US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - AirTran will match US Airways Elite Status

AirTran will match US and any other Airlines Elite Status if you submit their completed form and a copy of your FF statment.

http://www.airtran.com/programs/aplus/elite.jsp

Thank you, thank you, thank you.... that's
what I love about Flyer Talk, you never miss a great promo like this. I had no reason to be logging in on the AirTran site this month and would have missed this great opportunity.

I do fly AirTran more and more and to get
the Elite benefits such as advance seat assignment on all fares, priority boarding, dedicated check-in and security lines, and free Business Class upgrades and waived change and cancellation fees is OUTSTANDING!

Did I say thank you?... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by steakandeggs:
Thank you, thank you, thank you.... that's
what I love about Flyer Talk, you never miss a great promo like this. I had no reason to be logging in on the AirTran site this month and would have missed this great opportunity.

I do fly AirTran more and more and to get
the Elite benefits such as advance seat assignment on all fares, priority boarding, dedicated check-in and security lines, and free Business Class upgrades and waived change and cancellation fees is OUTSTANDING!

Did I say thank you?... &lt;IMG SRC="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif"&gt; &lt;IMG SRC="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif"&gt; &lt;IMG SRC="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif"&gt; &lt;IMG SRC="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif"&gt; </font>


I'm thinking about trying Air Tran to compare v. US. Can you share with me your experiences? I'm most interested in their Bus Class cabin amenities. I'm CP on US and it seems like I almost am never on a plane w/F. I'll glagly try the drive to PHF v ORF to save some substantial dollars while enjoying the benefits of their elite program.

Thanks.


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US-CP; UA PE; AA Plat; Hilton Gold VIP; Six Continents Gold

My last experience on AirTran was a great one. Flew EWR-ATL-DFW. 3 segments in business, one segment in coach.

Their Business class is comparible with US' first class (snack basket, plastic cups, legroom, etc). They have TGI fridays potato chips which I personally enjoy, yet US has the Milanos http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Friendly FA's, clean plane, good service. Everything you want at a decent price.


<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by US1@ORF:

I'm thinking about trying Air Tran to compare v. US. Can you share with me your experiences? I'm most interested in their Bus Class cabin amenities. I'm CP on US and it seems like I almost am never on a plane w/F. I'll glagly try the drive to PHF v ORF to save some substantial dollars while enjoying the benefits of their elite program.

Thanks.


</font>

Yeah, except you have to fly RDU-ATL-GSO! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Service on both (on east coast routes) is fairly similar, but I find their terminal at ATL miserable. It's always crowded, dark, and dank.

Thanks for the heads up Orlando.

It's certainly worth a look as one tries to find destination and price options.

Barry

If there'sany sort of problem, they have terrible service and will strand you for hours (or sometimes it'll seem like days) rather than place you on OA or re-route you. My experience after four major delays on six flights with them....

So buyer beware...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pitflyer:
If there'sany sort of problem, they have terrible service and will strand you for hours (or sometimes it'll seem like days) rather than place you on OA or re-route you.</font>

That reminds me....a few years ago, I was flying Airtran PHL-MSY for a job interview, connecting through ATL, of course.

My flight PHL-ATL was delayed enough to miss the last connection ATL-MSY. I asked if they could put me on another airline. They said "no" because no other airlines would accept their tickets.

So I flew to ATL and missed my connection. They refused to put me in a hotel, too. The next day, my AM ATL-MSY flight was delayed 4 hours, and I missed my interview.

$hitty airline back then. Maybe it's better now, but I'm still hesitant.

Oh goodie! I will get my Air Tran systemwide upgrades for my next Europe trip! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

Keith Alexander, the Wash Post business travel column writer, wrote about this in today's column:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47759-2003Dec8.html

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by nawlinsdoc:
That reminds me....a few years ago, I was flying Airtran PHL-MSY for a job interview, connecting through ATL, of course.

My flight PHL-ATL was delayed enough to miss the last connection ATL-MSY. I asked if they could put me on another airline. They said "no" because no other airlines would accept their tickets.

So I flew to ATL and missed my connection. They refused to put me in a hotel, too. The next day, my AM ATL-MSY flight was delayed 4 hours, and I missed my interview.

$hitty airline back then. Maybe it's better now, but I'm still hesitant.</font>

Had a similar experience last summer...flew PHL-ATL-TPA. A few of the feeder flights were delayed coming into ATL, so they delayed the entire last bank of outbound flights (including my segment to TPA, which arrived at 3AM). Seems like they did it to avoid putting people in hotels.

The day after Hurricaine Isabel swept through my area, I had a flight out the next morning. The only airline flying out of the Hampton Roads area was Airtran and luckily I was able to switch my ticket to FL and make my cruise in Miami.

Interesting. I had not considered Air Tran, but I recently learned that they will be flying to West Coast (SFO?) from ATL, so a PHF - SFO flight might be possible.

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Now they have interline agreements with delta and several other carriers, so they will do this now.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by nawlinsdoc:
That reminds me....a few years ago, I was flying Airtran PHL-MSY for a job interview, connecting through ATL, of course.

