Warning!!

[dolphincruiser404]

Ok - This may be totally off the subject, but after my horrible Airtran experience this weekend i felt I must share with EVERYONE I know! Luckily I was going to Tampa, and not on a cruise this weekend! I had a horrible experience flying from Raleigh, NC to Tampa, FL. I had to connect in Atlanta. The customer service reps had horrible attitudes, and should really have jobs cleaning toilets! Due to some inaccurate information that we received and some false promises on the part of the Airtran Reps., we ended up stranded in Atlanta. We had to pay for our own hotel(we got a discount, but it didn't get us much), we also ended up arriving home 14 hours after we were supposed to! This was after experiencing the same issues on our original flight! Luckily, there was one more flight that night! Last night we had the pleasure of standing at the gate and watching our flight back away from the jetway and take off....all after we were assured that thee plane was delayed and that even if we did arrive later than schedule, it would be held for us! Needless to say, there were a lot of angry people there last night! Just a word to my wise friends...beware of Airtran, especially in Atlanta!

[CruiseFever]

A couple questions if you don't mind ok?

 

We've flown a couple flawless AirTran flights so I'm really interested in what might have happened.

 

You said: "The customer service reps had horrible attitudes" Could you give us a little more detail on that? What did they say or do to leave you with that impression?

 

I shudder when I read "inaccurate information that we received and some false promises" Recently we were in an oversold flight situation where we ended up at the end of the day with $800 in travel vouchers and a flight home while another family who went through the same process had nothing and no flight. I'm curious what happened that resulted in you being stranded in Atlanta and arriving home 14 hours late.

 

Any detail you feel comfortable providing would be appreciated....thanks

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Diamond Princess 12/22/04

Sapphire Princess June '05

Caribbean Princess 09/17/05

Carnival Valor 10/30/05

 

[BrendaB1]

I have only used Airtran once. Dallas to Buffalo. Flights were great but after changing planes in Atlanta, found my luggage partially unzipped & Niagra Falls t-shirt had been stolen. Packed last, on top with tags still attached. Sure hope whoever stole it is enjoying it.

 

Valor 10/30/05 Miracle 2/13/05

Sensation 10/04

Conquest May 2003

Holiday Sept 2002

Inspiration 2001

Celebration 2000

Crown Princess 1999

Oceanic (Big Red Boat) 1998

 

Days til Sensation Cruise from the Bayou

Days til Miracle Partae Pirates Cruise from Tampa

Days til Valor Vampires Cruise

[boom op]

Did this happen on the Monday? I work at the San Francisco International Airport (for the City not any airline) and the late night Airtran flight from Atlanta was about 2 hours late coming and going and according to the news there was some kind of security issue at Atlanta on Monday. If this is an Airtran problem I am sure Delta Airlines would be happy.

 

[Triguy]

There were big delays at the Atlanta airport because of security issues.

 

[AuntieBon]

I've flown Airtran several times and never had a problem. One flight included coming into Boston after it was hit with 30" of snow last December. Flights have always been on time and the customer service reps. have always been kind to me.

 

As for being late and being told that they would hold the flight for you. With airlines being graded on on time departures and arrivals hard to believe that they would hold it but apparently whoever told you this didn't have the "pull" they thought they did.

 

Empress of the Seas 9/18/04 Pink Sand and Blue Waters of Bermuda

 

 

[teedee]

There were horrible delays through the long holiday weekend out of Atlanta. It's been all over our local news. They don't have enough security people trained and lines were horrendous. People were waiting up to 3 hours just to get through security. I was glad I stayed home this weekend!

 

Terri

 

Skyward - 1989

Carnivale - 1991

Holiday - 1994

Fantasy - 1998

Century - 2002

Century - 2003

Jubilee - 7/04

Century - 9/04

Coral Princess - 3/05

Valor - 10/05

 

Days til Valor Vampires Cruise

[dolphincruiser404]

Security was horrible on Tuesday when we finally got a flight out! The lines were wrapped all over the airport, and around the baggage belts. I have flown Airtran several times, and I always seem to have a problem with them. While I must say that I have encountered problems on other airlines, but everything was taken care of to my satisfaction.

