AIRTRAN AIRWAYS  Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  16 February 2010 : by R Kooth   (USA)

Had to purchase 3 tickets for family and I for a business trip, but due to company policy my flight was purchased through our company system and my wife and toddlers via the web. Now I find out that there are no advance seat reservations unless you pay a fee. Called customer service which was no help at all - basically unless I pay in advance, there is no guarantee that even the two seats purchased together for my wife and toddler will be together - they could be separated! The service rep acknowledged that yes their policy would separate a mother from her child if there were not two seats together at check-in. How insensitive can one company be?

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  12 February 2010 : by David Bernstein   (USA)

I've been a loyal Airtran customer for many years. Further, I've been using the Airtran Visa card for 5+ years, to the tune of more than $10,000 per month. What do I have to show for the 118 points I've presently accrued? Nothing but frustration. Finding flights with available reward seats is nearly impossible. Airtran only creates reward seats on their cheapest (sub $100) flights. Forget about their island destinations. Airtran never creates reward seats for Aruba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. I accrue points all year with the anticipation that my loyalty will be rewarded when our kids have their spring break vacation. Despite searching every day, months prior to spring break, Airtran has no seats to any island destination or cruise port in Florida. Perhaps Delta will provide better service for both my credit card expenditures and business travel.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  1 February 2010 : by B Henry   (USA)

SRQ-ATL-PHL return, B717s to/from SRQ, B737-700s to/from PHL. Paid $215 incl taxes & fees for economy - booking less than a week in advance and used reward points to upgrade. Kudos to the agents in SRQ - upon learning of an expected delay of at least an hour due to fog in ATL, they immediately sprung into action identifying all potential misconnects, then boarded to reassure each affected passenger they'd be rebooked in the event the expected delay materialized. As it turned out we took off in time to make our original connections.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  1 February 2010 : by R Muratovic   (USA)

LGA-ATL-TPA . First time on Airtran Airways and very satisfied. Seats roomy, and plenty of leg room. Flight left LGA on time, and arrived into Atlanta 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Only waited 45 minutes in Atlanta, and arrived Tampa on time. Completely satisfied.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  12 January 2010 : by A Ray   (USA)

A good airline except one problem - does not have enough space for even one within limits carry on bag in the overhead bins-if boarding in zone 4 or later. Passengers boarding in zone 1,2,3 are allowed to hog all the space -with coats / oversized bags etc. Had to give my carry on bag more than once for check in after boarding the aircraft - this is inconvenient.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  9 January 2010 : by M Howell   (USA)

Normally when a flight is delayed nearly 4 hours I would be incensed, but AirTran handled the delay better than I've come to expect from a US airline. When I arrived at the gate in Denver for my return flight to Atlanta, I found that the previous flight (scheduled to leave 3 hours earlier) was just now boarding and that my flight was to be delayed by the same amount, as our plane had not yet left Atlanta. They made an announcement that explained why the plane was late (a rarity for any airline) and offered every passenger a free flight voucher, an additional $25 off voucher, and a $15 meal voucher good at any restaurant in the airport. For a very small cost (to an airline) they were able to reap the goodwill and future business of many customers who would otherwise be writing a very different story on sites like this.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  17 November 2009 : by S Sutherland   (New Zealand)

As we had electronic ticket I approached the business counter as our automatic ticketing was difficult. The person suggested that for an extra $69 we could travel business class instead of economy and as we had 3 check in bags it made sense as it included them & we would also be able to have drinks included. It was a memorable flight from New York to Orlando and the staff were fantastic. Well worth the cost and I recommend to anyone to try this experience. We tried some other airlines including Delta from Orlando to San Francisco which was a totally different experience from check in to service/staff where we would consider the American public are getting a second class deal compared to your airline.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  15 November 2009 : by Karen McCullough   (USA)

I wanted to let you know what a wonderful experience we had traveling on Airtran. I am physically handicapped and my daughter is mentally handicapped. When we were getting ready to board flight 370 in Orlando on October 9, my daughter discovered she had lost her purse. She was quite distressed and crying because her birthday money and gift certificates were in it. The clerks taking tickets told us to step out of line and they would see what they could do to help us. I don't know how they did it but they found out Molly's purse was a few gates down where we had stopped to rest. An Airtran employee brought it down and gave it to her. We were upgraded to business class as a gift to Molly. Everyone from checkin to hosts and hostesses, pilots, people who wheeled me around and helped us through checkout were wonderful. I hope Airtran can continue on as I will always use them. I wish I could thank the two women working at the gate that day as they are wonderful representatives of your company.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  10 November 2009 : by N MacFarland   (USA)

AirTran seemed like a good deal when I bought the tickets. My wife and I found a reasonable rate for direct flights round-trip from LAX to BWI. We didn't realize they charged a six dollar fee per person, per flight just to reserve regular economy class seats next to each other! That's right, if you fly AirTran and you actually want to sit with your family you have to shell out extra money! And that's not to mention $15 baggage fees for each person in the family ($25 fees for the second bag) - there's another $60 down the drain. All in all, I was thoroughly dissatisfied and will never fly AirTran again.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  28 October 2009 : by R Cochran   (USA)

PWM-ATL-MCO, Economy. My family of 5 traveled from Portland, Maine to Orlando, Fl (with a stop in Atlanta) and had a very pleasant experience. We had originally been booked on a flight from Portland to Baltimore, but that plane was going to be delayed due to a mechanical problem. Airtran contacted us early in the day to let us know that they could switch us to an earlier flight with a connection in Atlanta. They even got us 5 seats together! The check-in was very easy and all of the Flight Attendants were very pleasant. Our flight left Portland early, left Atlanta on time and arrived in Orlando early. Our return trip was just as pleasant. The only thing that I don't care for with this airline is that you have to pay for your baggage. Also, one of our bags was damaged on the way to Orlando and the attendant at the Orlando airport said that it must have been a manufacturer defect and that Airtran was not responsible. Despite this, we will fly with Airtran again in the future.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  13 October 2009 : by L Spatz   (USA)

