I am going to WDW in October and flying Air Tran for the first time. Has anybody else flown the airline and what did you think, have always flown US Air before. Also is it worth doing the flight check-in at the resort or should we wait until we get to the airport, my seats are preassigned? Thanks for any help.

I used to fly them a lot a few years ago between DC and boston. I never had any issues with them, though its certainly a no frill airline, but given the quality of the large non value airlines these days, I have to say I prefered flying Airtran. I found their personnel were pretty uniformly good across the board in sharp contrast to recent dealings with some other companies (I'm talking to you USAir and United...).

If you CAN use the resort check in, I recommend it. Then you don't have to deal with your luggage on the bus - and you can go straight to the security line. I believe, though, that AirTran was one that they kept having issues with interfacing with the airline's computer, so don't be shocked if you can't use the resort check in for them.

Hmmm, where do I start? We have used them for 3 round trips to Orlando. They have changed the time of EVERY flight we have booked. They have changed one from non-stop to lay over (we switched flights). Evey flight to Orlando from Philly was over-booked, leading to lots of screaming and crying. When we switched flights (above) their csr cancelled both flights, so I had to re-book, and it took them forever to credit my Visa back for the flight they cancelled in error.
They are very no frills, a bag of pretzels and a drink (not even the whole can of soda, mind you) is all you will get. Planes are small, but relatively new. Oh, and in case you didn't know, their name used to Value Jet...think back...crash into the swamps.
We fly Southwest now.
The moral of this story...you get what you pay for.
And yes, if you are still going to use Air Tran, do the check in at the resort. The check in at MCO is PAINFUL.

I've used Airtran several times flying out of Dallas to Orlando, and have never had a problem. Their planes are new, and feature XM satellite radio. You can bring your own headphones or use a pair of their cheapie ones (I don't remember if they sell them or give them to you). They have an excellent frequent flyer program that works well with bonus points off of my American Express card. I can usually get a free round trip to WDW a year. And they have great rates - usually $89 one way between Dallas and Orlando.

I've never had any problem with them, booking, flying, baggage or otherwise. Good luck!

thank you all for the help. i tend to worry about all the little details.

I flew Airtran last summer, Baltimore to Milwaukee (yes, I paid to go to Wisconsin :p) and also had the experience that the flight I booked was in the middle of the day and non stop. About 6 weeks before the flight they changed my 2 hour flight from non stop to a crazy, Baltimore to Atlanta :confused: with a 3 hour layover then Atlanta to Milwaukee. It would have turned a 2 hour flight to an all day thing.

To be fair, they gave us the option of a full refund or any other flight that day. The only non stops of the day were very early in the morning or very late at night so we picked one that left at 6am.

Then, at the check in counter, we arrived in plenty of time but the line wasn't moving at all. About 20 mins before boarding, they figured out that people were going to miss their flights, so they pulled all the Milwaukee travelers out and processed us first, we had to RUN to the gate and just barely made it. They seemed inefficient and disorganized.

The flight and service was fine and the rate was really, really, great.

I have flown Airtran from VA to NY and back...no problems. Would do it again. However, I am flying Southwest to WDW. The fare was the same price, but they have 3 non stop flights a day each way compared to Airtran's one a day and it was cheaper flying Sat to Sat with Southwest. Just booked my flight on Thursday and it was 472.50 for 3of us...WoooHooo!!!

Good luck!

Oh, one of my best friends is a senior pilot for AirTran, so I hesitate to even say this, but the last trip from MSP (Minneapolis/St. Paul) to MCO was ROUGH.

Like someone else said above, my non-stop was changed 3 times. First from a non-stop to a gas-n-go at Midway (Chicago). That didn't add a ton of time to my trip, so I was ok with that. THEN they changed it again. This time to a 6 hour layover in ATL. I called the airline directly and threw a bit of a fit (quite unlady-like, I must admit:(). They changed it to a 90 minute layover in ATL. I could live with that, but it was VERY, VERY stressful.

When we got to ATL, they said to go to Concourse D (we deplaned in Concourse C). No problem. Got there, settled in, then they made an announcement of a gate change for our flight. Where to? BACK TO THE SAME PLANE, SAME GATE! What?? Not a biggie since I was travelling with a pre-teen, but heaven help those people with several little tykes.

However, to balance the story, the flights themselves were fine; employees were friendly. Resort Airline Service was WONDERFUL! I went to the front desk the day before to print the boarding pass. When I got to the RAC, they said I shouldn't have done that and that it may effect whether they could check me in or not. All was ok. I don't know WHY it makes a difference, but just so you know.

When we got to MCO, yes, they had overbooked. By A LOT. I think it was 20-something seats. People were crying, yelling. It got nasty.....

Slightly OT from Airtan - I used to fly ATA a lot, from Dallas to New York by way of Chicago Midway. They had a really bad habit of canceling the leg from Chicago to New York, but you wouldn't know about it till you hit Chicago. So there you are, in a fairly boring, smallish airport, waiting 5 or 6 hours for the next flight to NY, knowing that you were still going to have to accomplish the same amount of work in half the time when you got there. Not cool at all!

My flights from Dallas to Orlando on Airtran are non-stop, which is why I guess I haven't had any problems.

We flew Airtran a couple of years ago, and it went OK. We were doing our trip in three "legs," to stop and visit family members; Philly to Orlando, Orlando to Charlotte, Charlotte back to Philly. Southwest does not fly out of Charlotte, so Airtran was really our only affordable option. Our flights were all on time, but we had a bit of a dash, with two young kids, in Atlanta, between flights, but, to my surprise, our luggage made the transfer. Basically, I think of most air travel these days as a flying bus. For a relatively short jaunt of a couple of hours, I don't expect much.

thank you all for the info. i went back to travel agent and they haven't heard of many problems. i am flying out very early and back is one of the latest flights so hopefully all will go well.

We flew Airtran for the first time this past August. We went from Philly to Orlando, non-stop, and the trip down was terrific. We had coach tickets, but the lady at the counter offered us an upgrade to first-class for an extra $30 so we went with that -- lots of room, great flight, flight attendant was awesome. On the return however, we again upgraded to first class (paying $60 extra each) but the attendant was horribly rude and was obviously having a bad day (and wasn't shy about sharing that with passengers). The flight itself was good though, not rough, on time and all that. The only downside was the attendant, but I think that was jusy because he was really in a bad mood/having personal issues.

I preferred it hands down to Southwest though -- we've had not the best experience on Southwest leaving Philly or Orlando -- to the point of not considering SW now.

Since you mention booking through a travel agent, this may not apply to you, but for anyone booking through Disney travel (phone or website), there's an issue between AirTran and Disney that may impact you. We flew AirTran last May from Baltimore to Orlando. We booked the trip through the Disney website. Although you can use the Magical Express luggage check-in service at a Disney resort for your return flight, there are issues getting seat assignments. AirTran's policy (just like Southwest) is that you can go on-line 24 hours before your flight and select your seats. You need a confirmation number to do that. Unforturnately, the confirmation number flags you as a having booked through Disney, so you're not eligible for advance seat assignments. When I discovered this 24 hours prior to our flight, I called AirTran, and got transfered to increasingly less helpful people. Then I called Disney travel, and was told that since they have some contractual issue with AirTran, you have to get your seat assignment at the airport. When we arrived at the airport the next morning (very, very early, which made no difference at all), we (my wife and two young sons) were assigned to the back row of seats. The boys (6 and 7) had been so excited about their first flight, and wanted to look out the window. We had seats that (1) didn't recline, (2) had no window, (3) were directly outside of the bathroom, and (4) were next to the engine (you can imagine the noise). The AirTran staff at Baltimore was rude, and didn't try to help at all. On the return trip, we were assigned the exact same seats. This time, the AirTran staff in Orlando went out of thier way to help us, and we were able to move. I could understand such bad seat assignments if we were last minute customers, but we had booked this trip many months in advance, and simply because we booked through Disney we were treated like 2nd class citizens. This may have changed in the last year, but I'd be aware that it may still be an issue.

AirTran's policy (just like Southwest) is that you can go on-line 24 hours before your flight and select your seats.

No longer. I don't know when they changed, but the policy now is that you can book your seat when you book your flight. They do charge for the better seats, though. I think it's $6 for the average seat and $10 for the prime seats like the exit rows. If you want one of the crappy front or back row seats, there's no charge. I'm not wild about having to pay this fee, but at least it's better than waiting till the airport and hoping you get lucky.


We had seats that (1) didn't recline, (2) had no window, (3) were directly outside of the bathroom, and (4) were next to the engine (you can imagine the noise).

I got put in the window seat in this row one time (not on Airtran), and just about couldn't stand it! I'm claustrophobic, but I'm just fine if I can look out the window. But not in this seat - one of the longest 90 minute flights of my life!!!

Booking through AAA was a help as I did not pay for my seat assignments and have them in hand for both flights. I'm hoping they are decent as we are in row 11 which is towards the front of the plane before the wing. I'm also hoping I have avoided some of the other issues as we are leaving very early going down and taking a late flight to come home. I will keep all posted when we get home in October.

If you are going from USAir to Airtran flying out of Philly, you will have a much better experience in my opinion. USAir has a HUB in Philly, and is ALWAYS short staffed - late flights - ticked off people - it's always a mess with them.

It's good taking the early morning flight; this usually means that your aircraft actually arrived in Philly the night before and will be ready to go on time. You said you have your seats already, but I would suggest going online 24hrs before your flight and printing out your boarding passes. This way, you can go right to the Airtran curbside check in and avoid the counter lines to check your baggage (Philly still has skycap baggage check in). Then go right up the stairs to the TSA line and down to your gate. I also believe you can check in for Magical Express at curbside.

On return, I usually go to the resort desk the day we fly home and once again get the boarding passes printed out. If you are doing Magical Express however, you MUST wait in their LONG LONG separate check in line...it's a Disney thing that they couldn't explain to me. At the airport (MCO) you will have to carry your bags to the counter (or get a skycap to) to check them in, then carry them to the TSA. Their system is not as passenger friendly as in Philly. (wow did I really say that?) :fez:

Just heard on the news this morning. ATA went out of business. If you bought your tickets by credit card contact your credit card company. If you bought your tickets by check or cash you are out of luck. ATA lost a government contract and due to rising gas prices drove the out of business. I really feel for people who are vacation and have to try and get home or the ones who bought tickets. Remeber always purchase your tickets by credit card.

Is ATA "Air Tran Airlines", or is a different company?

Is ATA "Air Tran Airlines", or is a different company?

ATA and AIR TRAN are two separate airlines.

Along the same lines... it really sucks when you see a decent airline who has been around for quite a while close its doors like this. Aloha Airlines just closed their doors as well - after 60 years of service. Ive got other thoughts on this but I might save them for a blogging session.

No surprise that ATA went under. They were pretty flaky, and their service was horrible!

Scared me for a minute there, as I fly on Airtran tomorrow, and I just wasn't reading close enough!

When I first heard it on the radio the announcer said Air Tran. Then when I got to the doctors office they said ATA( America Trans Air). Sorry I messed up. I know Southwest is stable but it does make one wonder which airline will go next?