Airtran Airways - Don't Use These Clowns!

[Gonz]

For all of the members here who have not booked their flights yet, save yourself the hassle and do not use Airtran! Fort Lauderdale on Sunday morning was a complete disaster. From the looks of it, you would have thought this was the first day they were ever operating.

 

They had at least 5 flights taking off between 10:00 and 1:00, and all of them were either full or overbooked. They had a grand total of 3 people working at the baggage check/ticket counter. There was also one other person who was supposed to be directing people to the appropriate line. First off, anyone who thinks that 4 employees is supposed to be enough to handle all of the Miami and FLL cruisers getting back on a Sunday is simply smoking crack. There was a line that extended from their counter, past the US Airways counter, all the way around the corner to where the shops are. We stood in that line for about an hour to get towards the ticket counter. They have 6 computers where you can print out your e-ticket. Only two of them were working. It was total mayhem. Passengers were yelling at screaming at these employees and they just really didn't seem to care. I saw people walk into the terminal and cut right in front of line and the folks working just shrugged their shoulders and didn't care. When I complained about it they ignored me.

 

Above is just the tip of the iceberg folks, in an effort to not ruin the rest of my day I won't continue, but let's just say that if you can find another airfare, even if it's $50 more expensive, do it. On the day you get back from your cruise and you see all those folks whose heads are about to explode you'll be thankful!

[hdawson]

Gonz. Very sorry for your problems at Fll. Wondering if it's difficult to hire with our very low 4.7% unemployment. My very best personal service from an airline employee was at the Miami airport 2 years ago. Way above and beyond service from the AirTran gate agent.

 

Not everyone has had the problem that you have. In fact, it is my airline of choice and has been for several years. Here is a previous thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=324377

 

The DOT commissions the University of Nebraska to study and rank the service of all the major domestic airlines, each year. For both 2004 and 2005 the top three rankings were JetBlue, AirTran and Southwest in that order. Example of a legacy airline is that Delta ranked 11th, both years, just ahead of their owned Comair. Also, the FAA rated AirTran as best of show in baggage handling among all domestics.

 

AirTran flies one of the youngest fleets in the US. All Boeing and averaging age of 3.5 yrs. They are generally profitable and expanding and still increasing market share.

 

I've been so impressed with this company, I just bought their stock today for the 5th time.

[PrincessMelody]

I'm sorry you had such an awful experience!! Sounds like they were very understaffed on Sunday. Oddly enough, we flew Airtran out of FLL the day before, on Saturday, and it was a breeze. There were plenty of people at the check-in counter, and everything went quite smoothly...despite the fact that it was VERY busy, and most all of the flights were full. Go figure.:rolleyes:

[Gonz]

I'm hoping that there was another CC member around that was there on Sunday, and can attest to what happened! Otherwise you all must just think I'm one of those a******s that isn't happy with anything!

 

It was only a step away from a full blow riot that day.

[sobore]

I know that FLL in general can be insane. I try to fly to PBI and commute from there.

[gizmo]

I have flown Air Tran with no problems.

 

It sounds like this was a bad day. I have experienced this type of thing more than once. It can happen with any airline.

 

Long lines ? I see them all the time for discount airlines. The lines for SouthWest in Ct. are unbelievable on a Friday.

 

As far as flights being full or overbooked this has become the norm. I fly to Ct. for business. Most of last year I had no problem. Late last year everything changed. Delta discontinued some flights. It is now a nightmare even getting booked on a flight. I have flown from Atlanta to Hartford 7 times since the 1st of the year. Each time the flight was over booked. There were lots of angry people hanging around the counter every flight that I took.

 

My expectations are now that my flight will be over booked.

 

I have one rule. I NEVER book a flight where I cannot choose my seat. This is a sign of overbooking.

[parody]

AirTran has come a long way since the time it was known as ValuJet. Some people, however, hold grudges for a long time--possibly too long. If you are interested in what someone said about them some 5 years ago, go to http://www.ityt.com/airtran/

[kelmac]

We always fly in early at least one day precruise, and fly out the next day post cruise. We always fly early mornings and try and make the "process" of travel as much fun as we can.:)

Flying in the day of the cruise can be very stressful, and heading from the cruise ship to wait at the airport is depressing.

