<p>"Somewhere in the FAQs I read that if even one of your legs on your trip is SW, then your bags “fly free”. "</p>
<p>It also sounds like you can do free bags as long as you book your flight on SW website based on what people have experienced. I booked several family member tickets over a 2 month period to DC area during summer and found that only SW had free bags while AT did not. So I had to ensure all trips involving checked baggage were on SW.</p>
<p>If you book an ‘operated by Air Tran’ flight through SW, there is no baggage fee; SW policy prevails.</p>
<p>Montegut- I flied SW recently in Business Select and it was a waste a money. We got a priority lane through security but there was no wait in either line anyway. You get to cancel or change last minute but SW doesn’t penalize for that anyway. You get a coupon for a free drink, but if you’re with someone underage they can’t use it and you can’t either (and the coupon is only good for that day). You have to drink the drink too, no mini bottles to take home if you wish. </p>
<p>You board before anyone except the people who pre-board because of disability. This was useful on the first leg, but then our flight was consolidated and we were taken off the plane. Before boarding the second flight about 60 people pre-boarded! 3 or 4 people in wheelchairs with their large families, someone with a service dog and their family, and a group of deaf high school students and their chaperones. Then ALL of us from the consolidated flight boarded in a big group since we didn’t have boarding passes anymore. I felt sorry for anyone who paid for an A ticket who had to wait for all of that.</p>
<p>Was a fan of AirTran years ago. Flew them often. Then around 2002 I noticed the change in AirTran’s operations. From that time onward no flight seemed to go smoothly, and EVERY AIRTRAN flight I took during a 18month period departed very late. at least 60 minutes late. And the prices were no longer the best around. I haven’t booked AirTran in years.</p>
<p>I haven’t had any issues with AirTran. They operated out of Portland, Maine, so now it’s SW. I was excited at first, but I’m finding the fares are much more expensive than other airlines! I thought they were supposed to be reasonably priced??</p>
<p>For years we have been held hostage to high fares in Minneapolis by Northwest (now Delta). Sun Country helps a little, but there are a lot of places they don’t fly and they don’t fly all their routes every day. SW has helped drive down prices here in general, I think. But we had ridiculously high prices for a long time.</p>
<p>Slightly off topic, but I started doing Business Select because I was accumulating too many travel funds from Wanna Get Away fares when I had to change travel plans. Wanna Get Away travel funds expire in a year. This happened very often while taking care of my Mom. I never knew when I was able to get away. Price difference between anytime and business select, which are the two nonrefundable rates, was not enough to justify choosing one over the other. In Business Select, you get a lot more points for your money.</p>
<p>I too am surprised at how high Southwest prices are nowadays. I used to fly to Houston for 50 bucks each way, using the Wanna Get Away. When it got to be only a small price difference between Wanna Get Away and Anytime and Business Select, I just decided on going Business Select every time. I could care less about being first on the plane, but with taking care of my Mom, it was very hard for me to check in exactly 24 hours ahead of time to make sure I got a decent seat assignment. If I remembered, I’d do Early Bird checkin, but that got to be a waste of money, better to just do the Business Select, get the extra points, and not worry about it. </p>
<p>I’ve had some recent flights where those who boarded the plane later were not able to store their otherwise carry on luggage because those who boarded before them used up all the storage space. I was very relieved I had chosen Business Select for those flights.</p>
<p>Wow, the prices for business select are usually hundreds of dollars higher in our market. Just $25 total (round trip) for early bird checkin, which I always use.</p>
<p>This may have been mentioned, but for those of you that prefer airtran, you should still book your flight thru Southwest, so that you can take advantage of the no change fee policy, and free bags.</p>
<p>The cheap wanna get away seats are snapped up very quickly, at least from NOLA to Houston, and visits to my mom were usually last minute when she had a setback. The problem I have with getting Wanna Get Away seats too early is that you have to use the travel funds one year from purchase. So, to get really cut rate prices, you have to book months in advance, not weeks. I’ve learned over the past few years that life throws you curve balls and you can’t make set plans in advance. Seriously, I had to take a spur of the moment weekend trip for my 50th birthday to use up travel funds and hotel free night certificates that were going to expire because I’d had such turmoil with my mom over the course of a year. It was a sacrifice, having to go to South Florida for a weekend, but I survived it!</p>
<p>Ah, the good ol’ days…Grew up flying Dallas - Houston (aka Love Field - Hobby) for $25!</p>
<p>My only experience with AirTran involved a 6:00am flight from LaGuardia. Took my son to visit some colleges. Due to a parking mixup, walked in the front door at 5:35. Checked in online the night before, and had only carry on, so ran straight to security. The line was wrapped around a wall literally farther than the eye could see. TSA guy saw my panic, asked what time my flight was, said oh boy, and took me right to the front. After checking ID, he had someone take me right to the front of the x-ray line. Quick pass through, grabbed our sneakers (untied) and ran full speed to the gate (last one at the end, of course). Arrived before they closed the door, got in our seats totally out of breath. </p>
