Ever flown Air Tran?

[RoxMonster]

We were tossing around the idea of staying in a beachfront condo on Marco Island for a week this summer, which we can get for like $500/week, but flights on our normal airlines (United and American) are over $400/person. The cheapest fare I've found is Air Tran for less than $300/person.

Has anyone ever flown Air Tran? I know they're owned by Southwest and we didn't like Southwest, but most of what we didn't care for was their boarding procedures. Poking around Air Tran's site, it seems you can choose your seat in advance? Is that so? Is it worth saving the money or are you sacrificing a lot of things for the cheaper price?

We really prefer flying out of O'Hare but would fly out of Midway if it saves us over $300 total on flights.

And while this thread is mostly about air travel, if you're here and you've gone to Marco Island before, any suggestions of which area to stay in or a condo you really liked? We've checked out some nice ones on VRBO but I'm up for other suggestions.

[runblondie26]

AirTran still has assigned seating. For that price difference, I'd fly with them.

[protozoa]

At least for the time being they do reserved seating. I tend to find their seats to be uncomfortable but have no problem flying them. I've never been unhappy with them.

[mrsnole]

Feb 3, 2013 22:39:55 GMT -5 protozoa said:

At least for the time being they do reserved seating. I tend to find their seats to be uncomfortable but have no problem flying them. I've never been unhappy with them.

I totally agree.  I'd fly them again if they were the cheapest.

[ddi741]

We flew with them to Cancun last year. No complaints. We were lucky, we checked in early and they had upgrades available. They were fairly inexpensive so we ended up in their version of first class which was a plus.

[Deleted]

I flew them in December. No complaints. We were assigned seats when we checked in online (24 hours before the flight) and had no problem getting 3 seats together.

[yellowbelly86]

I have never personally flown with them but I have numerous friends and family who recommend them due to their pricing.

[Susie]

We flew AirTran from BWI to SJU when we went to Puerto Rico last Feb.  It was no-frills, but totally fine experience.  I would do it again.

[hz80408]

We flew Air Tran from Midway to FLL last year and had no complaints. For the flight length, I would have no issues flying with them.

[Deleted]

I flew on them from LA to Hawaii and had no issues. I found the seats to be just fine.

[badatcaptcha]

We flew non-stop from BOS to San Fran with Air Tran because it the cheapest by like $10... and we hated it. Mostly because of the legroom, or the lack of. It was really crowded, and it was a very old plane. If it wasn't a long flight, I probably won't care.

[neonpink]

I've flown on them a few times. They have assigned seating and are cheap. It's not super comfortable but for a short flight I have no problems.

[chicago]

Feb 4, 2013 10:51:07 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

We flew Air Tran from Midway to FLL last year and had no complaints. For the flight length, I would have no issues flying with them.

Same - we flew MDW to CUN.  It was $6pp to choose our seats.  Worth it.

[santorini]

I am flown them alot and they are fine for what you pay. It is no frills but you do get assigned seating.

[RoxMonster]

Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like for a shorter flight, it'll be OK. We will probably go with them if we do this trip.