Anyone had experience with Airtran?

[kely53]

My daughter is having a nightmare trying to get home from Denver on Airtran. Does anyone know if this is normal? Definitely not impressed with their customer service.......

 

Thanks.

[hdawson]

What's the problem? Is it weather related? AirTran is my line of choice.

[TwiliteNights]

Same here....a great airline. One thing to know....they don't have many different time schedules during the day. At least in some markets.

[silentbob007]

I've used them once and they seemed OK. They seem to have a pretty good rep in regards to pricing, fleet, and luggage handling.

[beach08]

I have flown on Air Tran numerous times and can say to date no problems. What is the reason for problems, did she miss a scheduled flight? Is she trying to use X fares for students (which is limited seats on stand by only)?

[kely53]

My daughter was meeting a group of her high school friends in Denver. Her flight was scheduled to leave Newark for Denver via Atlanta on 3/15 at 5:50pm. It was delayed, with departure times changing a few times. There was no way she could make her connection in Atlanta so Airtran did book her for their first flight on 3/16. Ok, so that was just one of those things..... Everything for the 3/16 flight went ok.

 

She was due to return from Denver last night on a 5:20pm flight. She checked her flight status around 2:30pm and found out the flight was delayed until 5:45pm. She got to the ticket counter at 4:30 and was told that she missed her flight...that it was "closed". Then she was told that she had to get to the counter 45 minutes before the plane was due to leave. She said that it was 50 minutes before the original schedule and 75 minutes before the new time. Six other people showed up for this flight and were all told the same thing. She was told she could come back the next day and be on standby for the 7am flight because that was already full. The ticket agent said her supervisor would be there around 6:15pm to talk to the people not getting on the flight. So, they all waited around. Meanwhile, the flight was delayed until 6:45pm, then 10pm, midnight, and finally left at 12:30am....but it did leave. So there was more than enough time to get these 7 people on the plane. I am wondering if they had overbooked it and that is why they did not even attempt to let them take the flight. She would have missed her original connection in Atlanta, but would have been able to get home in time to go to work. As compensation, she was given a $25 voucher for future flight on Airtran and a voucher for a Holiday Inn 30 miles away. I do appreciate at least the hotel voucher but she had to rent a car to get there. There are lots of hotels much closer to the airport.

There was some snow that evening but she had 4 friends who made their flights on other airlines, going to Phila, Scranton, Maine, and Calif.

 

Before she left the airport last night, she did get a confirmation for a flight ft 3:40pm today...the last flight of the day. that was the only flight they could confirm a place on. It was delayed until 4:42pm and then to 5:10pm. As far as I know, she is enroute now to Atlanta now. Her connecting flight in Atlanta has changed from departing at 10:59pm, the 11:37pm, the 12:04am, and at present. it is 12:38am....getting her in Newark at 2:47am. I do understand that t hings happen, but it seems like it has been one thing after another.

 

I hope that this is just an isolated incident. I doubt she will choose this airline again. There was something that just didnt seem right about the way they handled the 7 people who were not allowed to leave on the flight last night. Airtran never said that they overbooked but I can think of no other reason to not allow them on the flight.

 

I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience.

[kely53]

She purchased her ticket through her local AAA agent.....regular airline ticket.

[hdawson]

For what it's worth, I always book on the AirTran website. I have a couple of times encountered overbookings and volunteered to be bumped. The compensation was very very good. A total of five free round trips.

[mollyanne]

We have flown AirTran to Florida just one time but my son flies frequently from Rochester to Boston. We have only ever had one flight delay and got on the next flight with no problem. I know there is bad weather in some parts of the country tonight so that may be part of the problem??

[PrincessMelody]

Didn't Denver just get hit with a big snowstorm? Perhaps all the delays were weather related.

[kely53]

Denver (city) got around 6 inches...mountain areas got more. Airtran had delayed the flights from Atlanta to Newark at least 7 hours before they were due to take off (on Sunday).

 

The delays were definitely an inconvenience. My main issue was the fact that my daughter and the other people were not allowed on the original flight leaving Denver Sunday night......first they are told the flight is "closed" and then it doesnt leave for another 6 hours. And they get offered a $25 voucher off their next flight?? If they overbooked, then admit it. A $25 voucher is a joke. If they didnt overbook, why not let her on the plane?

 

hdawson......It sounds like you have had made out well!

[Globaliser]

She was due to return from Denver last night on a 5:20pm flight. She checked her flight status around 2:30pm and found out the flight was delayed until 5:45pm. She got to the ticket counter at 4:30 and was told that she missed her flight...that it was "closed".

How did she check her flight status? Was she told by the airline that she could come to check in later than originally scheduled? The rule has always been that even if your flight looks like it's delayed, you must check in at the originally-notified time unless the airline has specifically told you to come later.

[kely53]

She checked her status on line at the Airtran website. She was at the counter 50 minutes before the original departure time. The Airtran website says that you have to be at the counter 30 minutes before departure, but it also said that some airports may be different. However, the flight didnt leave for hours. So she had plenty of time to get checked in and on the flight, along with the other 6 people.

 

It has been a learning experience......dont bother checking to see if your flight is on time, just go as scheduled and be sure to get there at least 90 minutes before departure.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses.