Upset with AirTran...what can I do?

[kschafer]

Back in November a friend and I decided to go on a WDW trip together. We live in Iowa and 2 exciting announcements had just been made. 1 was that Allegiant Air would start flying into MCO instead of Sanford 2 was that Air Tran would begin direct flights to MCO. We were very excited that we could get direct flights for a good price!! We looked at the options and decided to go with Air Tran for 2 reasons, they offered more flights throughout the week for more flexibility and we liked the arrival and departure times.

So the plans were to leave on a Saturday (late morning departure getting us there by mid-afternoon allowing us to get to the parks that first evening) and returning the following Sunday (early morning departure and arriving home late morning and allowing us to spend the rest of the day with our families before the new work/school week begins)

Since booking, I have gotten several e-mails announcing some changes. First was just time adjustments, nothing major, no big deal.

The second change was to let me know that our direct flight home was cancelled and we would have to do a layover in Milwaukee. I wasn't thrilled but really, it didn't change our plans all that much. Still leaving early morning and arriving home by noon.

Well yesterday I got another e-mail. This one telling me that my flight home was going to have 2 layovers and would be arriving at 10 and night I was NOT OK with this one!!! I called customer service and they gave me several options of alternate flights. I could get a direct flight if I wanted to leave a day earlier...um, no thank you. I could get a flight with only 1 layover if I wanted to stay another day...tempting but since they aren't gonna foot the bill for me to stay another night, I have to pass. The other option I felt like I HAD to take was another 2 layover route on the same day that will get us in by 11:30 in the morning. Of course to accomplish that, our flight will leave at 6:20 in the morning!!! I don't even want to think about what time we will have to be ready to catch ME

I'm just pissed off because I feel like I just have to accept what they are dishing out!! Had I known this could happen, I would have just picked Allegiant from the start (they only offer flights 2 times a week so cancelling a flight and routing customers a different way isn't even an option!) Yes I could request a full refund and they would honor that but there are not any decent priced options on other airlines.

I'm tempted to call customer service and let them know I am not very happy but I just have a feeling they will say "sorry for the inconvenience" but nothing will change and I'll just continue to be pissed off. Do you think they would give me SOMETHING as compensation? I just think they feel like as long as they get me home, they are holding up their end of our deal.

 

[dburg30]

If you check out the transportation forum here, you will see that is one of the biggest (and I admit few) complaints about Airtran. They do change many flights from non-stops to layover flights. Granted usually the layovers happen in Atlanta.

And your final statment is true. Pretty much all they do is say they will get you from Point A to Point B..

 

[FigmentChick]

Hey, there! Believe it or not...this happened to my family for our trip last September. Yet one more reason why I will NEVER fly Airtran again. Just so you know - because they changed not only the flight times, but the destinations and layovers - you are entitled to a refund. I know it might be too late to book on the other airline, but maybe you can try. It is very clearly spelled out in the fine print of the tickets, but if the airline changes the flight times and they are not suitable to you - you get your money back.

Hope this helps and keep us updated. I feel bad for you, but I had to find out how Airtran works the hard way, too!

 

[RMulieri]

I fly Airtran all the time and have never had an issue..Delta on the other hand I could write a book with all the stuff they have done to us...I am sorry this has happened to you, and it really stinks that we as consumers need to just suck it up and take what crappy service we get, but honestly ALL airlines have issues like this .I would not expect compensation from complaining, because you are essentially only guaranteed transportation from point a- point b

 

[PSUGuy]

We booked a direct through AT for our Oct. 2009 trip and had it changed to a connecting one coming home. I monitor my flights at least several times weekly, I caught this before the e-mail came. I called an AT representative and got another direct flight that actually worked better for us, it was more expensive when I first booked, and all for no extra $$. Perhaps AT does change flights more often than others, this is NOT my expereince, but they'll usually accomodate you, if possible, for free.

Bill From PA

 

[SweetMommy]

We had the same problem for our trip in August and I'm not a fan of flying so I was not a fan of 2 layovers. DBF called yesterday and b/c there were no other direct flights at all they offered to look at JetBlue for us which didn't work out and then refunded our money w/ no hassle at all. We are gonna book w/ Southwest hopefully in the next couple of days. I hope you can resolve your issue

 

[maxiesmom]

Sorry, but your last statement says it all. As long as they get you home, they are holding up their end of the bargin.

All you are guaranteed with your airline ticket is transportation from point A to point B. Anything else is subject to change. The contract of carriage will tell you just that.

