Tell me only good things about Airtran!!

[lazydazy8]

We are loyal Southwest flyers. I love the airport it flies out of (Manchester, NH), we are comfortable with their boarding policies, the planes, the casual nature of their staff, etc. I especially love that I can continually watch my flights go down in price and I can always get the difference (in credit) no matter how many times it goes down.

Southwest fares for Sept/Oct are higher than I have ever paid. (We get our flights for under $200 round trip!) I am such a bargain shopper! Airtran has their flights at $200 round trip now.

Do I book Airtran or do I hold out and hope SW goes lower? I'm just afraid that Airtran's flights will go higher, SW flights won't drop and then I am stuck paying a higher price.

I just want some good stories about Airtran! I don't know anything about their booking policies or boarding policies. Do you buy specific seats or do you line up to board? How are the snacks, seat sizes, etc.??? I've read plenty of posts about people furious with Airtran for their schedule changes, is this the only issue people have had with them?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

1 out of 3 flights were changed for us, from nonstop to layover. They allowed us to change to another flight that was non stop with no fees. I'm usually pretty flexible but this was our post cruise return and just wanted to get home. This change pushed our flight time from noon to 6:30 pm. We planned to take DCL bus back to MCO ($35pp one way) and fly Airtran cuz they're 'participating' airline and then DCL checks our bags in, delivers BPs to our room, etc. Very convenient. We had to change all plans, rent a car to kill some time in FL, cram all our cruise luggage in the trunk while we went to Universal for the day. Doesn't sound awful really but we could have just flown SW and not paid for luggage fees if I had known we'd end up doing all that. (We are normally big SW fans but love DCL's Onboard Check in and SW is not participating.)

They charge $6 if you want to choose seats in advance or free if checking in online at 24 hrs mark. If you are at all concerned about your kids/dh/so/friends sitting with you, pay the $. People who paid will not want to move to accommodate those families that chose to not pay. Except for my dh who's a sucker for a cryin' mommy. We paid for all 4 of us and he still moved. Arrgh!

The do have luggage fees which are $15 1st bag, $25 for 2nd pp.
http://www.airtran.com/faq/q/what_a...ggage+Information&rt=index_travelers_overview
http://www.airtran.com/policies/carry-on_checked.aspx

$75 change fee per ticket. Drinks (non alc.) and snacks are free. Seats seems a bit tighter than SW. Luggage was prompt on arrival.

When checking in online at 24 hr mark, if available, you might be offered to upgrade to business class for $59 (varies with flights but this is typical for Philly to Orlando.) BC passengers don't pay luggage fees for 1st 2 bags pp so depending on how many bags you have, it may not be much more than coach + baggage fees.
http://www.airtran.com/business_class.aspx

Unlike SW, if you no show, you lose all $$$$. If you arrive late at the gate, within 10 mins of departure time, you will be denied boarding. I'd recommend that you read through their website and get familiar with all of their policies.
It will help you with planning so your vacay goes as smooth as possible with no unhappy surprises.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

I just want some good stories about Airtran!

It's good that very few people remember that AirTran's former name was ValuJet.

BobK/Orlando

 

[PSUGuy]

We've had very few AT flights changed and when they happened, we actually made out in that I called and got us on another direct flight that worked better for us but was more expensive when we first booked, no increase or fee, same total cost. We've always arrived on time or early, no lost luggage, no hassle. This was out of PHL, I'll report on our next trip out of Allentown.

Bill From PA

 

[Disneyboundf16743]

I have always preferred Southwest for the same reasons as you. Then AIrtran had this great price so we tried them. The first thing I noticed was the seats were wider. I am not a large person but always felt like there was no room on the SW seats.

I noticed a flight price change that was less than when I booked and I called Airtran and told them about it. They gave me a credit for the difference just like SW. I just wish thier cancel fees were no so outragous. I fly SW out of Philly but airtran is only 1/2 hour from home in Allentown and so we will probably be using them from now on. Watch the sales expecially the 3 day ones. I got a flight for $62 each way plus the $6 fee. We will take a carry on for each of us (5) and one checked bag for everything that wont fit.