<p>The rest of the flight was uneventful. No problems with AirTran.</p>
<p>Had my first AirTran/Southwest merger experience this weekend. Flew to Atlanta round trip, booked one way each way, and booked through Southwest.</p>
<p>I boarded an AirTran Boeing 717 in New Orleans, home city, and was wowwed by the experience. I had a seat in the second row, window, very wide seat, and the stewardess offered me a beverage as soon as I sat down, before other passengers had even boarded. She was an AirTran stewardess, and was talking to other crew members about being absorbed into Southwest. So this was not a Southwest trained crew member. Our business select section was a little over halfway full, and the plane held 110 people. I was offered soda three times during the flight, and when given my soda, I was given a cup of ice, with a whole can.</p>
<p>The return flight, leaving Atlanta, heading to New Orleans, was also an AirTran plane, though I didn’t notice if it was 717 or 737. Business select was the same wide seats, was full, and instead of a few select executives, it comprised several of us plain old folks.</p>
<p>This time, the stewardess passed out 4 ounce Dasani bottles, and later, passed around the basket of snacks to pick from. No offer of soda at all. In fact, an elderly gentleman had to ask her several times for a cup of coffee. Same stewardess also fussed at the entering passengers to move along, and instead of trying to diffuse seat selection conflicts, she egged the arguers on and complained to other passengers about their attitudes. </p>
<p>I was absolutely shocked at this behavior, especially given that the tickets were not cheap on this flight, and just because someone is not dressed in a suit and tie does not mean their money is not as good as anothers.</p>
<p>I will certainly think twice about paying extra for Business Select on another AirTran flight if it is more than a 25 dollar difference. When booking Southwest to Houston flights, the price difference is little more than the Anytime fare, and I frankly didn’t even look when booking my flight to Atlanta, as I was more concerned about getting to my event on time and had limited flights to choose from. </p>
<p>Next time I travel, if I have the luxury of booking far in advance, I may take one of those Wanna Get Away fares if I’m going to get that kind of service.</p>
<p>Also, if I travel to Atlanta, since it would have to be on AirTran, I may just go through Delta instead, and see what kind of service I get from them compared to the AirTran rudeness.</p>
<p>I know this takes energy, but try to send a letter to SW, with the specifics of your flights and let them know how it went. They would surely be interested to know!</p>
<p>Okay. I will. I really did want to, but would feel bad to get the stewardess fired if she was just having a bad day. But I do like to fill out any surveys after hotel stays, so I don’t mind making the effort to provide input.</p>
<p>I have always had good flights on AirTran. Sorry to see them leave DFW because Southwest owned operations can fly only from Love Field. It was not good for flyers when the DOJ allowed Southwest to buy it. We always like the prices DFW-ATL and DFW-MCO. I can remember paying $188 roundtrip on the latter route. Now that American Airlines don’t have to worry about AirTran, they hit me up for $276 to $350.</p>
<p>I am hoping that with the merger, direct flights will resume from Nola to Bhm. Met many people in Atlanta this weekend who were bemoaning the loss of this direct flight.</p>
<p>You have no flights from Nola to B’ham? Why did that happen?</p>
<p>I used to fly southwest back in 1993-95 from Houston to B’ham which hopped over Nola. Used to be able to do that almost every 2 hours. Can’t believe they have none now.</p>
<p>There are no direct flights from Birmingham to New Orleans. I started attending a conference in Birmingham every year when Southwest added direct flights from NOLA to Birmingham. A big reason son chose Bama was because he could get a quick direct flight home. However, in at least the last year, he’s had to change planes in Dallas or Houston to get home via Southwest. He’s even taken the train over flying if the timing is right. I’ve even checked other airlines and could not find a direct Birmingham New Orleans flight. Layovers in Atlanta for other airlines. Maybe when I write that letter complaining about the poor service on my AirTran Atlanta NOLA flight, I’ll suggest they reinstitute their direct flight from Birmingham to NOLA as well.</p>
<p>We flew Southwest and Air Tran flights a couple of weeks ago. We like SW and the free bag, but on this trip we did carry-ons only. </p>
<p>We did like the assigned seating on Air Tran, except that they put my husband and me in different rows. This didn’t make much sense since all others in the row were single travelers. </p>
<p>The assigned seating was very useful on the return trip. We had less than an hour between flights. We don’t normally give ourselves such a short layover, but it was necessary this time. Our 6:00 am or so flight from La Guardia to Atlanta took off late. We had to wait on a gate in Atlanta. By the time we got off one plane, and ran to the other end of the terminal we barely made it. They were calling our names over the intercom! Husband’s seatmate was pretty grouchy about his late arrival. </p>
<p>Book all the flights through SW to get Rapid Rewards points. </p>
<p>What I’m still trying to figure out is what will happen with baggage fees if one ends up on two different airlines.</p>