opinions on Air Tran

[disneymom15]

Any opinions, good or bad on Air Tran. Checking air fares and finding some non stop flights for $88 each way. We would have to drive about 1 1/2 hours and pay for long term parking of about $11 per day. Is it a good airline? Can you get pre assigned seats? Is there an extra charge for seat assignment? I know there is a checked bag fee. Do you think the fares will go lower than $88. Give me your thoughts.

[NotaGeek]

This is a pretty popular question on the boards ... they have very mixed reviews. I used the search function and here's a good thread from that seach:

Air Tran (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=145123&highlight=air+tran)

:plane:

IMO I would not fly Air Tran ... they have a a bad reputation and service levels...

[divinedi]

I've flown AirTran several times, and have never had a problem, with them switching the times, bad service or anything. Maybe I'm just lucky, don't know, but I know others have had less than pleasant flights.

[scootch713]

I have used them many times(usually for convenience of flight times). YOu do have to pay $6 for each seat to assign AND you have to pay for luggage(even the first bag). The flights themselves are fine, good staff, nice planes, ect..... If they do change your flight time, they will let you change to the day before or after or a different flight time that day. If it does not work out for you, they will refund your money.

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

You pay your money and take your chances.


obviously some people have had good experiences with Air Tran...on the other hand, a co-worker of mine had made a point of booking a non-stop flight, at a certain time of day because her children are both under 3 yrs old and wanted to minimize the hassle.
not only did Air Tran make a radical change in flight time, it also added a 2 1/2 hr layover.
Sure, Air Tran refunded their fare, after much discussion, but then they had to try to book another flight 2 months after they thought they were all set.
On top of other Air Tran horror stories I have read here that was enough to put Air Tran on our NO FLY LIST. :down:

[crazeedizneefinatic]

I wouldn't fly airtran if they paid me....we went on a cruise in April and used them because they were the cheapest....I now know why....the flight to Miami was uneventful although the leg room is alot tighter then most aircraft, thank goodness the flight was not to to long....on the way home we had a layover in Atlanta....5 hours to be exact.....an hour before takeoff we had our seats...there was an agent at the gate who never told us they had changed our gate, thank goodness we asked why it wasn't stating Pittsburgh on the sign she informed us only then that our gate had changed and we had to take the tram to the other side of the airport to get there....we raced to the gate only to find it changed again....in all we went to 3 different gates to get to the right spot....the airtran workers at the counter were miserable and unfriendly and were barking at people who had questions....it was awful....I will NEVER fly anyone but Southwest....I have always had good service, the planes are comfortable and the employees are cheerful....also don't be sucked in by lower airfares, it costs to pick your seats and it's $15 per checked bag....

[TheRustyScupper]

1) I have flown AirTran several times, also.
2) To me, they are just another airline.
3) No better, no worse.
4) Unfortunately, most of their flights go through Atlanta.
5) With weather and being so busy, Atlanta can mean major delays.
6) For me, due to delays, I avoid Newark and Atlanta whenever possible.

[Jeff]

We have flown them many times from Flint MI.
They have been fine for us and we will fly with them again!!

You can find "horror stories" about every airline. As other have said, they're just an airline and if the price is right use them.

[SheLovesDisney]

We have flown Airtran a few times and never had a problem with the actual flying experience. However, we have had a problem with them constantly switching flight times around. Once we were moved from a 9 am flight to a 5 am flight. It took over an hour on the phone to get a refund, since there was no way we could get the kids up and make it to the airport that early. Overall, we definitely prefer Southwest.

[ransam]

personally I love air trans...they are cheap...the staff was excellent when i've flown...I'm a big person...and once the plane has taken off, they have found me a seat row that was empty so i could stretch my feet...
the only down side is the connection in atlanta stinks..it's a really long walk.
one of the nice things is that it does have check in baggage at the hotels..

[Checkers]

:mickey:We have flown AirTran out of BWI and have never had a problem (direct flight). They are now flying out of HIA (Harrisburg) and are the only airline that flies direct to Orlando at the same time every day. It works out great for us since we only live about 12 mi. from the airport as opposed to driving to Baltimore and having to fight that traffic on the Beltway. We are happy to pay the extra $ for an assigned seat and even the checked bag $ because of the convenience. Also, being able to check our bags at the resort is an added bonus. The only downside we have found is the return flight leaves at 8:30 a.m. and makes for an early morning ME time but it is also a direct flight and we'll live with it!

[SFD998]

We were going to use them for the first time in December. Originally the flight changed from a 7 a.m. non stop to a 10:30 w/layover. We only discovered this because we called to check on the status of the flight because we had heard they were changing flights. Then our return flight went from the the latest flight back to one that left in the morning. This of course causes us to lose a day at Disney. The straw that broke the camels back was when we noticed that there were no flights being listed from the airport we were supposed to fly out of. When we called to check on it we were told that they were now sending us out of a different airport. Changing the flight times was bad enough, but a different airport is ridiculous. We demanded and received a full refund.

I WILL NEVER FLY AIR TRAN!!

