AirTran - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums

gnipgnop · November 1, 2007, 12:39 PM

We are traveling from Pittsburgh to Orlando in May. Checking on travel time, most of the Airlines do not have a direct flight, which in the past usually took us 2 hours and 20 minutes. Some are quoting 5 to 7 hours of travel time with stop overs.

I have never flown AirTran before and I see that they have a direct flight. There are eleven of us traveling together. Their web page tell me that for a small fee they will assign seats in advance, otherwise you get seat assignment at the ticket counter. Please, can anyone tell me what the cost is for assigned seats and if this airline is dependable. Have you ever used them?

Thank you for any help.

CMF · November 1, 2007, 01:18 PM

I booked flights for my mom and family more than once and have nothing negative to report. It's all good.

Sorry, but I have no info on the fee for advance seat reservations.

Charles

lawren2 · November 1, 2007, 01:47 PM

The pre-seating fee for AirTran is $5 each. If you do not take that option you can on-line check-in 24 hours prior to the flight and get seats then for free or at the airport.

I like them. I've flown them twice this year and have ressies for next April as well.

Bonita · November 1, 2007, 02:13 PM

My husband and I flew Air Tran out of Akron/Canton direct to Vegas last month. We had no problems at all. I checked in on line the night before and chose our seats.

loosefeet · November 1, 2007, 03:03 PM

We booked Air Tran months in advance, and <30 days from the flight, our direct, non-stop flights were changed to flights with stop-overs, the out-going rebook was a night flight and the return had a 3 hour lay-over. We did get our money back and used towards better flights, but, of course, we had to pay more b/c of the timing. Be careful booking in advance.

nicklinneh · November 1, 2007, 05:12 PM

My family flew ATA from Midway(Chicago) to Oakland and then Oakland Hilo, HI. The flights were fine but the connections were the pits. Even though it was all ATA, it wasn't a DIRECT flight. So, our baggage wasn't checked through, and we had to gaze at it from 9am 'til 3pm when their counter opened again. Security wouldn't take it because it was too long before the flight (6) and the airline couldn't guard it during the gap. Ah, for the good old days. ---ken

EvelynK72 · November 1, 2007, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicklinneh

My family flew ATA from Midway(Chicago) to Oakland and then Oakland Hilo, HI. The flights were fine but the connections were the pits. Even though it was all ATA, it wasn't a DIRECT flight. So, our baggage wasn't checked through, and we had to gaze at it from 9am 'til 3pm when their counter opened again. Security wouldn't take it because it was too long before the flight (6) and the airline couldn't guard it during the gap. Ah, for the good old days. ---ken

ATA and AirTran are two different airline companies. ATA flies to Hilo, but I don't think AirTran does. Here are the URLs for the two.

http://www.ata.com/home.html

http://www.airtran.com/Home.aspx

LUVourMarriotts · November 2, 2007, 12:14 AM

I've flown AirTran. Everything went well in the air. Before take-off on way home was a little annoying. 4 hour delays because the altimeter was broken on the co-pilot side. They originally told us it was the attendants seat belt, but when the captain came out, we asked, and he was straight with us. The gate attendant was a little embarassed.

FYI-I don't know how much it matters, but... When ValuJet was grounded by the FAA (after everglades) the company painted their planes beige and became AirTran Airways.

gnipgnop · November 2, 2007, 03:46 PM

YIKES!

geneticblend · November 2, 2007, 05:51 PM

Just an F.Y.I...since you are flying out of Pittsburgh.... I've heard that the airport there will be shutting down several gates. They expect prices of flights from PIT to go up. (It's not enough that the prices are going up due to the high cost of gas!) I've been watching airfare prices from PIT to Calgary, and they have been doing nothing but going up and up and up. There is a website called www.flypittsburgh.com that you might want to check out.

RumpleMom · November 2, 2007, 07:09 PM

We have flown AirTran several times and have usually been pleased. There is more legroom than USAirways.

We recently flew AirTran and did not pay the $5.00 to pick seats ahead of time. We had a one stop flight. One leg gave us the very last row of seats which do not recline and have no window. Yuk! I don't know if we got these lousy seats because we didn't pay the $5.00 or because we printed our boarding passes rather late instead of at the beginning of the 24 hour window.

We had a nonstop flight booked for future travel which has turned into a one stop flight with 32 minutes between planes. I worried that our luggage would not make the transfer. AirTran gave me a refund. We will now try nonstop Southwest.

Future travel from PIT is not looking good.

gnipgnop · November 5, 2007, 09:42 AM

Thanks everyone, think I'll try another airline.

We live very close to Pittsburgh and I don't think going to another airport is an option. We would have to travel to Ohio or Maryland.

November 1, 2007, 12:39 PM	#1
gnipgnop TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Aug 23, 05 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 552 Resorts: Cliffs at Peace Canyon, LasVegas Sheraton Broadway Plantation, M.B Silverwoods, DuBois, Pa Waterside @ Spinnaker, HHI	AirTran We are traveling from Pittsburgh to Orlando in May. Checking on travel time, most of the Airlines do not have a direct flight, which in the past usually took us 2 hours and 20 minutes. Some are quoting 5 to 7 hours of travel time with stop overs. I have never flown AirTran before and I see that they have a direct flight. There are eleven of us traveling together. Their web page tell me that for a small fee they will assign seats in advance, otherwise you get seat assignment at the ticket counter. Please, can anyone tell me what the cost is for assigned seats and if this airline is dependable. Have you ever used them? Thank you for any help.

November 1, 2007, 01:18 PM	#2
CMF TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Oct 11, 05 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 2,196 Resorts: Foxrun Townhouse Week 30; Marriott Manor Club Platinum; Marriott Barony Beach Gold	No Problems with AirTran I booked flights for my mom and family more than once and have nothing negative to report. It's all good. Sorry, but I have no info on the fee for advance seat reservations. Charles

November 1, 2007, 01:47 PM	#3
lawren2 Guest BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Rockland County, NY Posts: 488 Resorts: Desert Breezes Resort Havasu Dunes Cape Winds 35	The pre-seating fee for AirTran is $5 each. If you do not take that option you can on-line check-in 24 hours prior to the flight and get seats then for free or at the airport. I like them. I've flown them twice this year and have ressies for next April as well. __________________ Lawren There are many wonderful places in the world, but one of my favourite places is on the back of my horse. - Rolf Kopfle Save a Life. Spay and Neuter your pets. Last edited by lawren2 : November 1, 2007 at 01:49 PM.

November 1, 2007, 02:13 PM	#4
Bonita TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Mar 7, 07 Location: Canfield,Ohio Posts: 65 Resorts: Summer Bay, Orlando	My husband and I flew Air Tran out of Akron/Canton direct to Vegas last month. We had no problems at all. I checked in on line the night before and chose our seats. __________________ Bonnie

November 1, 2007, 05:12 PM	#6
nicklinneh TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Vestavia Hills, AL USA Posts: 400 Resorts: Mountainloft, Gatlinburg; Surfrider Beach Resort, Sanibel; Big Cedar Wilderness Club	My family flew ATA from Midway(Chicago) to Oakland and then Oakland Hilo, HI. The flights were fine but the connections were the pits. Even though it was all ATA, it wasn't a DIRECT flight. So, our baggage wasn't checked through, and we had to gaze at it from 9am 'til 3pm when their counter opened again. Security wouldn't take it because it was too long before the flight (6) and the airline couldn't guard it during the gap. Ah, for the good old days. ---ken __________________ http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5001/21us.gif

November 1, 2007, 03:03 PM	#5
loosefeet TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 16, 05 Location: Northern California Posts: 137 Resorts: WorldMark Louveld Lodge Castleburn	We booked Air Tran months in advance, and <30 days from the flight, our direct, non-stop flights were changed to flights with stop-overs, the out-going rebook was a night flight and the return had a 3 hour lay-over. We did get our money back and used towards better flights, but, of course, we had to pay more b/c of the timing. Be careful booking in advance.

November 2, 2007, 12:14 AM	#8
LUVourMarriotts TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 20, 07 Location: New York Posts: 587 Resorts: Marriott Aruba Surf Club, Marriott Fairway Villas	I've flown AirTran. Everything went well in the air. Before take-off on way home was a little annoying. 4 hour delays because the altimeter was broken on the co-pilot side. They originally told us it was the attendants seat belt, but when the captain came out, we asked, and he was straight with us. The gate attendant was a little embarassed. FYI-I don't know how much it matters, but... When ValuJet was grounded by the FAA (after everglades) the company painted their planes beige and became AirTran Airways. __________________ IMHO, BT

November 2, 2007, 03:46 PM	#9
gnipgnop TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Aug 23, 05 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 552 Resorts: Cliffs at Peace Canyon, LasVegas Sheraton Broadway Plantation, M.B Silverwoods, DuBois, Pa Waterside @ Spinnaker, HHI	YIKES!

November 2, 2007, 05:51 PM	#10
geneticblend TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Sep 14, 07 Posts: 190	Just an F.Y.I...since you are flying out of Pittsburgh.... I've heard that the airport there will be shutting down several gates. They expect prices of flights from PIT to go up. (It's not enough that the prices are going up due to the high cost of gas!) I've been watching airfare prices from PIT to Calgary, and they have been doing nothing but going up and up and up. There is a website called www.flypittsburgh.com that you might want to check out. __________________ geneticblend.googlepages.com http://geneticblendphotos.googlepages.com

November 2, 2007, 07:09 PM	#11
RumpleMom TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Aug 2, 05 Location: Pittsburgh,PA Posts: 132 Resorts: DVC	AirTran is OK We have flown AirTran several times and have usually been pleased. There is more legroom than USAirways. We recently flew AirTran and did not pay the $5.00 to pick seats ahead of time. We had a one stop flight. One leg gave us the very last row of seats which do not recline and have no window. Yuk! I don't know if we got these lousy seats because we didn't pay the $5.00 or because we printed our boarding passes rather late instead of at the beginning of the 24 hour window. We had a nonstop flight booked for future travel which has turned into a one stop flight with 32 minutes between planes. I worried that our luggage would not make the transfer. AirTran gave me a refund. We will now try nonstop Southwest. Future travel from PIT is not looking good.

November 5, 2007, 09:42 AM	#12
gnipgnop TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Aug 23, 05 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 552 Resorts: Cliffs at Peace Canyon, LasVegas Sheraton Broadway Plantation, M.B Silverwoods, DuBois, Pa Waterside @ Spinnaker, HHI	Thanks everyone, think I'll try another airline. We live very close to Pittsburgh and I don't think going to another airport is an option. We would have to travel to Ohio or Maryland.

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