We are loyal Southwest flyers. I love the airport it flies out of (Manchester, NH), we are comfortable with their boarding policies, the planes, the casual nature of their staff, etc. I especially love that I can continually watch my flights go down in price and I can always get the difference (in credit) no matter how many times it goes down.

Southwest fares for Sept/Oct are higher than I have ever paid. (We get our flights for under $200 round trip!) I am such a bargain shopper! Airtran has their flights at $200 round trip now.

Do I book Airtran or do I hold out and hope SW goes lower? I'm just afraid that Airtran's flights will go higher, SW flights won't drop and then I am stuck paying a higher price.

I just want some good stories about Airtran! I don't know anything about their booking policies or boarding policies. Do you buy specific seats or do you line up to board? How are the snacks, seat sizes, etc.??? I've read plenty of posts about people furious with Airtran for their schedule changes, is this the only issue people have had with them?

 

[maciec]

Where are you going to fly out of because Airtran doesn't fly out of MHT? We fly from BWI to Portland, ME and down to Orlando. Never once have they changed out flights or cancelled them. Other than the baggage fees and hard seats, we have nothing bad to say about Airtran. We chose Airtran over Southwest because Southwest doesn't fly into Portland. We have their Visa card and have had no problems cashing out frequent flyer miles. I love that I don't have to cash out for a round trip ticket and that I can just book one way on miles. Upgrading to business class is relatively cheap also. They have great sales where even with paying for the checked bag and paying for the seat, it is still cheaper than any other airline that we can fly on. Oh, and they have never lost our luggage.

 

[SnowWhite33]

We like Airtran very much and even more now that they are flying out of a closer airport. In the past we have driven 2.5 hours, paid for park,sleep,fly and still saved money over flights out of the local airport. Never have we had an issue with canceled flights or lost bags (knock wood-our trip is 11 days out and I'd hate to jinx myself )

Last trip I booked a flight I could live with, but there was another I liked better that cost more. After tips from this board I knew if the flight times changed, they would change me to the flight I wanted. Sure enough the flight times changed, only by 10 minutes, but they still allowed the change and I got the flight I wanted.

I watch my flight times very closely. Out of the smaller airport there is only 1 flight each day they fly and our times have changed twice with no sort of notification from them. IMO that's because the change was not that much, it is now departing 15 minutes earlier.

And to answer your other question-if the price is what you are comfortable with I'd take it and just not look back. When I first started looking for the dates we wanted the tickets were $59 each way. I waited a day too late to make a decision and they went to $105. We ended up changing our dates around to get the $59 airfare.

Good luck

 

[Dan Murphy]

It's good that very few people remember that AirTran's former name was ValuJet.

BobK/Orlando

For many years I have flown Midwest Airlines out of Milwaukee, so my expectations of great service and planes are quite high. With Midwest no longer around, I have flown Air Tran 6 times in past year. They have been great for my needs.

I have upgraded each time to business class, during the lower cost time 24 hours prior to flight. Business class is as comfortable as Midwest used to be.

Great prices, great schedule, nice crews.

 

[dis-happy]

My dh has flown them weekly for over 2 years. Out of all those flights only one or two were mildly problematic, and even then AT went out of their way to compensate him. He's a very happy camper with AT and the price difference to what he would have paid (on USAir) is huge.

 

[Brian Noble]

Add ~$45 to the AirTran round trip fare for seat selection and one checked bag per person. Then decide if that's a price you are willing to pay, or if you want to wait.

For me, $250 round trip from the northeast to orlando is probably a "fair fare". You might be able to do better, but it could be a lot worse.

For what it's worth, the airlines have really been holding the line on pricing for a while now by aggressively cutting capacity, and holding back at increasing it as travel demand recovers, preferring to fly fewer flights at higher fares instead. What you paid last year, or the year before that, may have little to do with what you'll be paying this year. It might still be too early to pull the trigger for late September, but most of us will spend more on airfare in 2010 than we did in 2009 given the current market conditions.

