[mkimbro]

I recently returned from Las Vegas on flight 776 through Atlanta ending in Ft. Lauderdale. (Sunday April 27, 2008). My reservations were made 2 months in advance; I tried several times to get seat assignments for me and my wife and was told that I would have to wait until the travel day to get them. When I checked in for the trip out again I tried to get seat assignments and was told i would have to wait until the return flight day. When I checked in 2 hours early I was assigned a seat in a different row from my wife.I learned later this happened to six couples on this flight alone. I asked the desk and gate agent to change our seats and was told that the flight was overbooked and now airtran is selling aisle and exit seats for extra money. Since they need the extra money other seats are assigned at random. Not my fault or even a good customer service idea. They told me to ask the flight attendants to help me with my problem. They cared even less that the agents if that is possible. They told me to sit in my assigned seats they had to worry about preparing for takeoff not seat assignments. I guess you wonder by now why I am writing this since it is obvious I will never fly air tran again. I don't expect a response because obviously customer service is not a concern, however I am sending a copy of this e-mail to Senator Nelson from Florida and my congressman and the FAA.
Just thought you'd like to know.
Mark Kimbro

[Corbel]

airtran now charges for seats if you wish to assign them in advance, if you wait to check in there is no charge, (not sure about the aisle and exit row when you check in though). the airlines are loosing money left and right and this is just one more thing that most are starting to do for extra money. The FAA or your senator (i dont think and someone correct me if im wrong) can do anything about them charging extra for seats in advance. so when you checked in, that may have been what was available, but checking in 2 hours early, you should have been able to sit together, i would think.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

To my understanding, the only way one gets advance seat selection, on Air Tran, is if they book into Business Class. Since the coach seats that are available for a surcharge make-up only a fraction of the total number of coach seats, one's chance of, even, bagging one of those seats are limited--unless--Air Tran follows the pattern of Northwest, and allows you to select on-line, and pay the surcharge on-line, within 24 hours of departure.

Of the US-based airlines, Air Tran, really, isn't all that bad. The DOT indicates they have a low rate of complaints and lost baggage. The only thing one has to be careful about with Air Tran are connecting times in Atlanta. Connecting times of less than 2 hours should be avoided. Atlanta is a congested airport, and relying on one of those 30 to 50 minute connections may result in either you not making your connecting flight, or your baggage not making that flight.

Again, I recommend Business Class on Air Tran. You get advance seat selection. And, if things go wrong, your ticket is fully refundable. However, unlike other airlines, there's no food service--only peanuts, pretzels, etc.

[bah humbug]

All seats are available for advance purchase, window, aisle, middle, and exit row seats. If you WANT to purchase them. It is not mandatory. If you wish to choose your seat in advance to guarantee seats together there is a charge. If you check in on the internet within 24 hors of your flight, there is no charge, and you can usually still get seats together. If you choose to wait until you get to the airport to get your seats, you are running the risk of not being able to sit together. It does not matter how far in advance you bought your seats, you did not buy seats together, you bought A seat. There is no guarantee that they will be together.

[Jetliner]

Checking in 2 hours prior means nothing. If 90 out of 100 passengers either bought seat assignments or checked in on line and picked seats at that time, then that only leaves 10 seats scattered about on the aircraft.

AirTran does not charge for aisles - that's a Northwest thing. AirTran just charges a fee to get a seat assignment in advance. The exit rows cost a few dollars more to assign.

[Tampa Flyer]

After completing and paying for my non-refundable reservation (at what I thought was a final price) I attempted to make a seat selection. Seat selection required an additional $6 per seat per flight segment ($20 for front economy or exit row seats - $69 for business class upgrade).

On the outward bound flight, I let AirTran assign seats. My wife and I were seated in middle seats on opposite sides of the aircraft. On the return flight, I paid the extra $6 each to avoid being jammed between two large people, again (I'm 5'8", 165 pounds, so I fit okay). Advance selection showed all center seats reserved, so I couldn't get seats together without paying for both. Apparently, most people chose to forfeit the extra $6, because the flight had several center seats open after all. The amount doesn't bother me -- $6 is not that much money. I am, however, very bothered by the failure of AirTran to disclose the extra cost before the ticket purchase is completed.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Tampa Flyer

After completing and paying for my non-refundable reservation (at what I thought was a final price) I attempted to make a seat selection. Seat selection required an additional $6 per seat per flight segment ($20 for front economy or exit row seats - $69 for business class upgrade).

On the outward bound flight, I let AirTran assign seats. My wife and I were seated in middle seats on opposite sides of the aircraft. On the return flight, I paid the extra $6 each to avoid being jammed between two large people, again (I'm 5'8", 165 pounds, so I fit okay). Advance selection showed all center seats reserved, so I couldn't get seats together without paying for both. Apparently, most people chose to forfeit the extra $6, because the flight had several center seats open after all. The amount doesn't bother me -- $6 is not that much money. I am, however, very bothered by the failure of AirTran to disclose the extra cost before the ticket purchase is completed.

Sorry but your complaint doesn't "hold water." I did a test booking and on the third step, before entering any credit card information, here's the verbiage which appears after each group of flights:

fare rules

Departing (Coach)

• H Fare Class
• Coach Class
• Non-refundable
• Changes may be made for a fee of $75 per person plus any applicable increase in fare.
• Advance seat assignment is available for a small fee, or you may select your seats upon check-in at no cost.
• Reservations may be obtained or changed through an AirTran Airways Telephone Reservations Center for an additional $15.00 per person.
• Additional baggage fees may apply.

(bolding/emphasis mine)

Yet another case of "I didn't bother to read...but it's still the airline's fault."

This information wasn't buried in small print nor did you have to click on a link to display it. It was displayed TWICE on the same page which also gives you the option to purchase travel insurance and login to your frequent flier account if you have one. At the bottom there's a button to "Confirm & Continue" [so I'm assuming you clicked on that button to proceed with the purchase process and by doing so you "confirmed" that you read the fare rules, terms and conditions (wether you really bothered to read them or not). Sorry.

[Tampa Flyer]

Actually, we are both right. My posting was meant to alert people of the amount of the seat selection upcharge --not complain of the amount. You're right that Air Tran disclosed "a small fee" would permit me to select my seat, but they did not disclose the amount until after completing the transaction. When Air Tran assigned seats on the outbound trip, I assumed (my error, not theirs) they would seat two travelers together if possible. After the outbound trip, I found that was not the case, so paid the extra $12. On the return leg, there was a lot of last minute seat trading so people could sit together -- so much so it actually delayed departure a couple of minutes. I did read the terms before clicking "confirm and continue", so knew there was an extra charge -- just not how much. Now people who read my posting can know the three possible upcharges. That was my purpose. When comparing flight costs, I prefer to know the full charge for actual comparison.

[wakizas1]

We booked our flight back in February of 2011 and we were told that 24hrs prior to your flight you could go online and get your seats. Well my husband did this only to find that our seats were ALREADY BOOKED BY THE AIRLINE! IN THE BACK! We called Air Tran and they told us that if we would have paid and extra $6 per person we could have picked our seats earlier. Huh? My husband booked through a third party company to get a better deal. Yeah Right. We are getting charged fees right and left for baggage, etc. We even paid to board early and put our carry on on and mine was moved because a lady that was seated near the back like us didn't have any room, so what does the airline stewardess do, she moves my bag up in another bin completely away from me! WE WILL NEVER EVER REFER THIS AIRLINE TO ANYONE AND WILL NEVER BOOK A FLIGHT WITH THEM AGAIN! No TV, I think that anymore all the airlines are getting out of control on fees for this and fees for that. EVERYTHING SHOULD BE DISCLOSED WHEN YOU PAY FOR YOUR TICKETS! EVEN IF ITS A YEAR IN ADVANCE! I think our family is thinking that driving 15 to 16 hours again is looking better and better!

[wakizas1]

I have seen where there are people saying Air Tran posts that there are small fees to be able to book early but how in the world would someone know if they are booking through a third party and this party is handling everything? I guess it is up to the third party to tell you however I feel that the airline should warn people that seats get booked up in a hurry and keep families together as much as possible. I realize that you can't in some cases but when you have 2 to 4 people? If we would have know that there was going to be a rat race to get seats, we would have not went with this airline. It was our first and last experience. I guess it is like my mother may she rest in peace used to say You get what you pay for. If you get cheap flights/seats, then you get what you get. Still sad that no one seems to care about Customer Service anymore.

[jimworcs]

Whenever the airlines introduce a new fee... such a seat selection fee, they will then implement measures to ensure that people choose to "purchase" the fee. The mechanism for that is that they will allocate people who are travelling together seats in different parts of the aircraft. This manipulation of the customer generates extra revenue, but it also generates extra resentment. They don't care because, despite appears to the contrary, the choice on particular city pairs is often very limited.

These "voluntary" fees are utterly disingenuous and need regulating. When quoting a fare, I think the airline should be required to post a "typical" fare.. ie, a person who had one checked bag, 1 hand luggage, pays with a credit card and selects their seat. This would give the customer a more realistic sense of the true costs of the ticket.

Unbundling of charges is not, as the airlines like to portray, an effort to allow the customer to "customise the service to meet their needs". It is a blatent attempt to hide the true cost of travel and to mislead the consumer with headline prices which simply don't exist in reality.

This industry badly needs re-regulation.