LAX-Milwaukee round trip, economy. I had a very pleasant experience both ways. The cabin and restroom were clean and crew efficient and courteous. Both departures and arrivals were on time. The seats were a bit cramped and they served complimentary non alcoholic beverages and pretzels or cookies. This is an economy airline so expectations should keep that in mind. My seat didn't recline as much as it was supposed to but, all in all, I was very pleased with the flights and would definitely fly AirTran again.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  28 September 2009 : by B Henry   (USA)

SRQ-ATL-STL Business, STL-MKE Economy and MDW-SRQ Business, all on Boeing 717s. With excellent fares for those who plan ahead (this trip's total economy fare $288pp including taxes and fees) plus relatively easy upgrades to Business Class using points from their frequent flyer program, we find AirTran to be a better value and more pleasant than the legacy carriers. Very friendly cabin crews. Would have scored this trip a 10 except that no XM Radio headsets were available on 3 out of 4 flights. Sign up for their e-mail fare sale notices - they've been pretty frequent this year.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  24 August 2009 : by D Holmes   (USA)

MKE-SFO Business Class Boeing 737. Business Class upgrade (for $100) was worth every penny! Priority boarding smooth and moment I sat down I was offered a drink. Big wide leather seat had a 36" seat pitch. No meals on this flight, but free snacks (Chips, Milano Cookies, etc) were offered.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  18 August 2009 : by D Holmes   (USA)

SFO-MKE Economy Boeing 737. Took the red-eye flight to Milwaukee. Will never take an AirTran "red-eye" again! I tried to sleep the whole flight and wound up sleeping 15 minutes leaving the plane with a throbbing headache. The seat was narrow and had a laughable recline. Flight attendants nice, but seemed new to the job and a little unprofessional. No pillows or blankets. Food was a small bag of yummy pretzels. Overall, AirTran is a good airline, their seats just aren't made for sleeping.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  18 August 2009 : by J Riddle   (USA)

White Plains-San Francisco round trip. Flew economy exit rows out, upgraded to Business Class back. All in all a good experience, flights out right on time with no surprises. It's worth the extra $20 per person to get exit row seats as we had a ton of extra legroom. Drink and small snack service only offered, the website states that snack boxes are available but these were not offered. Business class on way back very nice, seats themselves among the most comfortable I've sat in in a standard domestic premium cabin. (I believe the Boeing 737 seats are the same as Midwest Airlines signature service seats), only with more legroom). We sat in first row both legs, watch seats 1A and 1D on the 737's as legroom is a bit tight. The 717 plane seems to have more legroom in the front row. Only thing keeping this from a perfect 10 experience was the Atlanta- White Plains flight was delayed 2 hours due to a electrical malfunction. We were kept reasonably well informed, however. All in all a good experience, and you can't beat those reasonable upgrades!

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  9 August 2009 : by Yvonne Zaken

LAX-MKE-LAX coach/economy - a good experience on AirTran. Departure and arrival was on time. The cabin was clean and crew was efficient. Two rounds of drinks on each flight and free headphones for the XM satellite radio. It felt a bit tight with the seating, but that seems to be a common characteristic of most airlines these days.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  14 July 2009 : by Adam Blauch

PBI-ATL-MDT return. Boeing 717 all 4 flights. Outbound flights were on time (arriving early) and very friendly crews. But planes were filthy, including in Biz class. Seats were tight in coach. Upgraded to Biz on 2nd leg and seat was not comfortable and wouldn't stay in place when trying to recline. Return segments, upgraded both segments. First leg had leather seating in Biz and seat was very comfortable. Second segment had cloth seats and not comfortable and this seat also would not stay in place. Overall very friendly crews and staff and easy to use site and check in, but tight seats and filth leave me to pass this airline on future flights.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  14 July 2009 : by Charles Strad

RIC-ATL. AirTran was a real lifesaver when another airline cancelled our tickets without giving us refunds. Because there weren't many passengers at Richmond that day, AirTran was able to get us on a last-minute flight, at a much lower price. The flight was smooth and we landed at Atlanta 15 minutes earlier than our estimated arrival time. Free earbuds were provided for the XM Satellite radio. The crew service was impeccable and the lavatories were exceptionally clean. The cabin was furnished good and there was much legroom. I would recommend AirTran over other US domestic airlines.

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS customer review :  29 June 2009 : by A Morgan

On June 9, I was a passenger on a flight departing from Florida at 6:20 AM. I arrived to find a long security line, and I was the last person on the plane. Much to my dismay, as I sat down in my seat, I realized I had left my handbag in security. I was on my way to Chicago for a business trip, and all my cash, insurance/credit cards, electronics, and portfolio were in that bag. The flight attendant notified the pilot, who listened to my story, even though he had already closed the door and was on a tight schedule to get underway. He told me he was going to push off the gate, and that personnel would try to retrieve my bag. He and his crew radioed to airport security, and shortly, someone brought my bag to the plane. They had to pass it through the pilot's window since the door was not allowed to be open. I am so appreciative of the pilot, crew, and airport staff. They certainly didn't have to go to such great lengths in order to retrieve my bag, but they did, and this made all the difference in my trip and experience. To AirTran, thank you for hiring and staffing such considerate flight crews. Kindness is truly a great business standard, and I commend you for preserving this quality.