 

[PSUGuy]

Add ~$45 to the AirTran round trip fare for seat selection and one checked bag per person. Then decide if that's a price you are willing to pay, or if you want to wait.

For me, $250 round trip from the northeast to orlando is probably a "fair fare". You might be able to do better, but it could be a lot worse.

For what it's worth, the airlines have really been holding the line on pricing for a while now by aggressively cutting capacity, and holding back at increasing it as travel demand recovers, preferring to fly fewer flights at higher fares instead. What you paid last year, or the year before that, may have little to do with what you'll be paying this year. It might still be too early to pull the trigger for late September, but most of us will spend more on airfare in 2010 than we did in 2009 given the current market conditions.

Here's the bill for our Oct 2009 trip, this is from PHL to MCO direct, for the both of us, $6 seat selection charge included, baggage not included, on AT:

Payment Information:
Air Fare 236.00
Federal Segment Tax 14.40
Airport Passenger Facility Charge 18.00
September 11th Security Fee 10.00
Other Fees 24.00
Ticket Total 302.40

Again, that's $302.40 total for the 2 of us. I don't expect to do this well next March, more like $400 total is what it's looking like, but that's still low for the PA/NJ area and AT is still the low carrier to MCO, Alegient out of ABE is less but they don't do MCO.

Bill From PA

 

[TheWog]

Where are you going to fly out of because Airtran doesn't fly out of MHT? We fly from BWI to Portland, ME and down to Orlando.

Logan (Boston) is only about 45 mins south of MHT or Portland depending on where they live.

 

[jily96]

I've flown Airtran 4 times now and have never had a problem. I booked my flights for our trip (IN TWO WEEKS TO WDW!!) many months ago. They've changed our flight times 3 times, but we're talking a few minutes difference. No big deal.

I don't hesitate to fly Airtran, it would have cost me almost $400 more to fly Southwest. What could they possibly do to make up THAT difference in price? Even with the baggage fees, I saved $400! As for seat selection costs -- at least they let me select my seat. The last time I flew SW I had a boarding group and had to scramble to get seats near my kids.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I love Airtran.

I have had them refund my airfare when I missed a flight b/c the highway was shut down. They could not accomodate me that day but I got on another airline with FF miles so they were happy to refund my fare since I made other arrangements. It was one less customer to them not trying to get on another flight.

I have never once had a problem changing a flight with them when they changed my flight times. Even by 10 minutes. Despite a non-cancellation fare - I have been able to cancel due to flight changes when I had a last minute reason to cancel my trip.

Their customer service is truly amazing and I find under most cirmcumstances - they fly ontime! Shoot - I once couldnt' make it to the airport b/c of a blizzard and they were still flying on time - and even accomodated me once it was legal to drive again!

 

[mom3sonstt]

We have never had any trouble with Airtran. We have 2 airports each about an hour or so away in opposite directions that use Airtran and we have flown out of both depending on which suited us better at the time. Coming home from Orlando last time our flight was delayed, which would cause us to miss our connecting flight - which was the last flight of the night home. Without blinking an eye they booked us the next morning, gave us vouchers for a free flight anywhere they fly, gave us meal vouchers, booked us at the hotel there in the airport and even pulled our luggage for us. Pulling luggage, I understand, is typically not done - but we had used Magical Express and checked our luggage at the resort - I have medical issues and while I could have made it the one night without the supplies in my suitcase, it was much better to have them.
We typically choose our seats 24 hours in advance, but if we had small children we would probably opt to pay to choose the seats. My youngest is 16 so we don't worry about it too much.

 

[lazydazy8]

You have all been very helpful. Thank you so much!!

Airtran gives me the option to fly out of Portland, ME and Boston, MA. We are very fortunate to have 3 different airports to choose from!

I do remember good 'ol Value Jet. My paranoid friend won't fly them b/c of it! LOL