My flight PHL-ATL was delayed enough to miss the last connection ATL-MSY. I asked if they could put me on another airline. They said "no" because no other airlines would accept their tickets.

So I flew to ATL and missed my connection. They refused to put me in a hotel, too. The next day, my AM ATL-MSY flight was delayed 4 hours, and I missed my interview.

$hitty airline back then. Maybe it's better now, but I'm still hesitant.</font>

Good Timing - this week started a new project where I'll be doing PIT-ATL periodically. This Monday's Delta flight was not encouraging, and I've probably used up my Delta comps.

Thanks!

I had to fly to MSP on short notice last week, so instead of the $1,500 NW nonstop, I flew DCA-ATL-MSP on AirTran for about $350. All 4 segments were on new 717's, 2 in coach, 2 in "business class" (thanks to this matching offer, which I miraculously found by myself on their website).

The 717, by the way, is a lovely plane. They have new overhead bins that accept rollaboards lengthwise, so there's never a shortage of overhead space. The engines are quiet, even at the back, and they spool up to takeoff thrust absolutely smoothly. And the lavatories are spacious, clean, and well ventilated (!).

On the way out in coach, I wound up next to one of two open seats on the plane (the middle seat on the 3 side of 2-3 seating). Nevertheless, the trip was among the most uncomfortable I've ever had. The padding on the seat cushion seemed to end about 3" away from the back of the seat, meaning that if I sat up straight I was mostly sitting on metal, with a hard edge between that and the foam. If I slouched, my back ached, but I was on all-foam. On US, I usually use a pillow as a lumbar support, but there are no pillows on AirTran.

They served one full can of a beverage & 2 tiny packs of pretzels in the back. I didn't think it was possible to mess up pretzels, but they were dreadful. Stale, soft, not salty... I ate about 2 from each package, thinking at first I just got a bad bag.

The way back in business was only slightly better. The seat was wider but the armrest was only slightly wider, so you fought your seatmate for the armrest. The back of the seat includes a headrest attached with elastic straps. But the straps are [already] so stretched out it doesn't stay where you put it, always falling back down to the lowest position. For me, at 6'2", it was in my shoulder blades unless I pulled it up & leaned into it to keep it from falling. There's also a lumbar support, which I'm pretty sure was made of cardboard. (I may have broken it.) You also get up to 2 complimentary airplane-size bottles of booze, one at a time, but one gin & tonic without lime was enough for me. (They have no garnishes on AirTran.) There was also a snack basket which included chips & name-brand pretzels. The flight attendant came around only once, never offering refills, more ice, more snackes, etc. But as we know on US, this may be "flight attendant initiative" and not AirTran's policy.

And, even though weather was fine and there were no announced mechanical or other problems, all 4 of my flights were late. I would have missed both connections in Atlanta if the connecting flights had not also been delayed. We arrived in MSP a few minutes late, having made up time in the air; I was 30+ minutes late getting back to DCA.

What I can't figure out is why, on this route for these dates, US or NW didn't offer me a fare of $500 or $600. I would have gladly paid more to fly on US, where I would have had a far better experience. But with the client paying, I could't justify a $1,500 ticket. *sigh*

David

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AIM: RutherfordMurray

Having majored in Aviation Flight Operations and having gotten the chance to view details about ValuJet's horrific accident in the Florida Everglades a few years back.....I'm not sure that I'll be that comfortable flying on AirTran. (formerly known as ValuJet)

The management's total disregard for safety and improper maintenance procedures was quite disturbing.

They might be better now as AirTran...I'm just not sure....but I don't think that I'll be on an AirTran plane anytime soon...

I do hope that they're under new management now...compared to the time when they were known as ValuJet.

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SFnFlaGuy

[This message has been edited by SFnFlaGuy (edited Dec 10, 2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SFnFlaGuy:
Having majored in Aviation Flight Operations and having gotten the chance to view details about ValuJet's horrific accident in the Florida Everglades a few years back.....I'm not sure that I'll be that comfortable flying on AirTran. (formerly known as ValuJet)

The management's total disregard for safety and improper maintenance procedures was quite disturbing.

They might be better now as AirTran...I'm just not sure....but I don't think that I'll be on an AirTran plane anytime soon...</font>

Well, you will be happy to know that third party contractors crews loaded the oxygen generators that brought down the ValueJet DC-9.

US uses third party contractors now (or is trying to) for maintenance on the airbus fleet.

Enjoy your next airbus flight.

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Don't feed the trolls.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ClueByFour:
Well, you will be happy to know that third party contractors crews loaded the oxygen generators that brought down the ValueJet DC-9.

US uses third party contractors now (or is trying to) for maintenance on the airbus fleet.

Enjoy your next airbus flight.

</font>

This incident was not the only one that affected the safety of ValuJet. Maintenance issues...such as improper maintenance procedures and lax maintenance schedules were also an issue.

Once again, AirTran might be totally changed from it's ValuJet days....but it's just hard for me to ignore AirTran's past.



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SFnFlaGuy