I booked a flight on line with the big corporate, sucker 'em, their just numbers airline. Their website, (no doubt written by outsourced developers), made an error I noticed when I checked the confirmation email just a little later. I called them about it and the customer service was 'it's your fault' all the way and insisted there would be a $75 charge to change the flight. Like AT&T, I will never, never, never deal with these people again. Anyway this company can squeeze extra money from you, they will. That's called bloodsucking. That's called 'oops we made a mistake but you can pay for it.' Listen to their BS about changing a flight on the phone if you don't believe me.

I am a frequent flyer. I had to experience AirTran in 2002 when I took a flight from New York (LaGuardia) to Kansas City, MO. I was really disappointed, but a few months later decided to "give it another try" and as I had to make an emergency trip to Minnesota, took AirTran again. It was a nice experience till last week when I realized that the first impression was so true, and I COMPLETELY lost my faith in the airline. I booked a flight on-line (www.airtran.com) from Minneapolis, MN to Washington, DC (DCA) with a layover in Atlanta, GA for 45 minutes for my husband. We had an international flight from Washington, DC the next morning. The flight was delayed from Minneapolis for 2 hours. The reason indicated on the screens at St.Paul Airport claimed there was technical issue with the aircraft. It arrived late at Minneapolis. When I called the Airtran hotline, I was on hold for an hour being promised "someone will be with you shortly", then I was disconnected ( I spent 1 hr and 3 min on the phone), I called back, waited for another 38 minutes - talked to a representative. This is the information I received from her:The flight was delayed due to weather conditions in Atlanta. Though when he arrived in Atlanta, the weather was good and all the flights were leaving on time. The original flight he was supposed to take Atlanta - Washington (National Airport) departed just 20 minutes before he landed in Atlanta. When I talked to the representative over the phone, she said that they could not delay that flight!!! While I was browsing the flight information on Airtran web-site, I found another flight Atlanta - Washington DC (Dulles Airport) that was being delayed as well, and it WAS still at the gate when my husband came up to the Customer Service Stand. The representative on the phone hot-line said that there were seats remaining on the flight to Dulles airport and theer was another one to Baltimore, MD. Or he could stay in Atlanta's airport overnight and leave for DCA the next morning. These were the 2 optons given to us ! Noone even mentionedthe flight to Dulles airport! Only when I told the representative there was a delayed flight - right at the gate where the Customer Service stand (gate C15 in Atlanta's airport!!!) When he was talking to me, he seemed to be helpful. In fact (that is what my husband told me later) when he came up to gate C15, they refused to take him on board and issued the boarding pass for the next morning!! And that is after I've spent so much time ans effort to explain the situation to everybody, but noone would listen??? I Talked to that gentleman again, he finally walked my husband up tothe flight to Baltimore ( btw, it is a 50 mile drive one-way from washington DC where I live to Baltimore, and it was in the middle of the night!), AND he asked for tips from my husband (this is extremely inappropriate!!! and is absolutely unacceptable!!) My questions are (and I really would like to hear the answers before I move forward) 1) why wasn't it possible to delay theflight Atlanta - Washington (DCA) for 20-25 minutes? you had the reservation and knew there was a connecting passenger, esp. if there were weather conditions? 2) the other delayed flight to Washington (IAD) . Why wasn't it possible to put the passenger on to that flight if there were seas available? 3) there was no reimbursement whatsoever!! If the passenger has to stay at the airport for more than 10 hours?? and it IS NOT his fault that there "were weather conditions". Do you have any official report from the weather services? It seemed like all the planes were departing on time from Atlanta but for these few flight that were delayed? Or is it the way of communication with customers - providing them with the INCORRECT information for the sake of the airline??? Even when the airline did a favor - and put him onthe flight to BALTIMORE, how was he supposed to get from there to Washington DC at 2 AM?? 4) which is just so frustrating and annoying, highly inappropriate, impolite and unacceptable inCustomer Service - why would you ask for a tip (non-verbally, just with a gesture, but still!) for tips!! You are being paid for your job, and should be providingcustomer service . What the management team has to say about this? Does it go with the "Our mission statement sets the standard to "Be the Best" in everything we do every day: Innovative people dedicated to delivering the best flying experience to smart travelers. Every day." ??????? Any of these?

What the airline said??

As a gesture of good will, I have authorized a $50.00 travel discount that may be applied towards any future AirTran Airways flight reservation.

In response to your e-mail, the reason you are unable to find flights between the cities you are traveling is because our flight service to San Diego is typically operated between spring and fall; the service discontinued at the end of October 2009 and will return on May 27, 2010. The decision to operate this route seasonally was made in consideration of many variables.

Complimentary travel is non-transferable. It can only be used on AirTran and by the person indicated on the voucher!

Not even if it is my husband, and despite the fact that the codeshare airline (frontier) has the flights to the destination I need to be at!!!

What is $50 when I talk about almost $200 spent on a cab, sleepless night and if not then a missed international flight (over $1100 worth)?

Airtran Airways new improved truth equals this company defrauding customers. It is hoped that potential customers of Airtran Airways read my experience before booking a flight with them to avoid being cheated and defrauded as I have been. Details are as given in the correspondence below.

My first contact with Airtran Airways follows: This submission is made to formally request return of $39.00 inappropriately taken under false claim that my luggage was oversized. Your employee said the bag measured 63 inches overall and weighed 41 pounds. The Airtran Payment Receipt for the collection of this amount is as follows: Date: 21 Mar 09, Confirmation Number: E7EJMZ, Receipt/Auth #: E7EJMZ-02, Received: Cash $39.00, Received by Agent: 200879. Your agent said her name was Mitzi. I informed her I had never been told this bag was oversized before by any other airline. Regarding this, she said that in November there were size changes put into effect. I asked her for the changes, and she said under those November changes the maximum overall size was 62 inches. She let me measure the bag and it was between 61 and 62 inches. She was told this, but it made no difference. Before the return trip I found the manufacturers specifications. Samsonite's published dimensions for this bag are 30.5x21x10 for a total of 61.5 inches. Please return the $39.00 to... Thank you for your help in getting this matter resolved.

In response Airtran wrote: Thank you for contacting AirTran Airways. I apologize for any inconvenience this situation has caused you. We want to make travel as easy and effortless as possible. I regret if we failed in your instance.

Our intention is to openly and honestly communicate our policy with our valued customers; therefore, our complete travel policy is provided on the following page link:

http://www.airtran.com/policies/carry-on_checked.aspx (http://www.airtran.com/policies/carry-on_checked.aspx).
In an effort to provide consistent service to our customers and in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulation, our agents are instructed to verify the size and weight of checked luggage. Our company instruction includes the correct procedure for bag measurement and fee assessment. When looking at your itinerary, confirmation number E7EJMZ, it is documented that the bag was 63 inches when checking in at the Columbus Airport.

I apologize for any inconsistency you encountered during your travel. However, it is not uncommon for passengers to utilize the expansion options on luggage for one flight, causing the bag to measure larger on one segment than the other. Nevertheless, these comments have been forwarded for review and correction if needed. Unfortunately I am unable to see the luggage as it was presented at the Columbus Airport. While I sincerely regret any inconvenience this matter caused you, please understand that the baggage fee was applicable on your outbound flight. Therefore, I must respectfully decline your request for reimbursement. I apologize for any disappointment this response may cause you. Your understanding in this matter is greatly appreciated. I hope we have an opportunity to serve you on a future AirTran Airways flight.

My last correspondence with Airtran Airways stated, I have been patient and had hoped the forwarding of my comments would generate positive result of getting my inappropriately taken $39.00 returned. However, as this has not happened, I have additional comments regarding your response.

Luggage expansion was not used and never has been used. Only about 65 percent of the bag storage capacity was used as overall weight of 41 pounds indicates. Hopefully, it is agreed there is a relationship between bag weight and need for expandability feature. With another bag set on top of my bag lid, it would concave in due to the empty space inside my bag. Place my bag on the floor lid down and it goes flat to the floor for the same reason. Your agent never did this. Yet you say AirTran Airways instruction includes correct procedure for measurement and fee assessment. This indeed was not my experience. Instead, what I observed was a procedure to accomplish fraud against customers, and your response shows this to be a corporate philosophy.

If I do not have the $39.00 in hand by May 18, 2009, I will put the details of this situation on the internet for all to read. This will be along with the many other derogatory comments about AirTran tactics already there. People need to be warned of AirTran Airways fraudulent and costly tactics against them.

To the above input Airtran Airways maintained its position and the $39.00 has not been returned. To save yourself from a similar situation, and avoid having to deal with people who have no qualms about lying, cheating, and defrauding you, just don’t use them.

On Aug. 1st, 2009 my mom and I were flying from Seattle WA to Baltimore, MD to catch our connector to Portland, ME. Our flight # FL0243 Gate A13 was scheduled for 10:30 am departure so we got to the Seattle airport @ 7:30 am. Upon arriving @ the airport we discovered our flight had been delayed to 12:30 pm. We had breakfast @ 9 and hung around. We then discovered they had changed our flight to leave @ 1:00 arriving in Baltimore for 8:52 pm with our connector flight FL0493 to leave @ 9:20 to Portland, ME. They told us that if we leave on time we should make our flight because it’s in the same concourse but different gate. We told them we needed a wheelchair because MY MOM IS HANDICAPPED. SHE IS GOING TO BE HAVING BACK SURGERY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. They also told us they would call ahead and let them know that we are coming so they would wait for us.
The plane we were going to take came in and had to unload. There were 2 people on there that had to be taken off in a wheelchair therefore it took about 45 min. for them to unload. At this point we knew we were not going to make our connector to Portland, ME so we asked the supervisor (we think her name might have been Mandy) what they will do. She told us they would put us up in a hotel and we would get on the 11:51 am flight on Sunday the 2nd. She told us everything would be taken care of and not to worry. We boarded the plane and took off @ 2:00.
We arrived in Baltimore and were told to go to terminal B5 because that’s where customer service is. We inquired to the Manager on duty (is what he said he was) for a hotel room and we were told that there were no hotel rooms in Baltimore. He told us 2 other planes from Southwest had just canceled and that they took up all the hotel rooms. Again he told us there were no hotel rooms in the city of Baltimore. He didn’t attempt to call any. He then told us that Seattle shouldn’t have sent us there that they should have put us up there. We asked when we could get a flight out on Sunday and he said not until 4 pm. I told him several times my mom was handicapped and going to have back surgery and also had had 2 heart attacks and that we could not hang out in the airport until 4 pm the next day and that we had a medical condition and that I would get him Doctor’s records to prove it. He said there was nothing he could do. I asked him for someone higher than him to help us and he told us he was the manager and there wasn’t anyone higher than him around. I asked him to get us on another plane with another airline and he said he couldn’t do that. He could refund our money and we would have to figure out how we were going to get to Portland, ME. He said they didn’t have a contract with other airlines so he couldn’t get us on another plane with another airline.
There was a flight that was suppose to leave around 4 or 5 that day to Boston, MA but had been grounded for mechanical reasons and was scheduled to leave @ 12:00 am. The manager told us at first that there was one seat available. That meant one of us could have gotten on and the other stranded until 4:00 the next day. After about 20 or 30 min. they checked the flight and there were some openings because people had given up their seats. They booked us to leave @ 12:00.
We asked him if he could get us a hotel in Boston when we arrive @ 1:30 am on the 2nd. He made a phone call and was told there were no hotel rooms available in the city of Boston and that he could get us there but that was it. At that point we called my boyfriend who had been up since 5:30 am moving his parents all day and asked him to drive one way 1 ½ hours to come pick us up @ 1:00 am. He then used our gas which was a full tank in a GMC truck and had to pay a total of $9 in tolls from Rochester, NH to Boston, MA. It took us another 1 ½ hrs. to get home. We got home @ 3 am.
We asked the manager for compensation like free tickets and he said he couldn’t do that. He told us the only thing he could do was give us a voucher that was good for $10 towards food and a $25 credit towards another flight. We told him that was ridiculous and he said that’s all he could do. We walked away to get something to eat before we boarded the plane to learn that there were no food vendors open. There was a candy store that was closing but she let us get a drink and I had to pay $1.80 for it because she cannot collect food vouchers because she is a family owned store.
We were put in business class and we noticed there were 5 seats empty just in business class. Why were we told there were no seats available in the first place?
On Sunday afternoon the 2nd we had to drive in our truck and use our gas another 1 ½ hrs. one way to take my mom home to Maine and another 1 ½ hrs. home.
SIDE NOTES:
We were told by the flight attendant on the flight from Baltimore to Boston that he thought maybe the airtran people in Seattle were contracted by Frontier.
We ate @ 9 am and didn’t get anything to eat for lunch and dinner. We were served a snack and drink on both flights.
There were 26 adults that were traveling with children that were trying to get to Burlington, VT and the manager couldn’t get them on a plane until 9 pm on Aug. 2nd and there were no hotel rooms for them. They ended up hiring a bus driver for $2, 500 which cost them all $100 each to travel @ 10 pm to Burlington which takes approximate 10 hours. All of us had not had any dinner at this point.

On Sunday, December 28, 2008 I arrived at Orlando International Airport on time to check-in for my 8:39 AM flight to Philadelphia. I was then notified that I was late to check-in to the flight as the flight was rescheduled to 8:05 AM. I informed the manager at the ticket counter that I never received the email and I check my email daily. She then began to argue and raise her voice to me.

Although, the flight was not full she would not provide confirmed seats or accommodate for Airtran Airways mistake. The Manager put us on standby for the next flight which departed Orlando International at 11:45 AM and would arrive in Philadelphia at 2:06 PM (Flight 624).

To my dismay, this has been a disappointing experience with Airtran Airways as I fly with your airline often. I fly many other airlines and when there is a schedule change they call and ensure they speak to me and confirm I know there is a change in the flight schedule. Your staff was rude and unaccommodating for Airtran Airways mistake. I had to wait in the airport for an additional 3 hours and was now charged an extra day of parking in the amount of $8.25. I was not informed of a schedule change and did not receive what I originally paid for and would like a refund or compensation. I was also informed by your staff that Airtran continually overbooks flights and has to bump passengers. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact myself.