AirTran/trip may be cancelled/rumors!

[CoraJack]

Hi everyone:

I may not be able to see the Mouse--I hope someone can help!

We are planning on flying out of Akron/Canton airport in Ohio on June 6th. The only airline that flies non stop is AirTran and the times were convenient--so we booked on them. I'm scared to fly so I've been visiting a "fear of flying" webpage/chat/messageboard. Up until now the site has been helping me alot. Recently in a chat the airline Captain (and webmaster) of the board told me that he would NOT fly on AirTran! He cites these reasons among others:

#1--poor safety record
#2--run by a group of businessmen that know nothing about airplanes
#3--used to be ValuJet and changed their name after their crash in the Everglades
#4--the FAA tried to shut them down but could not due to their political connections

I could go on and on but this is the main idea.

What I'm looking for from you guys is information if you have it!!! Have any of you flown AirTran? If so what was the condition of the planes? Did everything seem professional? Do any of you have any inside information on the company?

The info that I found is that they just bought a new fleet of 717's and I would be flying on one of those new planes. Also I read that they had been given awards by several organizations.

Since AirTran's headquarters is in Florida I was hoping that someone here would have some answers.

Thanks in advance for any support you can give!
Christina
(trip in 13 days -- but not sure if I'll be cancelling or not!!!!)

 

[ducklite]

I'm not going to comment directly on Airtran, but on upstarts in general.

I don't fly any carrier until it's been in the sky with a good safety record for at least five years. In some cases ten years. Now, some of the larger carrires might have more accidents than some of the smaller ones, but I look at it by the ratio of incidents to flights. I also look at the cause of the accident. Hitting a moose on the runway is truly an act of God. An accident caused by poor maintenance, bad record keeping, or inexperienced crew is another story all together.

Anne

 

[KathyR]

While I have not flown air tran, I think you can relax!!! Think how often you hear of airplane crashes. Certainly not everyday or even close to everyday thank goodness. Don't worry about it. Go enjoy your trip. Be confident that air travel is one of the safest ways to travel. You get in your car everyday hopefully w/o incident, but the facts remain you are FAR more likely to be involved in a vehicular accident than an airplane accident. Do a seach on this board for Air Tran and see what comes up. I am sure there are good and bad experiences w/them with the good outweighing the bad. Then as a cross reference do the same w/any major carrier, and you will likely find the same amount of bad experiences! I seriously would not worry one bit!!! Have a great vacation, and don't let people scare you from your trip!!!

 

[Esmerelda]

I fly AirTran at least 4 times per year. I have never had one single problem or (believe it or not!) one single delay yet.

I would not hesitate to use Airtran for any travel anywhere. I will be up in the sky with them again in June.

Good luck..and don't worry..travel in the car is more treacherous than the air

E..

 

[disneymom3]

My cousins husband is a pilot--not for airtran. He says Airtran has a totally new fleet of planes and that whtever it was that caused the everglades crash--I don't remember what it was--could have happened to any airline. this is not my opinion, it is what he said when the topic came up recently. I am sure there are sites out there on the internet where you could do a check on safety infractions etc. From everything I have heard, Airtran has a very good reputation. Cars crash a lot more often than planes! Bring a good book to distract you and have a wonderful trip!

 

[zulaya]

Never have flown Airtran but have heard some good reviews here.

One thing to think about and while this isn't in terms of safety exactly you can get a handle on how often really bad things happen on planes.

There are 24,000 flights that take off each day. Air crashes don't happen each day. Think how often they are reported. I honestly can't tell you. But I think you will be fine once you get on the plane.

 

[CoraJack]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who responded to my post.

I'd also like to say thank you to DIS because I posted this exact same post at another Disney messageboard and the "powers that be" over there decided that due to liability issues they could not let the dicussion on AirTran continue. I think it's totally ridiculous because AirTran could not do anything legally to a site because a messageboard is a place that individuals post opinions. The site that hosts the board cannot be responsible for someone else's opinion.

Anyway, it seems like alot of these Disney messageboards are picky about posts and words and etc. I like a good debate sometimes but alot of other sites tend to close down posts that may cause just the tinest bit of controversy. I have not seen that on DIS and it's refreshing.

