark has been trying hard for years, and they have made significant progress, there is a beautiful Performing Arts Center, a great minor league baseball stadium and a state of the art indoor stadium. And no I'm not from Newark, or even Essex County, but it's a part of our state, let's not get nasty about the city.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I'm losing my favorite airlines, assigned seats, cheaper flights, direct flights and will have to use an airport that is further away and much less convenient. Sorry, but I see nothing positive about this merger. Oh, well American Airlines here we come.

That's me too Aubriee!! Matter of fact, we were in Biz Class together last year! It was nice to meet you!

I sure hate to go back to AA. Havent flown them since May 2005 when I swore never to return.

I spoke to an employee at DFW today and said the DFW Airtran employees are happy as they were treated more like stepchildren, with the main hub being in ATL. So at least they will benefit, even if we lose out.
It's still really sad.

I heard ATL will be hit hard with the loss of jobs.

Flt 916/917 was like having my own private jet. DFW was easy to get to, easy parking, no lines at security, Airtran Elite checkin, and Biz Class nonstop with XM, Wifi, and cocktails Didnt even know there were kids on the plane! I would fly in for a long weekend and miss 1 day of work. Airtran made it possible for me to not dread flying and last year I made 6 trips. This year will be 6 also.

We DFW flyers should form a support group

 

[NancyIL]

Flt 916/917 was like having my own private jet. DFW was easy to get to, easy parking, no lines at security, Airtran Elite checkin, and Biz Class nonstop with XM, Wifi, and cocktails Didnt even know there were kids on the plane! I would fly in for a long weekend and miss 1 day of work. Airtran made it possible for me to not dread flying and last year I made 6 trips. This year will be 6 also.

That sounds wonderful! I hope you can make more of those long weekend trips in 2011 before AirTran is history.

 

[LIFERBABE]

That sounds wonderful! I hope you can make more of those long weekend trips in 2011 before AirTran is history.

It was Nancy!! I will always be Airtran Elite!

I can see me now on SWA in my desperate voice proclaiming, "but Im Elite!!" as I squeeze into the middle seat at the back of the plane!

 

[JB2K]

I heard ATL will be hit hard with the loss of jobs.

You mean the loss of HQ jobs, right?

I wouldn't think the AT workers at the Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l Airport have nothing to worry-about, since SWA does not have any sort of presence there.

As for the HQ staff, I am sure some (but not all) of them will be offered jobs at SWA's Dallas HQ.

 

[keishashadow]

"nwa ha ha" .... sendin' YOU the luv baby

jk, 1st drink's on me in 11 dayz

 

[bubba's mom]

jk, 1st drink's on me in 11 dayz

second round is on me... see ya there!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It was Nancy!! I will always be Airtran Elite!

I can see me now on SWA in my desperate voice proclaiming, "but Im Elite!!" as I squeeze into the middle seat at the back of the plane!

I have flown SWA many times, even with 2 kids have never been stuck in a middle seat in the back.
Well, maybe once when we had to quickly change to an earlier flight while at the gate at MCO due to snow arriving back home. In that case, any airline would tell you to take what you can get.
Now as for business class, you're SOL.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Newark is not that bad. For ruadisneyfan2, from Southern NJ, Camden is such a wonderful place, and it's the "gateway" to Philadelphia. To anyone else that bashes Newark I'm sure I could come up with a city, or two, or three, in your state that has areas just as bad if not worse than Newark!!
We who are residents of a state should be proud of EVERYTHING in that state, and if something is bad try to change it, Newark has been trying hard for years, and they have made significant progress, there is a beautiful Performing Arts Center, a great minor league baseball stadium and a state of the art indoor stadium. And no I'm not from Newark, or even Essex County, but it's a part of our state, let's not get nasty about the city.

Sorry if I've offended you. I agree, Camden is a dump too. I'd just as soon take a giant hacksaw, cut it off and push it down the Delaware and out to sea. It's a huge financial drain on the state. Completely mismanaged, crooked politicians. Constantly dumping huge amounts of state aid into their schools, spending way more per student that any other suburb and still no progress. Dh works for Camden County in Camden so I hear all about it til my ears bleed.
I love my home town but there are some places in NJ I can honestly say I'm not proud of. Plenty of other states have similar areas as well.
For a while, Miami was infamous for killing tourists. That's why FL license plates no longer say 'lease' on rental cars.

 

[cayz]

As a "person of size" living in Delaware, my options in getting to Orlando have been somewhat limited to Southwest and AirTran (the only non-stop airlines from BWI to MCO).

With the acquisition of AirTran by Southwest (a merger implies taking the good from both, and this is not that at all!), I have voiced my opinion in response to a "feel-good" email sent to me by AirTran. I guess they thought that my decision to fly AirTran for almost all of the years of their existence would automatically make me a Southwest advocate.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

What follows is an email I sent to AirTran customer support in response to their feel-good email: (I would have simply posted the link to my website, but I am not permitted, so...)

To: 'aplusrewards@go.airtran.com'
Subject: RE: James, Two Great Airlines Join Forces


Dear Tad,

I'm sorry that I can not share your optimism or pleasure at the announcement of the Southwest
acquisition of AirTran. And I say "acquisition" rather than "merger", since all of the features of
Southwest will be retained, and none of AirTran's.

