Airtran ( Bad Service)

[caning01]

Just letting you guys know. Took airtran from buffalo to Orlando connecting at atlanta. When it was about to land on atlanta, the pilot told us there might be a problem with the nose. So he tried to land like four times. And finally it landed but we were warned to prepare for emergency evacuation. My girlfren and I were so scared. Well when we got to atlanta we were late for our connecting flight so we had to wait for a later flight. There was no one telling us what we could do but just wait for the next flight. We were not even offered anything to eat. I thought maybe its just this time. Well on the way back from atlanta to buffalo, the workers at the airport broke the handle to the cargo door of the plane. And we sat there waiting for like 2 1/2 hrs. We were not well informed and we were not even served anything to drink or eat. This is the first and last time Ill ever take airtran. And when I called up airtran and explained the situation. They said its only courtesy if they help us. Well letting you guys know about airtran. Though I admit the price was cheap but I rather pay more for other airlines rather than take airtran.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

To be fair, being kept in the dark about different situations and missing a connecting flight can happen with ANY airline. I've flown on most of the major airlines and this is typically the case. I was on a Philadelphia-Atlanta Delta flight that was delayed leaving because of bad weather, which later caused us to be in a holding pattern for a couple of hours and forced us to land in Charlotte for refeuling. We were told of the reason for the delay leaving but found out about landing in Charlotte maybe 20 minutes before landing.

As for the broken cargo door handle, I do hope that was on an unretired 737 or DC-9 and not one of the new 717.

 

[caning01]

I was really mad at their service and the way the handled the situation. They did not offer anyone anything not even assistance of any kind but instead when I called airtran they said its only as a courtesy they have to do that. In that case what kind of service do they have. Besides, the other passengers informed me that airtran is never on time. I was on a flight that they had technical difficulties and second the whole flight was waiting for the connecting flight that we missed by 5 minutes. And we all had to reschedule. Some couldnt get on the next flight but 2-3 flights after.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

This has happened to me on different airlines. It seems to be part of the business. Anyway, the best way I have achieved positive results is to not call, but write a letter, return/receipt to the customer service office or if you can find it the VP of customer service. Any time I have done this I have had wonderful results. In fact Delta paid for airfare that we used to go to the Disneyland resort after a mishap on an international flight.

Remember to be courteous in the letter explaining what happened and how it affected you, and also let them know you will let your friends and family know of the experience (I would not put in there that you are posting this info on websites). There is a debate about whether you should ask for anything or just say you wanted to make them aware of this situation. Usually I use the I don't associate this type of service with xyz so I wanted to make sure you knew this happened.

If you do get a positive response I would hope that you would post that as well.

 

[travelcoupons]

This happens on all airlines...it sounds just like my experience on Delta 2 years ago. Cargo Door latch broke...had to sit ON THE PLANE w/o AIR CONDITIONING at the gate for nearly 2 hours while they fixed it. Anyone who's sat in a metal capsule in July in Atlanta without a/c should be given a medal. It was hideous.
Everyone on the plane was grumpy the whole flight...luckily it was a short flight...

 

[TurtleMan]

I need to jump in here and let everyone know that AirTran has been great with us. We fly at least every 8 weeks from Atlanta and use AirTran when we can. We have never had a flight be more than 15 min. late and they are usually on time - at least for our flights. We have always found the staff to be courteous and helpful. Sorry if you had a bad experience.

 

[SnackyStacky]

I've heard exactly the opposite about AirTran. My father flew with them from Tampa, and said he had NOTHING but problems.

Caning01, I see your flight left from Buffalo. Next time, try JetBlue or Southwest. JetBlue's can be a bit pricey, but their service and fleet are INCOMPARABLE!!!!!!!! Southwest is amazingly cheap with their friends fly free program, not to mention that it's nonstop!!!! JetBlue I believe has to make a connection at JFK.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Service and cheap fares are mutually exclusive on these sort of airlines---you shouldn't expect both.
All you get for your money is a plane that , hopefully, makes it from one airport to the other somewhat on time.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Sorry Uncleromulus, but you're just wrong. They are not mutually exclusive. I have experienced far superior service on JetBlue, a discount airline, than on any other airline, and I've flown quite a few. JetBlue's planes are BRAND new, and state of the art. Each passenger has free DirecTV! Not to mention that after the government required the cockpit doors to be locked, JetBlue was the first one to have that done. Not to mention that all of their planes were already wired to have closed circuit cameras throughout the plane that gave the pilot a view of what was happening on board while the door was locked. It was never required, but JetBlue installed the cameras. Their flight attendants are among the most friendly, helpful, attentive people I've ever had on any flight.

I can't speak for Southwest, because I haven't flown with them before, but the word of mouth on them is wonderful.

So, no, service, and cheap fares are NOT mutually exclusive.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Watch as service on that Airline deteriorates as time goes on.. you tend to get what you pay for, and low fares and good service MUST eventually be mutually exclusive. Otherwise, they'll go out of business.
Wouldn't suprise me (especially if pilots have seeing-eye cameras) to see stewardess eliminated entirely. Flying these cheap airlines will be no different than boarding a transit bus. Sit where-ever you want and we'll get you from point A to point B. And it will be CHEAP.
Southwest service is "so-so". Ask for something and you might get it--but then, you might not. On our 2 SW flights to WDW we saw the stewardess maybe 2-3 times the whole flight. But we did get our peanuts and lukewarm coffee.
Took America West (red eye) to and from Vegas a few years back. Asked for a pillow so I could try and get some sleep--no dice!! Stewardess said they only carried 50 pillows per flight. Think of the $$ they saved!!

 

[Mymatisse]

Any smartly operated airline, like Jet Blue, realizes that their business and profit IS their customer service. This is why they are doing so well..they found their "gimmick" providing people with afordable flights and GREAT service.

Even when their fares go up, the flying experience is so fabulous that I would even consider paying a few more bucks just to fly with them.

Personally, I haven't found any of the "non-budget" airlines to be comparable as far as comfort and/or service. Delta sucked! Even the first class section on my flight from Atlanta to Buffalo was straight up ghetto! I also haven't been very impressed with American or USAIR.

It's Jet Blue all the way for me!

 

[SnackyStacky]

Uncleromulus, I'm just guessing, but judging by the wording of your post I would GUESS that you haven't flown JetBlue. I could be wrong, but working from that analysis, I can say that until you fly with them, you aren't in any position to make comments about the deterioration of their service.

I have been consistently flying JetBlue for about 2 years; ever since they started operating out of Buffalo, and in all the flights I've had with them (I don't even want to think about how many that is...), I have NEVER had bad service.

"The challenges and skeptics were many. Critics scoffed at our dream of creating a successful low-fare airline based in New York City. They said we'd never find quality employees, that no one would want to fly domestically from JFK, and that we'd never be able to offer both low fares and a product that includes new planes, leather seats and live satellite tv with DIRECTV® programming. Five million customers later, we're proud to be proving the critics wrong"

This is directly from the JetBlue site. I would highly reccomend JetBlue. If you have flown with them, and don't care for their service, that's your opinion. But if you haven't take one of their flights sometime. I can GUARANTEE that your service will be top notch.

 

[madcoco]

Jet Blue has great service.Good management team took the novel idea that treat the employee well, Don't dangle fake carrots and the customer will prosper.Excellent market capitalization but they have deferred lease payments on quite a few of their Airbus' It will be interesting to see what happens down the road when they start hub flying from LGB.(Long Beach) No one has made money from there and Southwest stays away.Rapid expansion has a very high failure rate. I wish them the best.Only time will tell.Just .02 from someone who has been there.