Christina

 

[CoraJack]

Just some information for others reading this post. I have been searching the net all day on information about AirTran. Here is just one of the articles that did it for me:

http://www.airsafetyonline.com/indepth/airtran956/

Enough said. We got tickets on Continental an hour ago.

It will cost me about $1,100 more due to 2 more nights at the Polynesian and the extra expense of the tickets but my life and my piece of mind is worth substantially more than that.

Christina

 

[ncligs]

CoraJack,

Thanks for the link to the article on AirTran. It was "excellent" and very scary We have never flown AirTran, even though we are only 45 minutes away from Akron. We prefer to fly out of Pittsburgh(US AIR) or Cleveland (Continental)

 

[travelcoupons]

CoraJack...

The company responsible for the Valujet crash was a maintenance company that Continental airlines was looking at hiring and was also a cause of the crash (read on

The Valujet crash was caused by neglect on the part of Sabretech which was a third party subcontractor which was hired to do maintenance on their planes in Miami. Sabretech employees were removing oxygen generators, which are used for the emergency oxygen masks on a plane and have a limited useful life. ValuJet had provided SabreTech with explicit instructions on how to remove the generators and with general warnings about the fire risk: If generator has not been expended, install shipping cap on firing pins. The mechanics removed the generators, taped or cut off the lanyards, and stored them without plastic safety caps in five cardboard boxes. Two mechanics signed off the work, including the line indicating that safety caps had been attached. Mechanics also attached green tags to most of the removed oxygen generators to indicate that they were "repairable", which, in fact, they were not.
Later, the unmarked cardboard boxes, stored for weeks on a parts rack, were taken over to SabreTech's shipping and receiving department and left on the floor in an area assigned to ValuJet property. . Continental Airlines, a potential SabreTech customer, was planning an inspection of the facility, so a SabreTech shipping clerk was instructed to clean up the work place. He decided to send the oxygen generators to ValuJet's headquarters in Atlanta and labelled the boxes "aircraft parts".
The shipping clerk made up a load for the forward cargo hold of the five boxes plus two large main tires and a smaller nose tire. He instructed a co-worker to prepare a shipping ticket stating "oxygen canisters - empty". The co-worker wrote, "Oxy Canisters" followed by "Empty" in quotation marks - which they were not. The tires were also listed. A day or two later the boxes were delivered to the ValuJet ramp agent for acceptance on Flight 592. No one knows exactly what happened then, but it seems likely that the first oxygen generator ignited during the loading or during taxiing or on takeoff, as the airplane climbed skyward, causing the fire which brought down flight 592.

---------------------------------------

The article you referenced:
http://www.airsafetyonline.com/indepth/airtran956/

is somewhat out of date (nearly 2 years old.) and misleading. They list Airtran as having only 16 of the new Boeing 717's. In fact airtran had 30 of them as of December and are adding 20 more this year. They are retiring the older DC-9's as the new planes are brought in.

IIf you do a search of NTSB, you will find that 'incidents' are quite common on all carriers (Even Continental, unfortunately)...


9/12/99: Engine failure, Continental flight 1933...A witness stated he was working on the roof of the Palm Beach Post building. He was to the north of the airplanes flight path, and was looking at the left side of the airplane. He saw flames shoot from the left engine that lasted about 2 seconds, and then the engine exploded and the flames went out. A black smoke cloud remained at the point of the explosion. He then saw a large piece of the airplane falling from the sky. He did not see any more smoke or flame coming from the left engine.

4/25/00: Continental Airlines flight 60, was substantially damaged when an uncontained engine failure occurred during takeoff from Newark International Airport

9/7/00: Continental Airlines flight 71, received minor damage when an uncontained engine failure occurred during a takeoff roll at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

----------------

I have flown Airtran, as well as Continental, Northwest and others....I wouldn't hesitate to fly Airtran again, especially with their new 717's. This summer I'm going to be flying on Northwest and their 'old' DC-9's as they are the only airline that serves my home city.

