Has anyone ever flown them? I am trying to go to NYC for Spring Break and found it as low as $74 one way, and I know they're part of Delta, but how sketchy is it?

Just curious. They have some insane deals, like one way to LA for $139, but thats if you like, don't make ANY changes to your travel plans and wait to choose your seats until check in. All the flights only have one stop, since they're centered in Atlanta, so it's pretty decent.

12/22/2005 12:46:32 AM

I've flown airtran once or twice. If you can get over the fact that they were once valujet (famous for the exploding MD-80 over the everglades several years back), it's not that bad. Definitely a low-fare carrier, but I'd be fine with flying with them again.

12/22/2005 12:52:11 AM

Air Tran is the Ex Value jet that was maked by many crashes. That being said all the old jetrs are gone and they run a brand new fleet of 717's and 737. The flights are not bad for the price, their gate agents and some of their flight attends SUCK and will giv eyou the attitude as if you were buying a large mac with fires.

alot of the good flight attendents and pilots who work for them live in Raleigh as they are all ex Midway Airlines employees. If you wre looking for a safe, clean, quite flight this is a great airline, just don't anticipate a very helpful attitude from most of their staff.

12/22/2005 12:55:07 AM

It's fine. I've flown AirTran multiple times.

12/22/2005 12:57:25 AM

Quote :

"(famous for the exploding MD-80 over the everglades several years back), "

It was a DC-9 and it all honest it wasnt their fault. There was a oxygen cansiter not labled as such buy the owner so Air Tran had no idea what it was. It caught fire in the cargo bin, not like the plane had a fuel leak or something

12/22/2005 12:57:35 AM

i flew them to ft. lauderdale, and it was just fine. The XM radio was nice, the plane was new and the seats, while being close together, we comfortable. Service was ordinary, and they were on time. I'd fly them again.

12/22/2005 1:33:21 AM

I've flown them once, it almost crashed.

That was fun.

12/22/2005 1:46:56 AM

I flew with them to Boston once. There was a guy that looked like Stalin who was staring at me the whole time there. I blame AirTran for this.

12/22/2005 7:25:30 AM

used to fly it plenty never had a problem....cept when a large black man sprang from the toilet midflight and raped me. it wasnt so much about the sex but the extreme discomfort of being jammed in there with him.

12/22/2005 8:17:53 AM

i will never fly air tran again
the two times i have, they both made me miss my conn. flight in atlanta
air tran has cost me about 12 hours total being stuck in a airport, fuck them

12/22/2005 9:07:34 AM

I flew to Atlanta and Jacksonville, FL on Air Tran. I liked the XM radio too and the flight attendents were nice. I'd use them again.

12/22/2005 9:08:19 AM

Quote :

"It was a DC-9 and it all honest it wasnt their fault."

Almost the same plane, wasn't the MD-80 a direct evolution from the DC-9? I for one can't tell them apart. And I had forgotten about the canister being unlabeled, that would make a difference. Like I said though, even with that in mind, I wouldn't have a problem with flying with them again, based on my recent experiences.

12/22/2005 10:13:52 AM

I took Air Tran out to Denver last summer. I didn't have any problems (well, there was that near miss in Atlanta, but that's just because that airport sucks) and found there service fairly accomodating (my friend and I tried to leave Denver a day earlier than we had planned to).

The XM radio is a definite plus.

[Edited on December 22, 2005 at 11:42 AM. Reason : add]

12/22/2005 11:41:52 AM

im not reading this thread but i'll just say, don't fly with them

spend the extra $50 or so and avoid the migraine

12/22/2005 12:47:12 PM

Flying air tran was not worth the money saved. Cramped, unfriendly, shitty service and delays out the ass.

Southwest can fly you for $72 each way.

[Edited on December 22, 2005 at 1:20 PM. Reason : southwest]

12/22/2005 1:17:02 PM

I've flown with Air Tran many times now... some people complain only because they are rich pricks who want their tea and crumpets, but don't get it.