 

I have never been treated so poorly by customer service in my life. I don't know if they didn't know what they were talking about, or if they were just trying to tell me what I wanted to hear to get me to shut up. When I found out my original flight was delayed the Airtran Rep from the 800# offered to rebook me in the morning, for no additional charge. Then she informed me that the next flight she could put me on was almost 48 hours later!!!!!! Then she said that I should try and make it because it looked as if my connection would be delayed as well. She assured me, that if we did not make our connection, the airline would put us up in a hotel. We got to the airport and were told that we would make our connection, and that it was delayed until at least 11:45 pm. When we were delayed AGAIN I asked the rep at the gate for assistance. He said, "Go sit down, we already said that if you don't leave today you wont get out tomorrow!" I was amazed! Had I known what was ahead of me I would have requested a refund, rented a car and driven home. When we finally landed in Atlanta, I spoke to an Airtran rep on the phone while we were on the runway. She said the flight was still there, and that since it was the last flight to RDU, it would be held! This was at 11:30. Several of us got off the flight and ran a marathon through Atlanta only to arrive at the gate to see about 10 other people standing there with 4 Airtran employees. The plane was at the gate, but they would not let us on. 15 minutes later we watched the plane back away and take off. We were given discount vouchers for a hotel, which still cost us $60. The first flight they could put us on wasn't until 11:35 the next day, and they admitted that the flight was already overbooked. We got conflicting information from everyone at the gate. One person said they would pay for us to rent a car, while another person said no. Another person said, "Its not my problem that you are stuck here, you should have stayed in Tampa." This was after the Tampa folks told me I needed to go to Atlanta. The flight attendents were very unaccomodating during all of this. We were sitting in the plane at the gate for an hour in Tampa, and it was a million degrees in the plane. All of the shops in the airport had been closed, so we could not get any water. I asked him if I could have a glass of water, and he told said, "We only serve our business class passengers pre-flight!!!!!" There was no organization in Atlanta. Some people got free hotels, upgrades, tickets, etc. while others got a voucher for a discount hotel. It seems like it all depended who you talked to. No one could tell us where our luggae was, or when it was going to get to Raleigh. It ended up that there were about 20 of us who missed the flight to Raleigh. Someone later told me that they had assumed we would not have made the connection, therfore they re-booked all of our seats. When they realized that we were arriving on time, they closed the door at the gate and refused to let us board, so they wouldn't have to deal with the fact that our seats had already been filled. This was just our return flight, I am not even going to get into everything that happened on our first flight. I was just glad I wasn't trying to get to or from a cruise! This was the fourth time in a row I have had a problem with Airtran, and I vow never to fly with them again!!

[islandgram]

I have flown Airtran several times with no problems. They were all direct flights though. However, we just flew our daughter from Baltimore to Maine with a plane change in Boston and she ended up renting a car in Boston and drove home ... flight cancelled .. no refund (YET!!) .. just a huge pain in the a$$. Wish we had booked Airtran into boston and bus to Maine .. would have been much cheaper and quicker ... another life lesson learned??

 

Days 'til we cruise Carnival Glory!!!

 

2004 Imagination

[halos]

I think all the airlines have been having issues lately. Sometimes, there are delays. cancellations and bad 'attitudes' with all the airlines.

People do so much traveling these days and I just think the airlines are ill equipped to handle the masses.

I have noticed a LOT of mechanical problems with planes from all sorts of different airlines. My daughter goes away for college, therfore, flies a LOT. It is a miracle when she gets home as scheduled...it does not happen often. She has been stranded in Atlanta many times...also Cincinnati, and Detriot. The last time she had to drive her friend to the airport in Lexington, KY only to find out the flight was cancelled, because of storms elsewhere (the plane never made it to KY) They couldn't get her friend out until the very next NIGHT.

