AirTran Airways A+ Rewards - Sell me on AirTran

I currently have a weekly DAL-BOS/MHT commute on WN but occasionally have flown FL when they were significantly cheaper.

At some point in the not-too-distant future my commute may become DFW-ATL, and I am seriously thinking of doing a Platinum Challenge with AA and using them for my regular flying. What reasons would you give for going with FL and then reverting to WN when the time comes (SOC).

Many thanks

As a former AirTran Elite (see my current airline status at left) that got fed up a long time ago, there are zero reasons to fly AirTran these day. I tell the story of the latest indignity here: http://meteorologicalmusings.blogspot.com/2011/08/despicable-behavior-of-airtran-airways.html

Wow. That is unbelievable. I wonder if that is the Gary Kelly affect.

Wow. That is unbelievable. I wonder if that is the Gary Kelly affect.

No...that was just a good business decision that did not go his way. Any airline is going to do whatever it takes to inconvenience the least amount of people possible.....if an aircraft with more passengers, more downline connections has a mechanical, it makes perfect business sense to take another aircraft with less people to inconvenience and swap it for the other city.

I understand the decision, just not the way he was treated.

While I sympathize ith KansasMike's story and Airtran was out of line, I gotta say that those experiences are not unique to Airtran.

Having said that, Airtran's advantages for business travelers will end once Southwest integrates the fleet getting rid of business class. I would go with another airline if price is not a problem . SW charges for standby. Airtran does not. So you can use Airtran as long as standby is free and for business travelers standby is more important though for some business travelers having a no change fee may be more important.

Other than the no change fee, I dont see a good reason to fly southwest as a business traveler.

Thanks for the reply.

I am a business traveler in that I fly for work, however, 98% of my flights are on my dime, thus cos is a big factor.

If I work at it, I should had a SW companion pass by the end of this year, which will be a nice bonus for family vacations etc. I am just wondering whether I should enjoy Airtran for the next 6 months or so and then go back to SW.

Or would I be better off doing a Platinum challenge with AA and sticking with them?

It really depends on your priorities. Companion Pass? Availability of assigned seating? Premium seating? Club lounges? The illusion of "free bags"? Codesharing in the event of IRROPS? Partner awards? Credit card miles? Non-stop versus connections?

If AA's revenue management is anything like DL's, they adjust pricing within 24 hours of the release of an FL (or in this case, WN) sale to match.

One major negative about FL that hasn't been mentioned, is that FL will have to discontinue DFW service in mid November due to the Wright Ammendment. While it certainly would be easy to get elite in a short time, I don't know where it leaves you after DFW service ceases. Aside from that, having AA Plat is probably more valuable for a DAL based flyer anyway.

Thanks for the reply.

I am a business traveler in that I fly for work, however, 98% of my flights are on my dime, thus cos is a big factor.

If I work at it, I should had a SW companion pass by the end of this year, which will be a nice bonus for family vacations etc. I am just wondering whether I should enjoy Airtran for the next 6 months or so and then go back to SW.

Or would I be better off doing a Platinum challenge with AA and sticking with them?

I'm guessing that any Airtran activity will be eventually credited to your Southwest status, although it may not be given as much credit as if you flew Southwest.

As cooger72 mentioned, AirTran's DFW-ATL service is ending and any flights to ATL will be subject to the Wright Amendment. If you don't mind connecting, I would fly Southwest to get the Companion Pass. If you do mind connecting, as I would on a weekly commute, fly American.

As cooger72 mentioned, AirTran's DFW-ATL service is ending and any flights to ATL will be subject to the Wright Amendment. If you don't mind connecting, I would fly Southwest to get the Companion Pass. If you do mind connecting, as I would on a weekly commute, fly American.

Somewhat of a question to me is whether you'll even be able to get to ATL from Dallas on WN/FL until the carriers are merged. WN doesn't have ATL service as yet, and once DFW gets dropped, it doesn't seem that FL will have Dallas service. So far I don't think they're selling tickets with a connection from one to the other.

Somewhat of a question to me is whether you'll even be able to get to ATL from Dallas on WN/FL until the carriers are merged. WN doesn't have ATL service as yet, and once DFW gets dropped, it doesn't seem that FL will have Dallas service. So far I don't think they're selling tickets with a connection from one to the other.

I would expect ATL-XXX-DAL to be one of the first WN offerings when they begin the transition in ATL. Given the Wright Amendment will still be in effect until 2014, non-stops between ATL-DAL won't be allowed.

As a former AirTran Elite (see my current airline status at left) that got fed up a long time ago, there are zero reasons to fly AirTran these day. I tell the story of the latest indignity here: http://meteorologicalmusings.blogspot.com/2011/08/despicable-behavior-of-airtran-airways.html

Moderator, please move this post to thread titled "The Despicable Behavior of AirTran Today" that was started on August 12, 2011.

Seems like this thread is overshadowing the original topic.

Ho hum.

I am currently enjoying WN and whenever I have flown FL I have been impressed.

That said I think I'm gonna switch to AA once I qualify for the companion pass on WN. I'll use the CP and my 100,000+ WN to fly vacation trips with wife and then go for a Plat challenge on AA and use them for my weekly commute to ATL.

Until recently I liked flying Air Tran. Last time I was on an overbooked flight I volunteered to stand by on a later flight and was given 3 free RTs and a $10 meal comp. How can you not like that kind of service, especially since the flight I made got me home earlier than the one I booked? :) Had no trouble booking the free flights either.

Plus, the award flights were relatively easy to get and relatively cheap to buy using MRs. I never had a problem with a flight but now award flights are impossible to get on the routes/times I travel.

Now I have no problems with SouthWest but the above plus the upcoming lack of business class and assigned seating will eventually drive me away from these airlines completely except possibly for very short flights.

It's pointless, AirTran is going away.