Who has flown AirTran?

[blessedby3]

I am trying to book a good deal with SW, but have been keeping an eye on AirTrans fares. Have never flown with them and they have a layover that SW doesnt have so would rather fly SW. IF I end up seeing a good rate with AirTran I wanted to know some disers experiences. Are they reliable and easy to fly? Thanks! We are trying to book 12/16-12/23 and can fly from Raleigh or Greensboro

 

[AmyM]

Have flown them many times nonstop Minneapolis to Orlando....LOVE THEM!!! The only decent alternative to Northwest. I have probably flown them 4 or 5 times....so far no major delays and nice flights. We have connected thru Atlanta and it went very smooth connection. They even held the connection because the first flight was a tiny bit late. But the second flight landed on time. I have learned patience is always better when flying. I always plan on being an hour late and so far my luck is holding. We seem to land within a few minutes of scheduled arrival. 16 more days til my next flight with AirTran

 

[Kycha]

I have flown Airtran 4 - 5 times. I have had no major problems with them at all. I would definitely use them again. One word of caution, though. On two different occasions, they changed my flight time. One time they e-mailed me about the change, one time they didn't. I just happened to check the status on my own and noticed the change. When I called to find out what happened, I was told that my original flight had been cancelled. So, they choose the flight that most closely matched my original flight. Turns out that the new flight time did not suit my schedule, so they allowed me to change it, without charge.

Of course this sort of schedule change thing is not exclusive to Airtran, but it seems that they do it more than other airlines. So, just check your flights status every couple of weeks.

 

[Disneyhappy]

I frequently fly Airtran and love them! The latest time was this past August and they were the first flight that was actually on time both ways, out of the last 6-8 flights I took since spring (non-Airtran flights)! It is true that they change flight times so if you book early, keep checking the flights weekly as they usually don't give notice until a few weeks out, if that. If my flights have changed to inconvneinet times, I call them and they have always accomodated me to flights of my choice. The key is watching for the change and callng immediately. Of course, they have numerous flights out of PHL so it has not been a problem changing flights. You may run into problems at airports with limited flights to Orlando. This past August our flight changed for the better. We were suposed to leave around 2:30 PM (I think) and we were bumped up to 9 AM. I only took the 2:30 fllight originally due to price so I was excited to get the AM flight and extra day at WDW!

 

[don8life]

I think Airtran is the best. I prefer them over spirit, southwest, US air. hey are kid friendly and comfortable to fly.

 

[keishashadow]

IMO, AT is what they are...low cost, no-frills budget carrier . Switched from USAir several years ago for price reasons. They do have a very liberal rewards program to garner free flights & had a great promo early this year w/Wendy's purchases - would luv to see that return.

Major complaint is their schedule tweaking...book a flight & hope for the best.

Secondary issue (which they did eventually make good on) was lost luggage that they denied responsibility for; until person who found it on their doorstep hundreds of miles from my house tracked me down after a month to let me know

We're taking AT down in Oct. but, sampling SW for flight home, hope it's at least comparable experience.

 

[JandD Mom]

I try not to book Airtran. Schedule and timing is often very important to us. On several occasions they have change our flights, or the flights of family members, by several hours and with no notice or warning. The last time they did it to us was a holiday weekend and I was unable to get an alternative flight at a reasonable price.

So I would not recommend flying Airtran if schedule is important to you. They seem to play with their schedules far more than other airlines and are not good at notifying you of the change.

Also for anyone flying INTO Philadelphia, their baggage delivery is horrible. It rivals being as bad as USAirways.

 

[DisneyElf]

Just flew them this past August - going down to Orlando. Orig. booked a 3:30 PM flight with connections in Atlanta - then found out I NEEDED to be at WDW earlier . Called them - but they do have a $ 50. PP change fee YIKES - but then the cust serv rep. said - but you can fly standby earlier in the day for NO CHARGE. Well called everyday - and we made the earlier - NON-STOP flight - flying standby .

Even left from a local airport - Westchester - a lot easier than fighting the traffic, bridges & tolls to JFK or LGA.

Based on this experiance - if there is a $ 20 ticket price diff. between Airtran & JetBlue - I'll pay more to fly AirTran .

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

There are MANY threads already about AirTran experiences. If you do a search of this board, you'll get all the information you need.