al613

1. This morning 7 AM flight left 15 minutes earlier and when I asked at the gate for a free elite upgrade to business class, I was told that the GA doesn't have time and I will be upgraded onboard of the aircraft, since they need to leave in a hurry. When I asked about upgrade on the flight (there was just one person in J) I was told to wait till the seat belt sign goes off and I will be upgraded. When asked again in 10 minutes FA said that only at the gate they can upgrade for free, in flight it's "only $69" also for elites! Is it supposed to be like this?
2. I made a booking on Expedia on Airtran and it has appeared in my bookings on Airtran.com. I had to cancel it, but I don't see credit for it in my profile. How can I put it there?
3. When I have traveled this Sunday I was told by a person who did check in, that only one bag for me was free. The second bag of a second passenger, who was traveling with me on the same reservation is $15. Is it correct?

LegalTender

That's very disconcerting.

If GAs give A+ Elites a similar runaround (on anything like a regular basis), the noise level should be deafening.

LegalTender

Has anyone ever heard a gate announcement indicating Elites can priority-board?

I haven't.

travelingfool23

I believe Elites always receive zone 1, which boards first with Business Class and A2B.

al613

Frankly speaking, I was there like 30 minutes before flight when boarding already started. Also, flight was more then half empty.

airtran1

Elite passengers are allowed 2 bags free. Other passenger on the reservation if they are not elite should be charged $15.00 for 1st bag (if res was made November 12 or after) and 2nd bag is $25.00. 2nd bag is always $25.00 even if 1st is free.

al613

airtran.com doesn't show flight status any more and I did not look at the clock when doors closed, but GA said that flight needs to leave 15 min. earlier. I think everyone was on board and flight was only like 40% full.


We had 2 bags per 2 passengers. They told me only 1 for elite passenger is allowed and charged for the second one. (Same story happened on the way back, but after I insisted that I can take 2 for free, then lady went to her supervisor and he oked the second bag free)


Any idea how I can put cancelled reservation from expedia in my profile or get a voucher? I know, it's very common practice for UA, AA and WN, no matter where the original ticket was booked.

travatl

AirTran's policy regarding complimentary upgrades is that ONLY the GA can authorize them. Flight attendants have no authority to do so, and are instructed to offer passengers the opportunity to purchase upgrades when asked about moving up. HOWEVER, if it was the agent's intention to move the elite up, he or she should have instructed the f/a to do so. Without that direction, the cabin crew have no choice but to charge passengers requesting upgrades.

travatl

Oh, and early departure was likely an instruction from System Operations due to an "overblock". The flight time was going to be longer than the scheduled block due to winds, ATC mgmt, or other variables.

al613

Thanks for the info!

LegalTender

I appreciate the logic, but discretionary variables arise that are beyond frustrating.

HPN-HRL

Thanks for posting this - it helped me out this weekend! The TSA line at MKE was badly backed up (and admittedly, I was a little late getting to MKE). Once I cleared security and got to the gate, boarding had already commenced. I joined the line, and when the GA took my boarding pass to scan I let her know that I had hoped to upgrade but that the TSA line was very long & I didn't want to hold up the boarding line. A few minutes after I had settled into my coach seat, the GA came into the cabin & gave me an upgrade! I wouldn't have bothered mentioning anything to the GA if Travatl hadn't written about this - thanks!

(Oh, for the record, I paid for an upgrade on the way out (as I always do when having an upgrade is important to me). Getting an upgrade on the way back wasn't important enough for me to pay for - but it was nice to get!)

al613

Actually, I have written to Airtran reg. upgrade issue and received apologies with 1 free upgrade for the future flight at the time of booking.