Airtran- is it worth it to pay for seats?

I don't think I've ever read anything that suggests a young, non-handicapped, child is protected by any law that applies to discrimination against the handicapped.

I think your point is halfway valid. I think Airtran should require parents with a child under 5 purchase at least two seats.

I think Airtran should make it clearer passengers who don't purchase seats should be prepared for middle seats, scattered throughout the plane.

That said FA will almost always get one parent next to a child under 5.




That's because they can't charge for such accommodations. I put it in my last post. If you google "air consumer charges prohibited" and take the top hit from airconsumer.dot.gov, you should see that such charges are prohibited because they are discriminatory. It's under the heading: "Charges for Accommodations Prohibited". You should also look at the Air Carrier Access Act.

Look, I'm not saying AirTran is a bad airline. I like flying AirTran. I just think this policy, which other airlines probably share, may not be in FAR compiance for safety.
 
majorbulk said:
Ah I see, so the airline says $24 please if you want your child to be safe. Otherwise, who knows what might happen.
No. The airline says, "$X for your actual tickets, plus (in this specific instance) $6 per ticket if you wish to preselect your seats FOR ANY REASON. They don't actually care if or why one or more particular passengers opt to pay in advance for seat selection. In aubriee's case it's - forgive me for amateur diagnosis - apparently a degree of claustrophobia. In your case it's to have an adult next to a child. In my case it may be a lucky number. The airline doesn't care why. They care THAT we want to choose our seat/s in advance, and they charge us for that.

Don't like it? Don't fly on AirTran or any other airline that does this.

uva185 said:
How hard is it to understand that AirTran has unbundled the fees
Thank you! I was about to start actually whacking my forehead, trying to dislodge this word. :teeth: Couldn't remember it at all!
 
This is what I was going to say. Instead of looking at it as an extra fee to seats when purchasing your tix, think of the cost to buy the tix without a seat assignment as a "discounted" price.

Exactly. When choosing to fly AirTran you are choosing a low cost carrier that separates out fees. If you don't check a bag, you don't have to pay. If you don't care where you sit or who you sit next to you don't have to pay for a seat. Sorry, but I want to sit next to my DD8 just as much as you do your child. As a result, I pay for it. Even with all the fees they are still usually the cheapest airline for me to fly. Do you know how many people fly to MCO with small children??? IMHO, AirTran has some of the fairest policies. THey do not single anyone out. Love them! :lovestruc
 
Ah I see, so the airline says $24 please if you want your child to be safe. Otherwise, who knows what might happen.


Never? My guess is you're wrong, but google can't find the history of all evacuation tests and their criteria. I actually don't know details of all the tests ever done by the FAA. But, by virtue of an airline issuing tickets to minors, they are assuming responsibility to transport them in a safe and regulation compliant way.


You're not seeing it because it does not say they charge for it. That's because they can't charge for such accommodations. I put it in my last post. If you google "air consumer charges prohibited" and take the top hit from airconsumer.dot.gov, you should see that such charges are prohibited because they are discriminatory. It's under the heading: "Charges for Accommodations Prohibited". You should also look at the Air Carrier Access Act.

Look, I'm not saying AirTran is a bad airline. I like flying AirTran. I just think this policy, which other airlines probably share, may not be in FAR compiance for safety.

My mom is disabled and gets wheelchair assistance from Airtran to get to and from the gate when she flies. She has never gotten a free seat assignment. Any seat assignment ahead of time for her has been paid for, same as the rest of the family when we travel.
 
...That said FA will almost always get one parent next to a child under 5.

Not true based on the many people here who have seen Airtran seat young children away from their parents.
 
I leave today for Disney and I did the online check-in last night. I was able to select GREAT seats-without paying! We have row 15 all together. They WERE selling for $15 each before the 24 hour mark. I'm glad I waited. There were plenty of seats to choose from.
 
I leave today for Disney and I did the online check-in last night. I was able to select GREAT seats-without paying! We have row 15 all together. They WERE selling for $15 each before the 24 hour mark. I'm glad I waited. There were plenty of seats to choose from.

The thing is, you can't depend on this happening. It is great it worked out for you! But if someone can't handle what would happen if they were unable to get seats together, then they shouldn't be taking that chance.
 
I just did my online check-in for Air Tran this morning. I had paid for the $15 seats to guarantee my kids sit with us, and the seats were listed as priority seating. We are all zone 1 for boarding.