So, my daughter had to drive the friend to Ohio to catch a flight that would get him back to New England that day. The airline took no responsibility for this because it was weather related. This kind of stuff happens all the time, and sadly, at this point she is used to it.

She is SO grateful that we are driving to port in 2 weeks (did I say 2 weeks???? YEAH!). Even if it is NY and the traffic will be horrendous...she does NOT want to have to fly again until she needs to go back to school. Can't blame her.

 

I believe in Miracles

MIRACLE JUNE 19, 2004

Calm Seas, Good Friends

[MusicMan]

While this story is a nightmare, I don't think it's specific to Airtran. I've flown them numerous times and have always been pleased. I suspect with the increased strain on the airline industry these days, delayed and cancelled flights are becoming more and more common. Add in a holiday weekend and an already stressed system spits out a few glitches. None of which excuses poor attitude by service personnel, but I really don't think it's airline specific.

 

Jerry

 

 

Triumph 05/05/01

Fascination 09/14/01cancelled

Fascination 12/07/01

Triumph 10/24/02

Fantasy 05/18/03

Statendam 05/09/04

 

[GoinCruisin]

I am very sorry you had a bad experience... nobody should have to go through that, but unfortuneately, most of us that fly alot have it happen, it sucks, but it really is not specific to AirTran... AirTran happens to be my favorite at the moment... I fly from RDU to ATL about 2x a month and have found the fares very reasonable and the service "fair" (I don't expect impeccable service at these fares, LOL), but you should be treated in a courteous manner. Believe me, it sucks being stranded... but it can happen with any of the airlines... I am very sorry you had a bad experience and hope it is better next time

 

 

Since our First Cruise on the Sensation 7/3/2003

 

Until the Sensational Cruise from the Bayou!

 

 

See our cruise pics at: http://groups.msn.com/thesensationgroup/chrisandchrispictures.msnw?Page=1

[sassycruiser]

Friday night we flew out of Detroit to Boston on Northwest. We sat on the runway for 2 hours. First for mechanical problems and then for delays at Logan (Boston). NWA didn't offer us so much as a free can of beer. However, they did give us a full can of pop when they did do beverage service which we didn't get when we flew home on Monday.

 

Several things I have learned while flying in the past few years. Get to the airport early because sometimes security is a nightmare, be flexible, fly down a day early for cruises or other can't miss events, bring your own food and water in case you get stuck somewhere and something to do.

 

Sorry for your bad experience! We were lucky that all that happened to us was that we sat on the runway for 2 hours.

[L2J]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dolphincruiser404:

Last night we had the pleasure of standing at the gate and watching our flight back away from the jetway and take off....all after we were assured that thee plane was delayed and that even if we did arrive later than schedule, it would be held for us!

 

Just a word to my wise friends...beware of Airtran, especially in Atlanta!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Two comments.

 

I can't imagine a costomer service rep telling you that the plane would be "held" if you arrived AFTER the scheduled time. Why would they do this?

 

If I'm not mistaken Atlanta is one of the busiest airports in the world. Busy reps etc but still no excuse for a bad attitude. Perhaps you misunderstood the information?

 

Liv...Winds are 15 knots and holding....the whole world is a drop zone!

 

 

 

 

NCL Sky 2/02

[ILov2cruise]

Do you ever watch Airport on cable, They are a TV crew that follows people in the airport. Last week they had a show with People going to Ft lauderdale to meet a cruise ship. Their flight was over booked by 40+ people so they were put on a flight to Chicago with a change into Ft lauderdale. They were told the flight into Ft Lauderdale was empty and there wouldn't be a problem. Guess what, the flight was sold out. The airline said the rep knew this flight was sold out just by looking on the screen.

 

So I guess airline costomer Reps do LIE, just to get you out of their hair.

 

They missed the boat.

I thought the airline was Airtran, but I could be wrong.

[MrNobody]

It was Southwest...didnt you feel horrible and relate to the poor family missing their cruise because of an employees lack of professionalism and job knowledge. It was obvious the airline agent knew the flight was way overbooked.

