Beware of AirTran

[Billys9319]

We had our flight on AirTran for our August cruise leaving on Saturday (day before cruise) at 8:00am and return flight the following Sunday at 3:00pm. I checked up last night on our reservation and they changed our flights to 1:00pm on Saturday, which we will now have to miss our day on the beach before the cruise but at least we still get to cruise the next day. I then looked at the return flight and it had us leaving at 10:40am :eek:. No way are we going to make that from the port of Miami. Called them up and found that the only flights we could switch to had a least 1 lay over. No way am I going to get my wife to fly that way, she hate's to flay as it is. I finally got them to cancel the flight and we booked with Southwest for a couple $'s cheaper :) .

 

So if you are flying with AirTran check your reservations often!

[hdawson]

Billys. Fact is that all lines have been cancelling and changing flight times often in the last couple of years. Like overbooking, it's standard in the industry now. However, I have always been contacted by email and/or phone when AirTran has changed my scheduled flights. Several times by only two or three minutes. You did the right thing about your return flight.

[Billys9319]

I have always been contacted by any airline when a change was made. But I never received an email or phone call from them and in fact the person I talked with said these flights have been changed a couple of times. It wasn't only my reservation, it was also two families that are going with us didn't receive anything either.

 

Will I fly with them again, sure, but I'll watch any reservations now more closely no matter which airline I take.

[hdawson]

Other than what you posted, how were the flights, planes and crews?

[Billys9319]

Haven't flown yet, we leave in August.

[EmJakeBubbie]

Miami Airport is a slight few minutes ride to the cruise ship port; typically debarkation starts around 7:30am - most likely you would have made that earlier flight fine. Glad you were able to reschedule with SWA with no $$$$ penalties, yes? Tis a few flip of calendar pages 'tween now and August...just keep checking w/SWA as their schedules can change. Flying is a challenge these days - doesn't matter the airline or airport. A well informed traveler has the best chance of success;) Good Luck and always/all ways "Bon Voyage":)

[mcgraiha]

i returned from my cruise a couple weeks ago and used airtran. my dh and i were flying buffalo to houston and my parents were flying from rochester. we booked flights so that we would land at the same time, pick up the rental car and be on our way. airtran changed all of our flights. mine was only a few minutes but my parents ended up being several hours ahead of schedule so they had to wait several hours for us to arrive in houston. it made the trip home longer also. i love to fly jetblue so airtran seemed so tiny and cramped compared to jetblue but it was the cheapest! guess not much you can do when you're on a budget. one plus was they offer upgrades to business class for only $35 at the airport if there are any seats available. my dh tried to grab one but was about 10 seconds too slow!!

[Skinsfan1311]

We had our flight on AirTran for our August cruise leaving on Saturday (day before cruise) at 8:00am and return flight the following Sunday at 3:00pm. I checked up last night on our reservation and they changed our flights to 1:00pm on Saturday, which we will now have to miss our day on the beach before the cruise but at least we still get to cruise the next day. I then looked at the return flight and it had us leaving at 10:40am :eek:. No way are we going to make that from the port of Miami. Called them up and found that the only flights we could switch to had a least 1 lay over. No way am I going to get my wife to fly that way, she hate's to flay as it is. I finally got them to cancel the flight and we booked with Southwest for a couple $'s cheaper :) .

 

So if you are flying with AirTran check your reservations often!

That has happened to me on Air Jamaica, Delta, Southwest, USAir & Airtran...happens with all airlines...best advice is to check constantly.....don't forget to keep checking on Southwest's web-site.....;)

[Bsan1221]

The port of Miami and MIA airport are very close to each other.

 

As a person who lives in Miami and have been to the port and airport many times you could easily make it in 20 mins.. maybe 30 to 40 if you catch bad traffic

[Seaside2358]

Unfortunately I had flights booked with Air Tran for end of Oct. They also changed my times. The flight down from PHL to FLL would have worked but the one coming back was way to early and I would have missed it. I called them and they were very nice in refunding my money without a hassle...I'm now waiting for Southwest to open for those dates...

[SWEETNLOW2005]

SEASIDE2358 I also have flights schedule on Airtran for 10/30 from Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale. Were you contacted regarding your change in flight times? I should contact them since there is 15 of us on that flight.

[hdawson]

Check each booked passenger on their website.

[OhioGirl]

This happened to me last year, we were flying from Dayton, Ohio to New Orleans..they moved our flights around 4 times, until finally we cancelled our flights..of course, they kept some of our money...was able to book on NWA and ended up coming out about the same, (- the money AirTran kept!!)

 

I'll never book with them again, no matter how good the price is...too many headaches to deal with..

[emilymad]

I had the same thing happen to me for our cruise in July. I kept checking and noticed the changes. We had to change our flight home since it was too early. Their customer service was great. We were able to change flights with no problem. They even let us change the airport we were flying out of. I am traveling with 2 other couples and they said that the people they spoke to were great as well. We looked into switching to another airline so we could have direct flights but there wasn't anything direct available. I asked why we weren't notified of the changes and they said that they don't notify people until a month before the flight.

[Seaside2358]

My girlfriend tried to book the same flight I had and was told it doesn't exist anymore. She told me about it and I called and they said yes that it was cancelled. They never called me but gave me a full refund when I asked for it...

[DEL67]

In the past few years, both American and Continental have changed our flight times significantly without informing us so its not just Airtran.

[LEtue]

Had a similar situation this week when I was viewing my reservations for September. Delta changed the time for my last leg from ATL to TPA leaving me with only 10 minutes between flights. No way to make that in Atlanta! When I called I was able to get re-booked for the earlier flight out of San Juan so now I will arrive home 2 hours earlier :) These are the flights I would have liked to have had in the first place but when I booked they were $280 more (now $418) So I'm happy :D

 

I always watch my flights because even if the flight times stay close to the same the aircraft can change and sometimes the seat they move you to is not where you want to be :eek: