AIRTRAN AIRWAYS  Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  16 June 2009 : by Aubrey Andrews

This is the second time I have flown Airtran. I flew the first time last August from Indianapolis to Las Vegas because we found our flights for $150 round trip, about $100 less than any other airline. This time I flew from Indianapolis to Orlando and had a very pleasant experience. The flight was $58 each way for a total of $130 after taxes. I use the online check in that they provide within 24 hours of your flight. I did not have access to a printer for either flight, but you can still check in and then when you get to the airport all you have to do is go to the kiosk and print your boarding pass. There was no wait to get to the kiosk so you just print and go to your gate. The flight out took off right on time and we actually arrived in Orlando about 15 minutes early. On my returning flight, I had picked an early departure of 7:35 and I missed it, I actually arrived at the airport at 7:35. So I went to the counter and the attendant asked no questions and immediately put me on the next nonstop flight back to Indianapolis that was leaving in only 2 hours, so I didn't have to wait at the airport all day for a flight. I had my 7-year-old daughter with me on the way back and she was able to put us together on the flight. This gave us time to do a little last minute shopping at the airport and have some breakfast before we had to board the plane. Then I noticed that we were in Zone 1 (first to board), and was surprised since we were a last minute add-on to the flight. I also noticed that our seat numbers were 2D and 2F. At first I thought that there would be someone sitting between us and I explained that to my daughter so that she would be prepared for it. We were the first ones on the plane, and it turns out that row 2 is business class. So we got huge plush seats, a neat little tray that folds out of the armrest, plenty of elbow room, drinks free, and a little special treatment from the flight attendants. No flight delays, no problems with carrying on our luggage, great prices and customer service.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  14 June 2009 : by C Cleaver

I have flown AirTran several times a year for the past several years, mostly between Atlanta and Orlando, and I have come to expect departure delays. But this time, they left early! at least according to the web site, which declared a flight delay and estimated departure time of an hour after the original time. I almost missed the flight. The crew was pulled from the cafeteria, a bit flustered, and the captain announced we'd be taking off shortly - he didn't know if we were on time or not, because he just got "dragged onto the flight." I have to admire Air Tran's initiative to accommodate the passengers who didn't check the web site or arrange their rides based upon its pronouncements - but what good is a web site one cannot rely upon?

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  20 May 2009 : by Bill Atkins

PHL-ATL. First time with them and fairly impressed. Website straightforward, online check-in good. Delayed departure and no information given before flight. Staff friendly and quite an enjoyable experience - certainly better than many legacy carriers in the U.S.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  24 April 2009 : by D Woodruff

ATL-SFO-ATL Business Class. Outbound, no wait in the Business Class line, quick check in, and they've finally stopped charging for the second checked bag for Business Class passengers, so no added fees. Quick clearance through the premium passenger security line and off to the gate. Knowing that there's no food service (even in Business Class and even on a transcon flight), I bought a sandwich to eat when it got to be lunchtime. Boarded a newer 737 quickly and easily, no problem with space in the overheads and settled in. Seating on 737 in Business Class is 2-2 and the seats have same width and pitch as in domestic first class on the legacies. Was provided with a free headset for XM radio and offered a pre-flight drink. Good selection of cocktails and soft drinks, plus some nice cocktails. On time departure and early arrival - drinks replenished often and great selection of snacks offered from a basket. My only issue on these flights was the location of the controls for the XM radio: in the armrest just at elbow level. I kept changing the station accidentally by bumping the controls with my elbow. On arrival at SF, luggage started coming out within 15 minutes and my luggage out a few minutes later. Was on the BART train less than an hour after landing, which always indicates to me that it was an efficient arrival. Return flight was an afternoon flight - again no one in line at check in for Biz Class, quick walk through security and then purchased a sandwich for dinnertime on the way. Again, quick and easy boarding on a newer 737, plenty of overhead space and offered a pre-departure drink - this time got a cocktail: was handed a glass of ice, a bottle of gin and can of tonic. Very nice to be able to mix my own and actually have two weaker drinks before takeoff. Again, handed a headset for XM radio. After take off, more drink service. Again, attentive service and the nice mix of complimentary snacks. On time departure and on time arrival - about 40 minutes for luggage to start arriving, but mine came out almost immediately (the clerk at SFO had put priority tags on the luggage - that had not happened in ATL on the outbound) and I was in my car on the way home about an hour after the plane landed - again, the sign, to me, of an efficient arrival. All in all a very nice flight experience.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  23 February 2009 : by R Glazer

After all the asinine service fees for booking the flight, they offer you the chance to save on a seat booking fee if you choose your seats online rather than have the service assistant do it for you. Once you go to do this online, you will be hit with yet another fee, albeit slightly less, for seat booking. Plan on about an extra $50-100 in ticketing fees before all is said and done. We had many problems with the booking assistant - losing a voucher we had from a previously canceled flight, misspelling of passenger names (just to confuse things for us at the airport), and lying about the seat booking fee (she said we had to, and we didn't know we could do it at the airport free).

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  17 February 2009 : by S Oliveri

MSY-ATL on an older B717 in Y. Cabin very dirty, armrests hanging off the hinges, and in my row, only one seat had a functioning XM radio system. Seats not that comfortable, thankfully, flight wasn't full. Trash in seat back pockets. Flight down to MSY was better, in C class, full flight, several rounds of beverages and nice crew, although XM did not work on my seat on that one, as well. I fly AirTran only when I have to - otherwise, it's DL for me.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  19 January 2009 : by N Ster

SFO to ATL and ATL to EWR. I was more than a little nervous since we were travelling with a two-year old and quite a bit of luggage (it was part of an international itinerary). But we need not have worried. The aircraft was roomy and the seats comfortable. The crew was amazing - some of them very thoughtfully checking on the toddler and trying to keep her amused (this is something you don't see even on full-frill airlines). SFO-ATL was absolutely amazing- it was a long flight and they gave us enough to eat and drink as well as arriving almost an hour early. When you consider that I paid only 120 dollars per seat (booked 4 months in advance) it was worth every penny and more. The flight to Newark was delayed by 3 hours+ because of inclement weather - and because Delta and other airlines got preference, they kept shunting our aircraft to the back of the queue, so eventually the pilot gave up and taxied back to the boarding gate, where we got off and grabbed some dinner. Am a frequent enough flyer to realise that these kind of things happen and luckily the child was pretty serene through it all, so no harm done. I would travel AirTran again - they are much better than United (domestic) at least, though haven't flown too many other airlines in the US.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  14 January 2009 : by S McConnell

DCA-MCO roundtrip, down on Christmas Day and return on New Years Day. Great flights, terrific service. I haven't been disappointed on AirTran ever since my USAir flight was cancelled one foggy morning - found Airtran still flying out that day and was very impressed by their professionalism and customer care.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  13 January 2009 : by J Gruenloh

Excellent price and average service. TPA-ATL-MKE. Both flights on time. No video on planes, but XM is free and headsets are provided free. Near no employee contact if booked/checkin online. While I appreciate the efficiency, I cant help but feel like a UPC symbol. Barely looking up to say hello and scanning my boarding paper printed online.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  15 November 2008 : by Matt Tallis

BOS to CLT via BWI last weekend and was impressed with the courteous service offered by all staff members from check in agents to flight crew. Both flights an hour but was offered free soft drinks and no chage to check my bag which is always welcome. On the flight to BWi, the B717 was showing its age as the window panels were popping out of its socket. Both flights on-time and for the price paid, definite value for money.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review :  15 November 2008 : by A Ben

Recently my traveling companion and I arrived late for a flight and were told we "may be separated" from our baggage. When we arrived at our destination, our luggage was not there. We figured we had a 50/50 chance, but later found out we had agreed to a "voluntary separation" (no chance!)- -no one ever used those words. We missed the wedding we were traveling for, but none of this is why I'm angry. It's the lack of customer service and the fact that my luggage has been damaged (they must have left it out in the rain.) We were never told any information that we should have been told while in our destination city, in fact someone in Customer Service said it would be ok if I called Customer Relations the next day (when I returned home.) They were of no help. I sent a certified detailed letter to SVP Customer Relations and AirTran President and received a response from a low level associate who seemingly did not read my letter and a $25 AirTran certificate. I understand their lack of customer focus is typical, but it's still sad they run this company this way.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 12 November 2008 : by Jim Moore

Customer Rating : 3/5

HOU-ATL return. The departure from Houston was a little behind but made up the time and landed on time. The planes were clean and attendants were nice. Only complaint was the one hour wait for luggage upon returning to Houston. Appears there was a communication error about the weight of some of the items that Houston was not prepared for. All Airtran staff was polite.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 27 October 2008 : by N Roeters

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flew Seattle to Orlando ($266 return) and was pleasantly surprised. SEA-ATL was 30 minutes early and on a newer 737. Smaller 717 on ATL-MCO flight not as spacious but certainly bearable for a one-hour flight. Pilots informative but not overbearing as mentioned by another reviewer. Check-in agent assigned exit row seats on both legs of return trip without any prompting from me. Very nice! Was glad to see one of the very friendly FA's from the way down on the flight home to Seattle too. Would definitely fly AirTran again.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 27 October 2008 : by Thorkild Lykke

Customer Rating : 4/5

Ft Lauderdale to Baltimore in business class. I was a bit hesitant to book this flight due the reviews on this site but it was the only direct connection so I thought I would risk it. Suprise: Everything was good. Checkin at 8 am was prompt and helpful staff. Boarding started 30 minutes before departure and we left the gate before time and arrived ahead of time in BWI. Cabin attendants were great and continued to ask if we wanted more drinks or snacks throughout the trip. The only negative point was a slow baggage delivery in BWI. After 25 minutes after arrival they announced it would be another 10 minutes as ground staff had to deal with connecting baggage first but then the bags came only 2 minutes later. I would risk it again and flight AirTran again.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 3 October 2008 : by D Parkinen

Customer Rating : 3/5

TPA-SEA-TPA via ATL. I chose the upgrade in both directions at $149.00. Service on the short flights from Tampa to Atlanta and back very good. Friendly flight attendants, non-stop cocktails, and great service. However on both of the longer flights from Atlanta to Seattle, things sure do change. Flight attendants not friendly, almost snapping at you if you ask for another drink. It seems they do not like to do long haul and only short haul. Also, the bulkhead seat in business class is very cramped - avoid these seats if you are over 6 feet tall like myself. I had to sit sideways to fit. Overall, no frills is no service. I would not pay to fly business class on this airline, however the gate upgrades are worth it.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 1 October 2008 : by Mark Ackery

Customer Rating : 4/5

Dayton-Orlando-Dayton on AirTran. Their upgrade fee is great and a welcome change from the bigger carriers. The flights were all on time and all cabin crew were courteous and very helpful to me. I would fly AirTran again in a heartbeat.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 25 September 2008 : by Saketh Ram

Customer Rating : 1/5

Absolutely terrible. Scheduled to travel IAH-LGA via ATL and MIA-IAH return. Due to Hurricane Ike in Houston, getting to airport was very difficult and got to airport 30 min before departure. Air Tran wouldnt let me check in and said I would "never" make it through security. Not one person in line and would have easily made the flight but staff would not budge. No flight left for the rest of day so I walked to Delta counter and bought a walk up ticket with cost a small fortune. Return flight from Miami boarded 40 minutes for departure, arrived 30 min before the flight at gate and agent said I was the last one on the plane! Best part is for on time departure in MIA, waited 30 min on ground in ATL for a gate. Ground staff totally rude and flight attendants rude and surly. Worst customer service I have seen in US,

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 13 August 2008 : by D Bailey

Customer Rating : 1/5

Dulles to Orlando. Identical experience as Steve Gibbs below. Got to airport over 2 hours before flight, and still didn't make the flight because AirTran couldn't get our baggage checked in less than 2 hours. Unbelievable. Only line in the entire terminal was check-in at the AirTran counter, so clearly most other airlines have figured out this component of air travel. Person just in front of us was next in line when they closed the flight. He protested and pointed out that Air Tran claims that you need to get to the airport an hour before your flight & that he had been in line for over 2 hours. The AirTran lady behind the counter actually corrected him, saying, "No, you have to be at THIS counter one hour before your flight." Remarkable. Guess it was lost on her that she (and AirTran staffing) was the reason he couldn't get to the counter inside of 2 hours. Seems AirTran isn't any better at recognizing comic irony than they are at checking in customers. As with Mr. Gibbs, we were put on Standby for a flight many hours later. No thanks - instead got tickets on TED, got checked in quickly/easily by them, and were on our way. No more AirTran for us.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 22 July 2008 : by Charles Smith

Customer Rating : 2/5

ATL to Niagra Falls, NY to ATL. The trip is about what I have become to expect from Air Tran, slow service from agents that really don't care if you fly or not. I printed out my boarding pass on- line, but it still takes a hour just to check one bag. The plane back from NY to ATL had to be left over from the first purchase ever. It was old, dirty and torn up. The guy in the seat next to me saw an allen head bolt work loose on the engine housing during the course of the flight and told the flight attendant, who did not care. I guess air travel is just going to be miserable from here on out.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 16 July 2008 : by Steve Gibbs

Customer Rating : 1/5

BWI-DAY. Truly appalling experience. A 1¾-hour wait to check in meant we - and many others - missed the necessary 45-minute "luggage deadline" and thus the 10.25am flight was closed to us. We were told we would be booked on the much later afternoon flight, only to be informed at the departure gate several hours later we were actually assigned as standby passengers only. That flight was oversold, as was the 9pm flight - leaving us with no chance of getting back. From morning until early evening (when we eventually rented a car and drove 500 miles back) NO-one apologized, NO-one from AirTran offered help or assistance. Despite being lied to, our arguments were glossed over or met with glassy-eyed stares representing "why would we care?". The manager/supervisor actually REFUSED to come down and talk to ANY of the passengers about the problems, and went as far as ordering that staff should not give his/her name to any customer requesting it. At one point a gate agent, frustrated with the flak he was getting, shouted out "I've had enough of this, I'm leaving, someone call security" which seemed to somehow define the entire AirTran BWI set-up. I wouldn't recommend AirTran to my worst enemy.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 19 June 2008 : by Cristiano Miro

Customer Rating : 3/5

FLL-BWI $165.00 return including fees and taxes on the dates and times I wanted. Staff the typical mediocre american service, but professional and pleasant enough. Planes both ways new. Flight on- time both ways. Pilot informative without being over-bearing. When checking in online 24 hours prior to my outbound flight, I were given a window-bulkhead seat. It is as good as it gets nowadays on a US airline in coach.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 4 June 2008 : by J Williams

Customer Rating : 4/5

AirTran from Richmond Va (through Atlanta) to Phoenix AZ for the second time. I'm 6'5" tall/235 lbs. Bought a "business class" seat - worth the extra $. Cheerful, competent cabin service; friendly service crew; comfortable, clean aircraft and unlike my experience in "first class" to the same destination on United last year, my luggage arrived when I did.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 31 May 2008 : by T Samples

Customer Rating : 3/5

The flights we took 5/19 and 5/27 were fine with one exception. I have a fear of using the restrooms on airplanes, as I was stuck in a restroom on a US Air flight many years ago. Our flight 707 from Las Vegas to Dayton with layovers in Milwaukee and Atlanta had been delayed leaving Las Vegas, which was not a problem. We arrived in Milwaukee, and didn't have a lay over since we were late. I needed to use the restroom and flight attendant jumped down my throat when I requested to run to the restroom in the airport - according to her we would be leading the next group of passengers in 2 minutes. She would not let me explain why I needed to leave the plane for a few minutes. Approx. 30 minutes later after the cleaning crew etc had gone through the plane we finally loaded. She was not only rude to me, but to other passengers as well during this flight. This is the first time in 30 years of flying I have witnessed such a nasty flight attendant. I work with the public for the Government and I have to deal with a number of personalities, if I ever responded to a customer in this manner I would no longer have a job.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 19 May 2008 : by S Schwarz

Customer Rating : 5/5

IAD-MCO, the service was very friendly, planes neat and on time. With taxes and all possible fees, three tickets cost US$300 roundtrip. We will be definitely flying with them again, you can't beat the value.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS review : 30 April 2008 : by P Clark

Customer Rating : 5/5

Denver to Atlanta. Long line at check-in. Desk personnel remained pleasant and efficient and managed to get everyone's luggage tagged and remained in communications with AirTran baggage, while reassuring all of us in line. In addition, AirTran continued to communicate re: number of people trying to get through security and run to the gate. They managed to get everyone onboard before take-off time. Easy to upgrade to business class at the gate if desired. Have been using this airline for about 10 years.

AirTran Airways review  - by A Levit

16 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

BWI-ATL. I was very pleased with my first Airtran experience. I like the fact that their planes are newer, and were comfortable. The Stewardesses were very friendly, and the service was fine.

AirTran Airways review  - by Carolyn Verhage

16 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

My husband and I (and my daughters and their families) have flown AirTran repeatedly over the last few years to and from Milwaukee and Florida, sometimes non-stop or usually with hops through Atlanta. Two recent trips during this year's very wintery weather exemplified your excellent service: in December, 2007 when we were returning from Tampa to Milwaukee when there was very bad weather up north. When checking in at Tampa, the AirTran desk manager absolutely refused to let us fly into Atlanta because of the likelihood that we would not be able to get a flight on to Milwaukee. She simply insisted (very cordially) that we take advantage of a shuttle to a nearby gulf-side hotel resort offered at a significantly discounted rate that day & night and guaranteed she would get us on the first flight the next morning and safely back to Milwaukee. We had a lovely day at the Tampa resort and flew out the next morning to Milwaukee thanks to her wisdom. The second example was in February, 2008, when my daughter and family were flying back from Milwaukee to Tampa. Again bad weather was hampering flights: my son-in-law was flying back to Tampa a day ahead of his family, but when my daughter called to inquire on the likelihood of his plane getting off, the AirTran agent suggest delaying his flight (at no cost) so he could fly the next day safely with the family, which again happened successfully. The only problems we have encountered are some delays, but if circumstances indicate difficulty catching our connecting flights, satisfactory arrangements have been offered by very cooperative agents and once a smashed piece of luggage. The online check- in process is great and the AirTran Rewards program has provided us with several upgrades for our daughters travelling with babies. The coach seats aren't bad; I even travelled 2 months after a knee replacement and was quite comfortable as long as I sat in an aisle seat. Flight prices are very reasonable and have allowed us to fly frequently to see our daughter and her family.