My Mom is going with us too, but we didn't pay for a seat for her, as she can sit anywhere. Air Tran had changed our original flights, putting her on a different one than us... so I had to call and get that changed. They assigned her seat in the same row as us at that time, no charge. So the seat is assigned to her, but she did not pay for it. After on-line check in for her, she is zone 8 for boarding.

If boarding first is important to you, then it seems it might be worth it to pay for those priority seats. If you get them at check-in, but don't pay for them, you don't get the priority boarding.
 
Yes, it's always better to pay the extra for assigned seats.
Last time I went to Disney my TA booked AirTran for our flights. It was DH, myself and DD(3). Our TA didn't fully explain that you could pay extra for an assisgned seat. She just told us to "check in" via the website 24 hrs in advance. The way down was not a problem, all three of us were together. Our problem was with our return flight home. We were leaving on a Sat flight at 6:00pm so, at 6:00 the previous day (Friday) we were at Epcot. We attempted to log in on the website from our phone, and ugh the website was down. We made our way back to our hotel and asked the conceirge to go online for us (which we heard was standard practice). Wouldn't you know it, the entire plane was booked already!! (This was around 7pm) So guess what... NONE OF US had seats. We had no choice to go the next day to the airport with our a seat assignment. When we arrived the attendant said the plane was full and we would have to wait until Sunday morning to get on a different flight!! So, when you don't pay the extra money you are just booking a seat on A FLIGHT....NOT THE FLIGHT YOU PICKED!! You have now have been warned!! So aside from sitting together, if you do not want to get bumped... Pay the extra money!!
 
Yes, it's always better to pay the extra for assigned seats.
Last time I went to Disney my TA booked AirTran for our flights. It was DH, myself and DD(3). Our TA didn't fully explain that you could pay extra for an assisgned seat. She just told us to "check in" via the website 24 hrs in advance. The way down was not a problem, all three of us were together. Our problem was with our return flight home. We were leaving on a Sat flight at 6:00pm so, at 6:00 the previous day (Friday) we were at Epcot. We attempted to log in on the website from our phone, and ugh the website was down. We made our way back to our hotel and asked the conceirge to go online for us (which we heard was standard practice). Wouldn't you know it, the entire plane was booked already!! (This was around 7pm) So guess what... NONE OF US had seats. We had no choice to go the next day to the airport with our a seat assignment. When we arrived the attendant said the plane was full and we would have to wait until Sunday morning to get on a different flight!! So, when you don't pay the extra money you are just booking a seat on A FLIGHT....NOT THE FLIGHT YOU PICKED!! You have now have been warned!! So aside from sitting together, if you do not want to get bumped... Pay the extra money!!

Hopefully this will continue to help people learn that it is worth it to pay for seats. It is not worth the gamble that some are willing to take. Glad you made it home and that you posted your experience!
 
Parents. Book your seats. Last summer I was on my honeymoon with DH (NOT to Disney World :sad2:) and we paid to sit together on Airtran. Now, we are two adults, and by no means did we HAVE to sit together. I just wanted to because it was our honeymoon, it was a 4 hour flight, and I've always been just a little squirmish on planes. Well, who is seated next to us, but a mother and an infant begging one of us to move so she can be seated next to her husband and other infant (the babies were twins.) Now....how can I, an able bodied 27-year old (at the time) possibly argue with that? I would sound like a COMPLETE biotch if I told this mother I couldn't/wouldn't move. So I did, because I'm not heartless.

BUT, in retrospect, it's so not fair. I paid months in advance for the ability to sit next to my husband on a 4 hour flight that happened to be my honeymoon. I paid extra for nothing, because this mom didn't have the foresight to book ahead. It was also somewhat annoying, because it's not like either infant was by themselves. Mom was with one, dad was with the other. That's the way the cookie should have crumbled.

Bottom line, there are lots of reasons people may want to book a seat in advance. Just because their aren't kids involved, doesn't mean these paying patrons don't have legitimate reasons to want to sit where they paid to book. :confused3

Sorry if this post sounds a little cranky/rude.
 
I leave today for Disney and I did the online check-in last night. I was able to select GREAT seats-without paying! We have row 15 all together. They WERE selling for $15 each before the 24 hour mark. I'm glad I waited. There were plenty of seats to choose from.

Glad it worked out for you. January/February are notorious for being the slowest for travel times. If sitting together is important, I would advise in paying in advance.
 
Were both infants "lap babies"?

Yep. I don't know what the rules are (don't have kids yet, so I've never bothered to look them up...why would I? :lmao:), but they were both under a year, so I'm assuming they didn't have a paid ticket. Mom and Dad paid for two tickets, didn't bother to pay in advance to sit next to each other, and the babies sat on their lap for the duration of the flight.
 