[Jared]

I've been on three nonstop flights with AirTran all on different routes:

Tampa, Fla. (TPA) to Newburgh, N.Y. (SWF)
Memphis, Tenn. (MEM) to Orlando, Fla. (MCO)
Orlando, Fla. to New York (LGA)

I have heard nothing but horror stories, but I have had three wonderful experience. The first time I used AirTran, I was scheduled to fly from Tampa up to LaGuardia on Delta, but the flight was cancelled. I booked a new flight to Stewart about 15 hours before it was supposed to take off and spent an extra night in Florida. The flight was cheap and a true godsend. I needed to make it to New York that day, because I had to be in Newport, R.I., with my car the next morning.

The second AirTran trip was even better. I was in Memphis covering a basketball game and was supposed to fly to LaGuardia on Northwest/Delta (notice a pattern?), but, of course, the flight was cancelled. The plan called for me to sleep at my parents' house that night in New York, then fly with them on AirTran from LaGuardia down to Orlando for our Disney vacation last December. Now, I wasn't sure I would be able to make it to New York in time, and I was already booked on an AirTran flight the next morning.

I called the airline and explained the situation. After a moment searching in the computer, the representative happily told me there was one nonstop flight available that day straight from Memphis to Orlando. Seemed like a good offer, and I was prepared to take it, expecting to pay a change fee from the New York flight the next day. A few keyboard strikes later, the agent informed me that not only would there be no extra charge, but also I would be receiving a $25 credit because the Memphis-Orlando flight was actually cheaper than the New York-Orlando flight originally was. So I got an extra solo night in Disney and had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. Great job by AirTran.

Our return flight from Orlando to New York also went off without a hitch.

Moral of the story: I have probably been really lucky, considering the consistent negative reviews of this airline. The biggest and most common compliant is that it changes its flight schedule too frequently. Since two of my three AirTran flights were booked less than a day before takeoff, I have yet to be affected by that problem.

But because I received such good customer service in Memphis that day, I will use AirTran again until I am proven wrong.

[MinnieMommie]

I've only flown Airtran once (white plans to MCO and back) but had absolutely no problems with anything related to the flight. I am concerned about the negative reports I have heard and weight that heavily when decisions are made for travel. I think what Jared said has some truth. The closer you book to your flight dates there may be less probability of problems related to changes in flight schedules. :mickey:

[Dopey's Girl]

I have used airtran for almost every flight I have taken over the course of the last 4 years. I have had some issues with time changes, but for the most part they have been great! I won't hesitate to use them again!

[Mitzie]

Have only flown Airtran once and the time change that was made was like 45 min. and they had notified us. Flying them again in Dec. Just couldn't pass up the rate. Keeping my fingers crossed. On another note about how there are problems on all airlines...Northwest out of Detroit...non-stop to MCO. Flight delayed 4 hours...no weather problems to speak of...once they got us on the plane they worked on it for 2 hours while we sat on the plane at the gate...makes a girl feel real comfortable when you can hear them banging around on the plane right under you.

[spoiledraf]

Just got back. return flight was fine. But going down, they changed the departure time twice, oOriginally 9:45 am arriniving at noon to 12:15 pm arriving at 2:45. The when we go to the airport , we ended up with a three hour delay so we never checked in until 7:30 pm. between the time changes and the delay, it blew the entire first day. And time is money at Disney.

[BMan62]

:mickey:We have flown AirTran out of BWI and have never had a problem (direct flight). They are now flying out of HIA (Harrisburg) and are the only airline that flies direct to Orlando at the same time every day. It works out great for us since we only live about 12 mi. from the airport as opposed to driving to Baltimore and having to fight that traffic on the Beltway. We are happy to pay the extra $ for an assigned seat and even the checked bag $ because of the convenience. Also, being able to check our bags at the resort is an added bonus. The only downside we have found is the return flight leaves at 8:30 a.m. and makes for an early morning ME time but it is also a direct flight and we'll live with it!

Nice! I have thought about flying AirTran out of MDT, but like Southwest out of BWI for the earlier flights. It's more of a drive to the airport, 1 hr 15 min vs. 30 min., but getting flights for $49 each/each way, and no baggage fees make SW a better bet for us.

BTW - Are you going to MagicMeets 2009? Sound like you might live very close. It's at the Camp Hill Radisson, Aug. 7 - 9.

Sorry for hijacking the thread for a moment!! :thedolls:

[egospotter]

I have flown on Air Tran 3 times. 2 of those 3 times they have changed our flight times and all 3 times we had problems.

1st time we flew with them was our honeymoon. We got married on a Friday and were heading out on that Sunday. They called on our wedding day and left a message that they moved our return flight up 5 hours! Luckily we got the message when we came home that day from the hotel. It was too late to cancel and book with another airline. So we called them and got on a later flight that had a layover - we had paid for direct flights. When we got to the airport the next day, went through security, got on the plane and waited and waited. There was a problem with the pre-flight checks. We sat on the plane for and hour and a half before they let us off and then told us we had to wait another 2 hours for another plane. Which would have made us late for our cruise! So they got us on Midwest, which we had to run to and go though security again which meant that we had to be wanded and all that. In the process I lost my driver's license and almost wasn't allowed on the boat! The trip back was delayed and we didn't get home until 2am.