12/22/2005 1:25:02 PM

id rather fly southwest than airtran

and southwest is fucking terrible

12/22/2005 1:31:11 PM

I plan to carry my own XM receiver next time IZ fly.

12/22/2005 1:32:24 PM

after you travel every week for a year at least - you'll pay extra to fly a better airline - but unless you are spoiled it's okay - i used to fly them and southwest all the time

12/22/2005 1:34:11 PM

i have no problems w/ south west
and i find them to be a fun flight each time i fly them

12/22/2005 1:40:55 PM

No RDU service by SouthWest starting this month I believe.

12/22/2005 1:42:16 PM

um, starting when?

12/22/2005 1:43:48 PM

i dunno i do a lot of traveling

i made the mistake of flying them from Raleigh to LA for the 4th of July...never again. I felt like it was a cattle call. Call me a snob but a flight shouldnt be spread out over 8 hours

JetBlue is actually one of the nicer airlines i've flown, im going home to DC on a direct flight for $79 each way...plus free DirecTV

too bad they dont fly anywhere really

12/22/2005 1:45:05 PM

My bad. They are only cancelling certain flights.

12/22/2005 1:45:06 PM

I know a guy who works for JetBlue, from what I hear they are pretty nice, but yeah like you said they have pretty limited destinations.

12/22/2005 1:51:41 PM

Jet Blue will start service into RDU within a year using their ERJ-170's. The airlines suck for the most part anymore........................fly on a Gulfstream

12/22/2005 3:13:55 PM

its fine, just don't use it for biz travel because its rarely on time (according to my experience)

minor delays are a worthwhile tradeoff for cost when going somewhere for a week

12/22/2005 3:24:51 PM

the only redeeming thing about them is that they are prone to giving away round trip vouchers for those willing to take a later flight because they constantly overbook

when i flew to fort lauderdale for spring break i was foolish enough not to take a later flight when presented with this offer, my flight was 2 hours late anyway

but, then pretty much every carrier does this too

12/22/2005 3:32:28 PM

any plane can crash at any time

quit bein pussies about it

12/22/2005 3:48:52 PM

AirTran is running a promotion with Wendy's

I'm headed to a Wendy's soon to do some dumpster diving

12/22/2005 10:57:53 PM

shoulda saved um for ya nick, oh well too late. ive had a ton too.

12/22/2005 11:05:07 PM

The worst flying experience I ever had was with Air Tran, and as most people above say it was because of some VERY crappy customer service.

The gate agent "went on break" about 30 minutes prior to the flight. She was checking in a few people at the gate with no baggage and when I got to be about second in line she just walked away and disappeared leaving us all standing there. When she finally came back 5 minutes before the departure time she told me and the other 10 business men in line at the gate check in (all obviously on one day trips) that we hadn't checked in on time and therefore they were bumping us involuntarily with no compensation. The truth was that they had really overbooked the flight and that we had in fact been there plenty early. And it was their last flight out of the day. And she rebooked me on another flight (or so she said), but when I went to check in for the flight the next day they said they had no record of it. So I had to walk all the way back down the concourse past security to the baggage check, where they had NO ONE working at the counter. Not just no one who could get me on a plane, but no one at the counter at all. At mid morning. I fly a lot and I am always polite to the gate agents and flight attendants and I have never seen anything like this apathy and incompetence.

They must be paying their gate agent minimum wage because I kid you not the service is better at your neighborhood Bojangles. I will not fly them again. However, they did have a nice new fleet of planes a couple years back.

12/23/2005 9:12:40 PM

woops they really that bad?

2/23/2006 2:06:29 AM

Flown them a few times. Their planes look like something from the 70s but we all lived. The sides shake like crazy at take off and it scared the crap out of me.

2/23/2006 7:48:01 AM

Quote :

" Their planes look like something from the 70s but we all lived."

Not sure what you ended up with, but the Airtran planes I've been on have all been 717's of fairly recent vintage.

2/23/2006 10:58:19 AM

yeah i'm taking one to miami...i guess we'll see in a couple days

2/23/2006 6:39:07 PM

i flew airtran to tampa one way with a connection in atlanta. delayed in both raleigh and atlanta. the seats were cramped, but the service was good. i prefer southwest.