Yep. I don't know what the rules are (don't have kids yet, so I've never bothered to look them up...why would I? :lmao:), but they were both under a year, so I'm assuming they didn't have a paid ticket. Mom and Dad paid for two tickets, didn't bother to pay in advance to sit next to each other, and the babies sat on their lap for the duration of the flight.

Wow. What they did was actually wrong for so many reasons, the least of which is actually the fact that they didn't bother to pay in advance. According to the FAA (or whoever is in charge) those two should NOT have been in the same row (even if they paid for it). There is only one extra oxygen mask per row, which means that there should only be one infant per row. Had something happen in that flight, requiring the oxygen masks to fall, one of them would have been without oxygen. I'm really surprised that the FAs allowed it to happen.
 
Wow. What they did was actually wrong for so many reasons, the least of which is actually the fact that they didn't bother to pay in advance. According to the FAA (or whoever is in charge) those two should NOT have been in the same row (even if they paid for it). There is only one extra oxygen mask per row, which means that there should only be one infant per row. Had something happen in that flight, requiring the oxygen masks to fall, one of them would have been without oxygen. I'm really surprised that the FAs allowed it to happen.

Woah! Interesting! Wish I had known this last August. I definitely would have told the mother that so as to keep my assigned seat (and protect the safety of her babies). What happened was, I switched with dad and sat in his assigned (middle) seat. The two babies and their parents ended up sitting next to my DH for the flight. Apparently they were actually a pretty nice family, and DH hit it off with them. No one said boo about it. CRAZY! You'd think the flight attendants would flag that issue right away.

Oh well. I'm starting to feel nit-picky. It's not like I've honestly thought about that flight since we've taken it. In the long run, it didn't really affect me...small potatoes. I was just skimming this thread, and that issue came back to me. Felt like posting.
 
Wow. What they did was actually wrong for so many reasons, the least of which is actually the fact that they didn't bother to pay in advance. According to the FAA (or whoever is in charge) those two should NOT have been in the same row (even if they paid for it). There is only one extra oxygen mask per row, which means that there should only be one infant per row. Had something happen in that flight, requiring the oxygen masks to fall, one of them would have been without oxygen. I'm really surprised that the FAs allowed it to happen.

I can confirm this. When I was flying from LAX to MSP on Sun Country, I had a lap baby for the flight plus my other daughter. The airline put us in a row and the gentleman next to me also had a lap child and he was assigned to the aisle seat in my row. The Flight Attendant stopped in our row and asked if we were together. We said no and she said someone would have to move because there was only 1 extra mask. She was agitated when she asked about how we had these seats and we both told her we had been assigned this way.

I would guess the mother did not ask a FA for help and took it upon herself to switch people around. But I am surprised that the FA did not notice this seating arrangement and question it.
 
MellyBeans said:
Parents. Book your seats. Last summer I was on my honeymoon with DH (NOT to Disney World ) and we paid to sit together on Airtran. Now, we are two adults, and by no means did we HAVE to sit together. I just wanted to because it was our honeymoon, it was a 4 hour flight, and I've always been just a little squirmish on planes. Well, who is seated next to us, but a mother and an infant begging one of us to move so she can be seated next to her husband and other infant (the babies were twins.) Now....how can I, an able bodied 27-year old (at the time) possibly argue with that? I would sound like a COMPLETE biotch if I told this mother I couldn't/wouldn't move. So I did, because I'm not heartless.
Okay, next time the two of you fly anywhere, and a passenger asks you to change seats, say this: "I appreciate you asking, but we (I) can't do that." Period.

MY reason for you saying 'no' is that you didn't get to sit together on your honeymoon. But you don't have to explain anything to anyone (except possibly the flight crew :)).
 
I find this thread to be so amusing, I hope that it continues.

The arrogance of some posters who demand to be satisfied because they won't pay for a seat assignment at the expense of others makes me chuckle.
If sitting together is such a priority without paying the fee, they should be flying one of the legacy airlines where this fee is part of the ticket price.:cool1:
 
I find this thread to be so amusing, I hope that it continues.

The arrogance of some posters who demand to be satisfied because they won't pay for a seat assignment at the expense of others makes me chuckle.
If sitting together is such a priority without paying the fee, they should be flying one of the legacy airlines where this fee is part of the ticket price.:cool1:

yet those same posters will never consider flying a legacy because the "price is too high".

I too follow threads like this with interest...
 

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