Unfortunately, Airtran's features were what caused me and many others to chose AirTran over Southwest,
namely:
1) two classes of service
2) advance seating selection
3) a real customer loyalty system.

My wife and I are larger persons who travel frequently from Baltimore to Orlando, and since AirTran and
Southwest were the only two airlines that provided non-stop service between those two airports, the
features afforded to us by AirTran made us long-time flyers of your airline, usually in business class.
I'm sure now that Southwest will be the only non-stop airline from Baltimore to Florida, the prices will
increase as the service and quality decreases.

And I'm sure that you are aware of Southwest's policy of humiliating larger people by either requiring
them to purchase additional seats or downright refusing them to fly. This policy has been shown to be
somewhat arbitrary, leaving some people "stuck" at their destinations after having flown out on another
Southwest flight. And, without an advance seat selection, it is not even possible to have my wife and I
purchase a 3-across row; instead, we will need to purchase 4 seats.

We currently have flights booked for November, and had considered booking our January trip this coming
weekend. Now, we will be looking for another airline, and another airline credit card.

I know that you, your executive board, and the stockholders will make out like bandits. Unfortunately,
the flying public will be the ones who suffer.

Until we, as a class, find another airline.

Sincerely,

James Cayz

We'll See What Response I Get Back!

Please note - before you all go off on "if you are fat, you should by an extra seat" - We usually DO, by purchasing Business Class seats. That simply will no longer be an option on Southwest. And, nor will purchasing 3-across assigned seats for my wife and I - since there are no assigned seats, we'd have to buy 2 seats EACH! (this is actually in their FAQ!).

James

 

[aubriee]

That's me too Aubriee!! Matter of fact, we were in Biz Class together last year! It was nice to meet you!

Flt 916/917 was like having my own private jet. DFW was easy to get to, easy parking, no lines at security, Airtran Elite checkin, and Biz Class nonstop with XM, Wifi, and cocktails Didnt even know there were kids on the plane! I would fly in for a long weekend and miss 1 day of work. Airtran made it possible for me to not dread flying and last year I made 6 trips. This year will be 6 also.

We DFW flyers should form a support group

Hi! As a matter of fact I have met several DISers on Flights 916 and 917. However, I have you know, I've always considered those two particular flights mine. If I'm not in Biz Class my seat is 12D. You know I haven't even thought about the fact that I'll have to remember new flight numbers now. I've always pretty much flown Flight 916 to MCO and flight 917 home for the last several years. I go to WDW several times a year and feel like 916/917 are my planes. I don't want to go over to Lovefield. I like flying out of DFW and am comfortable there. I like being able to choose my seat and having nonstop flights for $210.00 or less. It's looks like those days are gone though.

OT: when I booked my Dec trip I noticed Flights 916/917 don't exist anymore. The times are the same but the numbers are now 1601 and 1605. For our Oct trip they're still 916 and 917. Don't know what's going on. For those times the flights have always been 916/917.

 

[DebbieB]

im not dancingPIT is small airport with limited flights compared to other airports. Not only will this decrease the number of flights to cities served by both airlines in the past, the fare war will be finito. I quit flying USAir when AT came to town & their rates were 1/3rd the price of the legacy carriers (and the planes were much newer!)

now, im afraid that, if SWA has no other discount competition in the 'burg, they will raise their rates dramatically. No problem to do so as they'll still be priced much lower than the other carriers. jmho, akin to being what i consider a true discount air monopoly now at least in my area.

Heard a rumor that maybe Jet Blue will add PIT-MCO flights. Right now we would have to connect at JFK or BOS for MCO.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Heard a rumor that maybe Jet Blue will add PIT-MCO flights. Right now we would have to connect at JFK or BOS for MCO.

I would love to see Jet Blue come into BWI or PHL with some direct flights to MCO! Right now I'd have to take Jet Blue (BWI) to BOS then to MCO which I really don't want to do at this point.

 

[Lewisc]

Air Tran management has already approved the merger. Sending them an email is (JMO) a complete waste of time. I don't think management can change their mind.

Probably still a waste of time but you might send your email to Southwest. Tell them you hope they can keep some of the features that you like about Airtran. It sounds like SW has already decided on single class service and no assigned seats. I think letting two customer of size share a middle seat is a reasonable suggestion.

As a "person of size" living in Delaware, my options in getting to Orlando have been somewhat limited to Southwest and AirTran (the only non-stop airlines from BWI to MCO).

With the acquisition of AirTran by Southwest (a merger implies taking the good from both, and this is not that at all!), I have voiced my opinion in response to a "feel-good" email sent to me by AirTran. I guess they thought that my decision to fly AirTran for almost all of the years of their existence would automatically make me a Southwest advocate.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

What follows is an email I sent to AirTran customer support in response to their feel-good email: (I would have simply posted the link to my website, but I am not permitted, so...)

 

[bubba's mom]

SW has already decided on single class service and no assigned seats. I think letting two customer of size share a middle seat is a reasonable suggestion.

I was thinking the same thing re: 3 seats across. As long as you can buckle into safety belts, I would think you could share the 3rd seat

But...then again...what do I know?

 

[dioxide45]

I was thinking the same thing re: 3 seats across. As long as you can buckle into safety belts, I would think you could share the 3rd seat

But...then again...what do I know?

But with no assigned seats, how can it be done. You can't guaranty when you get on the plane that there will still be three open seats together.