[dolphincruiser404]

Ugh! I would have been so mad had I been trying to get to a port. I really think they just tell you what you want to hear, and then let the next person deal with you, and their lies!

[legalwife]

Man! I sure hate that happened to you. I do love Airtran and have flown with them or Delta the past few times. Never had problem and already booked with Airtran for October.

 

Yes, it has been the talk of the area about the long lines. Just awful and hope it will get straightened out soon. Atlanta is one of the busiest airports, it is true.

 

I hope future trips will go better for you. Most of us have the "trip from hell" at least one in our lives and some more often!

 

Robin

 

Fantasy/Disney Magic/RCI Sov. of Seas/Inspiration/ Tropicale/RCI Sov.of Seas/ Sensation/Celebration 10/04

 

Live well, laugh often, love much....

[TomD]

We were a little concerned of our flight being delayed for some reason or another, possibly completely out of anyone's hands. We booked the flight down for one day before the ship leaves. We stay one night in a hotel in New Orleans, unless the flight really does get delayed. Prepare yourself if you can instead of depending on others.

 

Conquest, we will be with you

[ILov2cruise]

Yes, your right it was southwest.

Yes I did feel sorry for them. I felt the people who were meeting the ship should have been put on the flight before anyone else. These people had alot to lose. For anyone just going to visit someone it would have been no big deal if they took the next flight.

 

[cmitch9999]

I would call customer service at airtran and pry out a name of someone who can help you recover your costs and possibly give you future air credits. We have flown airtran many times and we were given vouchers for giving up our seats on an overbooked flight...we later found out how restricted the vouchers would be after our plane had left. I had to fight for months but finally got a name of someone in customer service -- I seem to remember the name Earl Williams..wrote to him and got a phone call back giving us permission to book our flights without restrictions. We ended up with over $2000 in air tickets at prime vacation times... I don't blame you for being mad. See if you can find the rule 240 for airtran which will show what the compensation should be in your circumstance and make them follow it.

Chris Mitchell

 

16 Voyages completed 1999-2004, 81 wonderful days at sea

dreaming of ....

Norwegian Crown 8/04

Carnival Fascination 11/04

[metla]

I fly DELTA!

 

Tropicale

Celebration (3)

Holiday (4)

Ectasy

Destiny

Voyager of The Seas

Paradise

Pride

Conquest

Diamond Princess

 

Till the Diamond Princess

[S.S.Oceanlover]

since everyone is putting there AirTran stories out there I'll add mine.

Our first time flying on AirTran we had a 6:30am flight from Phila to Tampa thru Atlanta.

We finally got to Tampa at 2am some 19 hours later. I could have driven there faster.

We got free flight vouchers for our troubles. If not for those I'd have never flew on AirTran again. Since then we have flown with them about 5 more times with nary a problem.

Moral of the story is,"Ship happens" and while you're dealing with it the situation is very frustrating. Now it's just another travel story we laugh about.

 

Bill

 

 

 

Caribbean Princess Eastern Caribbean cruise page

[simkoreb]

I figure this is a perfect place to tell my story, the short version, of what happened on my ATA flight from Chicago...

The plane was delayed.When we boarded the small propeller plane we sat there for over an hour with the door open, in chicago, in feb, and this was at midnight, so we froze. (staff was coming and going, and we knew there was a problem which didn't help my fears.

They kicked 3 people off the plane because they said it was too heavy, and when a passenger asked if the plane was safe after only taking 3 people off the flight steward walked away! Then, we were finally ready to take off and the steward checked with the people in the exit rows, and found out one of the passengers was 10 years old. He yells, da**it and slams his hand on the back of my seat and storms away. I was practically in tears, now it was almost 1 am, and they make people move to balance the plane. Finally we took off, and thankfully, I'm here today to tell the story!! Never flying them again...ever!

[scottp]

I fly Delta too!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 Until the FUN begins on the TRIUMPH!!!