It is not just Air Tran, all airlines are condensing flights. They are all struggling in this economy, and are flying as lean and mean as they can. So if they can combine two half full flights into one full flight, they will do so. Or even change the type of plane you are flying on.

What you should do is go look on Air Tran's web-site and figure out which flight will work for you best. But you do have to face the fact that the flight you had is gone, and pick out the next best choice asap before that one too is gone.

Sorry you ran into this, but it is unfortunately a part of flying now a days.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to our transporation board.

 

[dizzneebabe]

This happened to us in July. They changed our non-stop flight to a 4 hour layover within 24 hours of us booking the fare! We called and they gave us some options and we changed our flight to be more doable (1 hour layover). It wasn't ideal, but besides that, we really like them.

For what it's worth, they are NOT the only airline doing this. My in-laws had miles on Continental they could have used for a Hawaii flight from Chicago, but they would have had to stop somewhere and wanted a non-stop to LA, so they booked an American flight. AA turned around and cancelled that flight and forced them to stop over in Dallas for 2 hours!!! When my DFIL called, they were not as accommodating as AT. They didn't offer refunds, change of flights--nothing. They were stuck with that flight.

And you're right, saying that they get you from point A to point B is the argument.

I hope you can find another flight that works for you!

 

[damren]

Sorry for the frustration, but It's not jsut AirTran that does this. I wonder if It's just booking so far in advance. We used Delta or United Air and over the months got various emails too, Disney took care of it for us but because we booked air through disney they could only give us so many options. We ended up taking 4 different planes to get to Disney! NOT COOL.
Hopefully it will work better this time, we did book early again, but not through Disney...so far only one change, Jet blue has stopped direct flights from MCO to Maine...hopefully thats all that will happen!

Good Luck

 

[Bete]

but in reality it happens on all airlines. I don't see much that can be done other than a refund which you don't want to do. Out of principle I would change. I have noticed that Airtran in Indianapolis has some non-stop flights that never change their times, etc. If you can't determine that with Airtran then you have to go with the airline that's more reliable. It will be a lessen learned that you get what you pay for. If other airlines do a better job of not changing the schedule then stick with them and pay a little more.

 

[kschafer]

thanks everyone. I think my frustration is really just about having no choice in the matter! I HAVE to take the double layover in order to get home at about the same time I planned the vacation around.

I was offered a refund and Allegiants prices have actually dropped by $20 that week but I would have to shorten or extend my trip because they don't fly between MCO and DSM on sunday. Other airlines are more expensive and I still would have at least 1 layover to deal with. The 2 layovers I have are less than 1 hour each so as long as all the flights run on time, it's not the worst case scenario...just not what I thought I would be doing when I paid for the tickets!

Yes, I'm sure this is common practice, not limited to AirTran, and I'm going to just have to deal with it. Thanks for the sympathy!! I guess the bright side is this is my return flight and they so far have not messed with my arrival to my happy place!! (other than bumping it 20 minutes earlier)

 

[TaraPA]

You can call if it will make you feel better, but they won't compensate you for anything. As others have said, they are only legally bound to get you from point A to point B, as stated in the contract (that I admit, I never read!) It's frustrating, I know, and it's ALL airlines these days, not just Airtran. Last year we had 10 family members flying Continental & they cancelled our flight - and then we had to all split up because there weren't enough seats on the same alternate flight. That was difficult because 4 of the 10 were minors, and they had zero sympathy. It's also happened to us on USAir and Delta. We've also had time changes on Continental, United & Allegiant, but never Airtran (and oddly enough that's the biggest complaint with AT - flight time changes).


Just breathe, go with the flow & accept the changes or cancel & re-book with another carrier (who quite possibly will turn around & do the same thing). You never know, AT may actually change back to your original flight, I've seen that happen too.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Hi, a fellow Iowan here (well, not actually an Iowan, but we live here currently). We, too, were so excited about the new non-stop on AirTran, booked it right away, and just a few weeks later found out they canceled the non-stop and had routed us through two cities (Milwaukee and Atlanta). We would now be arriving in Orlando on Saturday night LATE (after 10:30PM) and we'd now be leaving at 7:10 AM on Sunday, eight days later, so we effectively lost two vacation days and were suddenly traveling at very non-prime times with two young children.

Fortunately for us, we booked through American Express travel, and they were able to rearrange our flights slightly and we'll still get in on Saturday morning (not non-stop anymore, but at least we won't lose an entire day and only have to go through Milwaukee). The flight out at 7:10 AM the following Sunday was the best remaining option, so we're stuck with that one.

