AirTran Airways A+ Rewards - Kudos to Airtran..nothing but stellar all the way around.

We flew from Day to MCO on August 13. Our final destination was Ft. Lauderdale (for a cruise) but the airfare was so cheap that we drove from MCO down to FLL. It turned out to be an ok drive.

Our outbound flights, we had upgraded to business class. The seats are very very room. The service was great as well. Wow..did I mention those seats are roomy? I'm 5'1" and about 120 lbs and I loved the seat pitch even though I do not need much space. We had to sit in regular coach for our
2nd leg and wow did the seats feel cramped!

On our return flight from Orlando on August 22; we were in the boarding line at the gate when my hubby's name was called overhead? Ok..what did we miss. We were told by the agent that the 4 of us got bumped due to overbooking of the flight. We originally were on a 4:15P out flight and we were to connect in ATL and then onward to DAY landing at 11:47P. The flight we were changed too left MCO at 8PM and it was straight to Dayton landing at 10:15P. We were bumped to business class and given 4 free RT tickets for being bumped. We really came out ahead. Our luggage was delivered at about 3AM to our home.

I really cannot say enough good about Airtran whether we would have been bumped or not. They were a 10 out of 10 for us on all flights.

Y.. :)

Wow...great outcome. I wish all bumps turned out this nicely, on any airline. Getting bumped to a leter flight that turns out to be nonstop and gets you home earlier is a great deal, plus the biz class and free tickets to boot! Sounds like you'll definitely give your business to FL again for future travel.

One other comment...in your situation, you might have been eligible for a cash payment had you been bumped from the plane involuntarily. Did you volunteer to give up your seats?

No we did not volunteer. We were actually about 3 people away from having our boarding passes scanned when my hubby's name was called overhead. Up until that point, not a word had been said about any overbooking of the flight. It was totally out of the blue. The only logic I could come up with is that most of the families boarding had young kids (under 8 average down to toddlers) due to being near Disney World and we had a 14 and nearly 18 with us. Many of the children were tired, cranky. (this is not to say that our teens weren't but at least they weren't having melt downs or tantrums..lol)

We were very happy with the 4 free tickets. We would have been sitting in another airport for 2-3 hours. At least this way we only sat in Orlando for the remainder. I have flown Airtran quite often but its been about 6 years ago (for business) and I don't recall any bad experiences. They once again were great. :)

Wait until you try to use the vouchers, you will have all sorts of problems.

I volunteered to get bumped for a r/t voucher in May (2009). I just tried to use the vouchers for a r/t to Orlando (from Baltimore). It is almost 2 months out (traveling 12/3 - a Thursday, and returning 12/13 - a Sunday) and there are no seats (for voucher redemption) on a nonstop flight, for Thursday's departure. I can buy a seat on a nonstop for $59 or $69, but can't use a voucher.

On the return leg, there are no seats available at all on 12/13. There are 26 flights (19 different ones) leaving Orlando for Baltimore, and not a single seat available for a voucher redemption!!! And the agent I spoke with didn't say it was blacked out. In fact, there was a seat on a 6:00 AM the next day (12/14).

This is why I love Southwest. You get dollar vouchers - good on any day and and any flight. If you can score a cheap seat (like one of their $49 tickets), you may be able to get 2 round trip tickers out of one bumped flight. AirTran, I can't even get on a plane!

Wait until you try to use the vouchers, you will have all sorts of problems.

I volunteered to get bumped for a r/t voucher in May (2009). I just tried to use the vouchers for a r/t to Orlando (from Baltimore). It is almost 2 months out (traveling 12/3 - a Thursday, and returning 12/13 - a Sunday) and there are no seats (for voucher redemption) on a nonstop flight, for Thursday's departure. I can buy a seat on a nonstop for $59 or $69, but can't use a voucher.

On the return leg, there are no seats available at all on 12/13. There are 26 flights (19 different ones) leaving Orlando for Baltimore, and not a single seat available for a voucher redemption!!! And the agent I spoke with didn't say it was blacked out. In fact, there was a seat on a 6:00 AM the next day (12/14).

This is why I love Southwest. You get dollar vouchers - good on any day and and any flight. If you can score a cheap seat (like one of their $49 tickets), you may be able to get 2 round trip tickers out of one bumped flight. AirTran, I can't even get on a plane!
It has also been true for me that AirTran vouchers can be hard to use (especially compared to Southwest), but I have succeeded by planning to use the vouchers as early as possible. Frankly, AirTran vouchers are hard enough to use that I have not volunteered to be bumped the last few times they were looking.

It has also been true for me that AirTran vouchers can be hard to use (especially compared to Southwest), but I have succeeded by planning to use the vouchers as early as possible. Frankly, AirTran vouchers are hard enough to use that I have not volunteered to be bumped the last few times they were looking.

Sometimes you might have luck asking for a voucher for a specific dollar amount, instead of for free trips. That helps a lot.

In this case, because the passenger was denied boarding, he could have asked for a cash payment under federal law. I don't recall for how much, but it's entitled to any passenger that asks for it.