2/23/2006 6:50:16 PM

you will be fine! Just remember to upgrade for $35 to business class if they have seats open!

2/23/2006 6:51:26 PM

Actually, I ended up buying American tickets about a month ago, paid $200 for a roundtrip, no layovers. Would rather not get my baggage lost when going out of town for more than a week, or get delayed in Atlanta. Not too shabby. Would potentitally fly them if I was particularly broke, however. I'm sure it's really not that bad.

2/23/2006 8:27:54 PM

It's uber economy.

2/23/2006 9:56:38 PM

Quote :

"Jet Blue will start service into RDU within a year "

They need to hurry up and do that. AirTran is the cheapest flights to Boston I've found so far. Southwest doesn't fly there either.

2/24/2006 9:36:04 AM

FYI, AirTran is not part of Delta. Song is the secondary carrier that Delta started to try a lost cost carrier, but it's failing badly.

I've flown AirTran a couple of times and haven't had a problem.

2/24/2006 12:49:10 PM

RDU Jetblue? Oh sweet. I hope so - They serve boston right? man. I'd love a cheap flight from RDU to Boston.


aww shit by the way this is LadyWolff who forgot she was on Kylekatern's computer. Damn.

[Edited on February 24, 2006 at 12:54 PM. Reason : .]

2/24/2006 12:53:42 PM

About 6 years back, my ex took an AirTran flight where the gas cap supposedly fell off after take-off. Fuel was pouring out of the plane right after take-off and they promptly had to turn around and land right back where they started. I then came back to the airport to see her, and after telling all the customers that it would be only a 15 minute delay, there was still no plane hours later. We had to run all around the airport to get them to endorse the flight on another airplane just so she could leave the same day.

I also took AirTran earlier this summer from Buffalo to Atlanta. When the pilot landed the plane, I thought we were dead. He dropped altitude so fast to get down to the runway and landed so hard that I couldn't believe the tires didn't pop. It was by far the scariest plane experience I've ever had.

Yeah, fuck AirTran, they are 0 for 2 in my book and I'll never fly them again.

2/24/2006 12:57:10 PM

Quote :

"he rebooked me on another flight (or so she said), but when I went to check in for the flight the next day they said they had no record of it."

I had a similar experience, wasn't the last flight of the day at least. But my connection got in late so they said they booked me on the next flight and just to wait for it to be called. I went up when they started calling and they hadn't rebooked me so they were going to bump me again. I had to kick a fuss and they were complete jerks about it but eventually got on. That was about the fourth and last time I flew with them since I had never had an on time flight with them that was the last straw.

I'm hardly the pickiest flier either, 90% of the time I get on and go to sleep, I don't like airplane food and usually just skip it, even so...they suck.

[Edited on February 26, 2006 at 10:10 AM. Reason : ...]

2/26/2006 10:08:26 AM

Quote :

"Southwest can fly you for $72 each way."

They don't fly from RDU to any NYC area airport.

2/26/2006 11:39:10 AM

their biz class upgrades are cheap

2/26/2006 3:16:46 PM

I flew AirTran from Miami to Raleigh. I was cheap and saved 50 bucks versus American Airlines directly.

Horrible experience. I've had smoother landings in a seaplane.

Rough landing in Atlanta and a rough landing in Raleigh. ON A CALM, CLEAR DAY.

Heard bad experiences and didn't heed the warnings. The $50 was not worth the extra hour and near-death experience.

My return flight was booked that night on AMERICAN AIRLINES.

AVOID AIR TRAN LIKE THE PLAGUE.

2/27/2006 4:42:09 PM

I travel by air quite often (almost every week). I fly air tran once in awhile and it has always been ok.

[Edited on February 27, 2006 at 9:01 PM. Reason : .]

2/27/2006 9:00:08 PM

I took them to miami and back...layover in atl...it was a good experience. it was a little cramped but it wasn't bad at all. got the job done and cheap.

2/28/2006 12:39:38 AM