I share your frustration, and while I understand the contract of carriage very well, I still feel that it was a blatant bait and switch by AirTran. They were brand new to this market, promoted the non-stop flights all over the local airwaves, booked lots of tickets on the new non-stop to Orlando, and then shunted us all over to their regional code-share partner less than a month later before a single non-stop flight took place. I understand they have the right to do it, and that it was a risk we took, etc., but if I wanted to take connections, I could have booked a less expensive flight on United or Delta.

Next time, we'll try Allegiant Air, which has started flying to MCO (rather than Sanford) in response to AirTran's entry into the Des Moines market. I realize they have many issues, as well, but as a point-to-point carrier, I'm confident their non-stops will remain that way and their fares are competitive.

 

[kschafer]

I still feel that it was a blatant bait and switch by AirTran. They were brand new to this market, promoted the non-stop flights all over the local airwaves, booked lots of tickets on the new non-stop to Orlando, and then shunted us all over to their regional code-share partner less than a month later before a single non-stop flight took place. I understand they have the right to do it, and that it was a risk we took, etc., but if I wanted to take connections, I could have booked a less expensive flight on United or Delta.

Next time, we'll try Allegiant Air, which has started flying to MCO (rather than Sanford) in response to AirTran's entry into the Des Moines market. I realize they have many issues, as well, but as a point-to-point carrier, I'm confident their non-stops will remain that way and their fares are competitive.

That's also part of the frustration! You are right that they entered the market promoting this wonderful new direct service and as consumers we believed in that. It doesn't seem like this is the way to establish yourself into a new market.

We flew Allegiant on our last trip (we needed to rent a car anyway so flying into Sanford wasn't a big deal) but now that they are going into MCO, I think I will stay with them despite the few choices in days/times. At least with their limited service, they are more likely to keep the flights even if 1/2 full.

 

[klynn]

I assume you are flying into Des Moines. Is there room on the flight that leaves at 7:10am with only one connection? It is flight #676/3072. When AirTran did this to me, I just went to the website and I chose the flight I wanted, not what they offered me.

 

[keishashadow]

Upset with AirTran...what can I do?

you can do nothing (if you like, think strategy here) = meaning u can sit on the email confirmation & not accept the changes until you either find a better flight option on another airline & cancel or eventually decide to keep AT res. I would monitor seat availability on the flight your are interest in though, jik

im not sure how long u can drag out the inevitable, but i have done so for several months until i found a lower priced flight, then asked for the refund.

 

[kmk1180]

Where in Iowa are you flying out of?
I live in Bettendorf and we use Air Tran all the time out of the MLI
Never have any problems with flight changes and we have I think 3 or 4 days a week of direct flights to MCO.
Maybe call Air Tran and ask them to make the ticket to fly out of Moline.
then just make the drive there.
Sure would be easier than 2 transfers.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Yes, this is what we ended up doing (rather than 3122/211/847, which was to leave DSM at 12:25 PM and arrive into MCO at 11:28PM), and they were quite accommodating (although I worked through the AmEx concierge, so that probably helped).

Coming home, the Sunday before Memorial Day, every other flight was totally booked, so we kept the new 7:10AM flight out of MCO, thinking that at least we'll be able to pick up the dog from the kennel and save a day of those expenses!

It will still be a ton of fun, just a bit irritating given how they entered the market. C'est la vie.

 

[kschafer]

I assume you are flying into Des Moines. Is there room on the flight that leaves at 7:10am with only one connection? It is flight #676/3072. When AirTran did this to me, I just went to the website and I chose the flight I wanted, not what they offered me.

This is the first change I had but they must have cancelled one of those legs on the day I am travelling. the only flight the website shows on my travel day is the one the e-mail first gave me which arrives late at night. It was only when I called that they offered the early morning one. The point of our original flight was to get home early enough to spend much of that Sunday with our families

Where in Iowa are you flying out of?
I live in Bettendorf and we use Air Tran all the time out of the MLI
Never have any problems with flight changes and we have I think 3 or 4 days a week of direct flights to MCO.
Maybe call Air Tran and ask them to make the ticket to fly out of Moline.
then just make the drive there.
Sure would be easier than 2 transfers.

Unfortunately, we are in central Iowa so once you factor in the drive, the 2 stop is still better time-

*********************

thanks everyone for all your help and suggestions (and sympathy) Disers are the BEST!!! I figure given the circumstances, I am going to just have to take what I need to, plan to stick with Allegiant next time and return my focus on the fact that I get to go to Disney!