 

[queenofhearts]

Hi CoraJack! I fly AirTran about once a month for business purposes, and while I do not have any inside information on this airline, I can tell you that I have not had any negative experiences on AirTran to date (knock on wood!!).

There are four things that I really like about AirTran:

1. You can upgrade to Business Class one way on most flights for $25.00 when you check in. However, AirTran's first class is not like flying first class on a Delta flight from the west coast to Atlanta. You won't be in the the deluxe seats with the footrests and personal TVs. However, the seats in Business Class are roomier, and you get 2 alcoholic beverage coupons per person.

2. AirTran's fares are competitive.

3. It's very easy to earn free tickets with AirTran. You can check out their rewards program at AirTran.com.

4. Their in-flight service is consistent. When I fly AirTran, I know I'll receive a drink and a small bag of preztles or snack mix. Delta (and some other airline carriers) have cut in-flight service, and I've been on many flights where I don't even receive a drink.

Here's what I don't like about AirTran:

1. Sometimes, their boarding process is not as organized as some of the other airlines. One time, they didn't even board us by row. They just said "now boarding all rows, all passengers" and everyone crammed on. This was frustrating. However, this hasn't happened consistently.

2. If you're interested in participating in a rewards program, AirTran does not partner with other airlines, rental car agencies, or hotels. Therefore, you can only earn rewards with AirTran.

3. You can't make specific seat reservations. However, you can request window, aisle, or center when you make your reservations. With AirTran, seat assignments are made at check-in.

Overall, I do not hesitate to make travel reservations with AirTran. However, I really believe that you should make a decision that you will be comfortable with and feel good about. The last thing you want to worry about on a vacation is saftey.

One suggestion: If you are scared of flying - If you don't sit in first class, you might want to consider asking for a seat near the wing. Since the plane pivots on the wing, you feel less dipping and swaying (which is natural on any flight) then you might if you are sitting in the back or way in the front of the plane. If you fly AirTran, you can request specific seats at check-in. But, make sure you arrive at the airport in plenty of time to get your preferences.

Have a wonderful trip, and a safe, enjoyable flight to Disneyworld!!!!

 

[CoraJack]

Thank you Queen of Hearts, I appreciate your reply.

Travelcoupons--it doesn't matter to me if they had problems 2 years ago or 10 years ago, the fact that they had problems at all does not sit well with me.

Christina

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by CoraJack

Travelcoupons--it doesn't matter to me if they had problems 2 years ago or 10 years ago, the fact that they had problems at all does not sit well with me.

CoraJack, I think what TravelCoupons is trying to say is ALL airlines have incidents. Some major, some minor. Many the consumer rarely hear about unless they know where to look and because they are so minor. If you don't feel safe on AirTran based on your research, then you did the right thing for you and your family. However, given AirTran's recent history, I personally don't know that I would classify them as unsafe. They do have one of the newest fleets in the sky now.... But to each his own, caveat emptor and all that Enjoy your trip!

 

[Esmerelda]

Uuuuhhh Corajack...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news....but.....

ALL airlines have had problems in the last 10 years. The surveys will show you none of them have spotless records at all. Its just
like all cars....even new cars have their problems but that doesn't stop us from getting into one.

I work in Emergency Medicine...believe me..the sky is much safer than the ground any day of the year.

Go...and have fun....and don't worry.....be happy...

E

 

[Debby7]

My husband workds for a small aircraft manufacturer and he keeps up to date with the industries journals,etc. He says that Airtran is totally different than the old Value Jet. New fleet of planes(he know of no crashes of 717's, Very safe plane to fly)many new pilots and excellent record since reorganizing. We are flying them in August without any concerns

 

[Miss Jasmine]

While I am not a fan of smaller, upstart, value airlines, and more than likely would not fly Airtran (because I am a LOYAL Delta passenger), there have been numerous chnages since the ValueJet days

1. It is not HQed in Florida anymore. Its corporate office is in Atlanta
2. AirTran has some of the newest aircraft.
3. AirTran is definitely worried about its reputation.

There are other airlines out there that are way worse. AirTran is growing, and actually becoming very competive, especially in the Atlanta market. What is really exciting for AirTran, is that it is expanding to more direct flights.