If we don't have nine days, for a seven day cruise, we don't go.

[hdawson]

Gonz. By all means, file your complaint with the DOT. However, I'm not sure there is a catagory for your problems. Mostly the complaints that are used have to do with ontime takeoffs/landings, baggage handling, involuntary denied boardings, etc.

[parody]

By all means, file your complaint with the DOT. However, I'm not sure there is a catagory for your problems.

 

Complaints against an airline can be filed by email. Go to http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/problems.htm for instructions. Complaints against an airline will be categorized by one of the following: baggage, reservations/ticketing/boarding, consumer service, refunds, disability, oversales, fares, discrimination, advertising, or animals (a new category). In February 2006 only 8 complaints were filed against AirTran.

[hdawson]

Parody. At 600 flights a day, that small number of complaints is fantastic.

[parody]

To control for size of operation, I probably should have reported their normalized statistics. In February 2006, AirTran had 0.59 complaints per 100,000 enplanements. The industry average was 0.76 for the top 19 airlines reporting, so they had about 23% fewer complaints than average. Among familiar airlines, complaint statistics ranged from 0.15 for Frontier to 1.38 for US Airways.

[Gonz]

We always fly in early at least one day precruise, and fly out the next day post cruise. We always fly early mornings and try and make the "process" of travel as much fun as we can.:)

Flying in the day of the cruise can be very stressful, and heading from the cruise ship to wait at the airport is depressing.

If we don't have nine days, for a seven day cruise, we don't go.

 

I believe from here on out that's what we're going to do. We flew in the evening before the cruise and stayed at the Sheraton and it was completely stress free, in that I wasn't worried about making it to the ship. In the future I think we'll plan on flying out the following day so we can avoid the overcrowding that happens on Sundays.

 

Also, as far as the flights being overbooked, that is just normal these days, and wasn't really part of my complaint. I used that term full or overbooked to illustrate how many people were there trying to check it during that 3 hour timespan.

[kelmac]

I believe from here on out that's what we're going to do. We flew in the evening before the cruise and stayed at the Sheraton and it was completely stress free, in that I wasn't worried about making it to the ship. In the future I think we'll plan on flying out the following day so we can avoid the overcrowding that happens on Sundays.

 

Also, as far as the flights being overbooked, that is just normal these days, and wasn't really part of my complaint. I used that term full or overbooked to illustrate how many people were there trying to check it during that 3 hour timespan.

 

Gonz,

 

Monday mornings at FLL are completely different than the weekend afternoons. Early flights leave on time and the weather is usually much better. We always get a rental car after our cruise and head to a really nice restaurant for lunch; hotels are usually cheaper on Sunday nights as well. It took us many, many cruises to figure out this was the way to go!:rolleyes: :)

Enjoy!

Kel

[silentbob007]

I'd say, like others, you just caught them on a bad day. Perhaps they had some people call in sick, etc. I flew them to Miami in December and they were very accommodating for me. I was surprised that they didn't do pre-boards for infants (and so were the parents), but other than that ... no problems.

[betcat]

I always get the best deal from them. But if you want first class service go delta and pay first class price. But because my wife works for Air Tran we fly free and you cant beat that price.

[infoprof56]

I just had to add my two cents to this one. The most caring helpful airline employee I have ever encountered was an Airtran employee. I won't repeat the details but I will say this person went far beyond normal customer service and her duties to help my family during a family crisis. I am sure the op had a truly horrible experience as most have at one time or another who travel often enough, however, I for one do not think a single bad experience is a good indication of the overall quality of any business. I had a truly horrendous experience with Southwest on one trip but for the most part the problems were beyond their control and I have flown with them many other times without incident. I think we all have to accept that air travel is going to be difficult at best for the forseeable future and plan accordingly. If we want cheaper prices we have to accept the circumstances that come with them.