I just got back from my San Francisco to Orlando Airtran flight. I had a layover in Atlanta. Everything went great. The folks at the counter were great. No one measured the bag or made me take him out or check his weight/height. Security was great. I trained Baxter to stay in the bag until I said "OK". This way I would have time to get him ready to come out of the bag at the security gate. (Make sure a leash is on at this point. Security might make them nervous). Baxter was calm and everyone loved seeing him. The men at security melted.
On the flight from SFO to ATL I rode in the last row. It was very noisy and vibrating. Baxter whined for about 30 min or so. I did everything I could to calm him. He finally got tired and fell asleep (It was a red eye). From ATL to MCO I was upgraded to business class (my flight was overbooked the day before and I had to postpone my trip a day - got 2 free RT tickets
). Not a peep was heard from Baxter in business class. Smooth and quiet up front. On the way home I upgraded to BC the whole way. Baxter loved it!
If you fly into ATL and have at least an 1.5 hours, I would recommend taking the pup to their outdoor dog park. It is small but its nice and Baxter got to run around for 45 min. You will have to leave security and go back through. Give yourself time.
Airtran staff told me they offered comp. wee pads for the bathroom if you did not have time to go outside. I brought plenty with me and used the handicap b/r to let Baxter out and walk around. I put the wee pad out but he never used it.
All in all it was a great expereince flying with them. Everyone was so nice.
I hope all this info helps.