The second time, they cancelled our direct flight and put us on another very late flight going to Orlando. So we had to have them change it again. We asked if this was normal for them to change flights around and they said no. Oh really? Then why does it keep happening? The flight changed again right before we left, but it was only a half-hour difference. However when we got to the airport the flight with the pilots for our flight was late the night before so they had to get a certain amount of sleep, so our flight left 2 hours late. The flight back was the first flight we've had with them that was on time.

The third time, we bought our tickets pretty close to when we were leaving and they were connecting, so they didn't change the times. But they did manage to loose my luggage and ruin our first day. I won't even get into what happened to my cell phone that was left on the plane. But it starts with the little girl in front of me throwing up all over her seat and all over my stuff that was under it, and ends up with my cell racking up some serious frequent flyer miles because they couldn't figure out where Milwaukee was.

They are cheap, but you get what you pay for. If saving money is important, and times aren't, go for it, but I will NEVER fly them again.

We got a great deal from Midwest this year. Direct flights from Milwaukee to Orlando, great times (leaving early morning, coming back late evening) for $370.00 total for 2 people. And they have warm chocolate chip cookies. :cool:

[hoop de do]

We have flown AirTran many times and have no problems. We go direct from Pittsburgh to Orlando. Hope you have a great flight and trip. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Ian]

I wouldn't even consider them. My Mom and her friend had an Air-Tran flight in January that they got completely jobbed on.

They showed up for their flight home and Air-Tran told them they'd be bumped to another flight ... one that had taken off 12 hours earlier!!!

My Mom's friend (who had made the reservations) was like, "That's ridiculous! No one told us that!" and Air-Tran's response was, "We sent you an email telling you that six months ago."

My Mom's friend was like, "I never got an email from you!" and they said, "Well it's legal. As long as we bump you no more than 24 hours it's legal."

Their only option was to take a flight out the next day at like noon that already had 13 people ahead of them on standby. They told Air-Tran to beat it and paid for a Southwest flight home instead.

When they got home they called and complained and asked Air-Tran to provide proof that the email was sent. Air-Tran's response was, "We don't keep them. Here's your money back." so you know they were full of it.

Stay away. Don't reward companies with bad business practices with your money.

[laprana]

Add me to the list of people who will never fly Air Tran again. We used them once for our trip in 2008 and the flights were fine after a couple of minor schedule changes. Those weren't a big deal because they only changed our flight times by an hour or so going and coming home.

We were planning on flying Air Tran again for our trip a couple of weeks ago. We booked our flight to Orlando, but were waiting for a good deal for our return flight home. A couple of weeks after we booked the first flight, I went to Air Tran's website to look for our return flight. Much to my surprise, when I logged in I saw that we had been moved from a non-stop flight that left in the morning to a 1-stop flight that left in the late afternoon and had a 4-hour layover. We wouldn't have gotten into Orlando until late that night, losing pretty much a full day at WDW. To make matters worse, they never notified us at all about the change -- no e-mail, no phone call, nothing. I only found out about it when I went online to book another flight with them!

Well, needless to say, we weren't happy and called to change the flight. The person we spoke with was incredibly rude. She said that AirTran was not offering any non-stop flights for our travel date or the days before or after we planned on flying, and we would have a stop whether we liked it or not. We told her we just wanted our money back since we were never notified of the change in the first place, and at first she refused. She finally agreed, but said that we would have to pay $150 per person to cancel the reservation. That was $70 more per person than the cost of the tickets!! We ended up asking for a supervisor who, reluctantly, gave us a refund without charging us the penalty. No way was I getting off that phone without getting our money back!

So, long story short, we learned our lesson! No more Air Tran for us. It's Southwest from now on!!

[DCDisney]

I'd say that AirTran isn't much different than other airlines. Everyone will have varying success with any single airline. I've flown them once, for a trip to WDW with 2 elderly parents, 2 teenagers and 2 middle-aged adults. Our flight was fine, our luggage was there upon arrival. And yes, I do remember selecting my seats ahead of time.

I'd consider them again along with the other airlines that fly to Orlando, and base my decision on price & schedule.

[pink]

I've never flown Airtran but I have heard that they tend to lose checked baggage pretty frequently. Jet Blue is our favorite.


6) For me, due to delays, I avoid Newark and Atlanta whenever possible.

Amen. :mickey:

[clou1028]

I've never had any trouble with them.

Last year I booked a flight with them to Denver. They had a schedule change that didn't work for me. I got an email right away. I called and canceled and got 100% of my money refunded. The person I spoke to was very friendly.

I'd have no problem flying them again - as a matter of fact I will be booking my tickets tomorrow for my September WDW trip.

[deedeebee]

We have flown them many times from Flint MI.
They have been fine for us and we will fly with them again!!

You can find "horror stories" about every airline. As other have said, they're just an airline and if the price is right use them.
We also have flown out of Flint may times and will fly with them again in 13 days.