Stealth777 From United States, joined Feb 2006, 316 posts, RR: 0 Posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 1061 times:
Hi Everyone,
I have a flight booked fro August from SFO-ATL-EWR and return. The SFO-ATL legs are on 73G and the ATL-EWR legs are on the 717's. Just curious never flown AirTran before, so what should I expect or not expect. Trust me I know the saying you get what you paid for and coming in at $380USD for the round-trip ain't cheap but it was definitely the lowest.
BY the way, what about ATL airport. In terms of places to eat, connection between flights and any decent places to take pictures.
DeltaDAWG From United States, joined May 2006, 596 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 981 times:
AirTran is a good decent airline. In the past their mainstay has been the grandma's and screaming kids on their way to either grandma's or Mouse House. However, they have purposely catered more to the businesss traveler in recent years and are earning a fair amount of their business in the ATL market.
Expect decent service if coach, nothing fancy but not bad. Being on the 73G you should have XM service available as all the 73G's have it now. If in first class expect a comfortable seat and good service, it is not on par with the likes of DL, AA but it is no doubt better than coach. Remember, it does not matter what flight I was on when flying FL there always seemed to be a higher percentage of screaming kids than on DL, US or AA and such.
The flight to EWR on 717 should be the same. I really like the 717's, wish DL could have replaced some 732's with them a few years back. I believe all of them have the XM too by now. Just get the two seat side for comfort.
You should not be dissapointed though. Like I said it is a good, decent airline with timely service. I fly mostly DL but at least once per month I am on FL. My main complaint with them is not the service on the flights it is the rewards system. I want to accrue points/miles longer for the more meaningful trips but FL and the like make you use them within a year or lose them. Just my pet peeve, oh and the issue of not being able to choose seats on the lower fares.
In terms of ATL, FL is on C & D concourses and there really is not a great selection to choose from as far as eating. Hope you are on C as there are at least two decent places there, Miller Racing Lane & my favorite, Sam Adams Brew Pub. If you are on D I believe the only thing of interest is a Burger King. In fact if you are on D and have enough time go to E for any variety.
Connections can be somewhat tricky for some but you will only have to go one concourse if transferring between them. Just go to the center of the concourse, follow signs and go down to the train and go down or up one stop and that is it. However, if you come in at the end of C or D it is a bit of a hike to the center of the concourse, be prepared to walk.
For spotting you'll have to take your chances down at the ends of the concourses. Below is a link to the terminal map to look at. You can also get to the food/shop directory as well.
ORDTerminal1 From United States, joined May 2006, 129 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 970 times:
I've flown Air Tran twice from MDW. Their service, in my experience, has always been pretty friendly. The comfort of the jets leave alot to be desired, but as you said "you get what you pay for." I had XM satellite radio on an ATL-MDW leg, and it was entertaining. Enjoy your flight.
AvConsultant From United States, joined Feb 2006, 1202 posts, RR: 3 Reply 3, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 952 times:
I suggestion would be to arrive SFO early, pay the upgrade fee on the SFO-ATL portion which should be $70. It use to be $35 per segment, but now they've changed the pricing to stage length which is still fair.
SFO to ATL is a looooong flight to be caged in the middle seat. that goes for any carrier.
7E72004 From United States, joined Mar 2004, 3570 posts, RR: 2 Reply 4, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 945 times:
The only benefit of paying the upgrade fee is you get a little wider of a seat and drinks...but in my view, if you could get an exit row, isle, or bulkhead seat in coach, i would save your money. Other than that, i like AirTran. Clean planes and the XM radio is great. Plus, the 717s are like a rocket when they take off
The next generation of aircraft is just around the corner!
In my opinion and experience with FL. Expect to arrive late at EWR. Except a delay in either ATL or EWR or both. Expect unfriendly/unatentive flight attendants. Expect a full flight. Bring your own headphones, and snacks. Enjoy your flight!
7E72004 From United States, joined Mar 2004, 3570 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 917 times:
Stealth777...i think Pensacolaguy's view is in the minority. I have flown AIrTran several times and every time the flight attendants, ticket agents, and even gate agents have been friendly and very helpful.
The next generation of aircraft is just around the corner!
FlyDeltaJets From United States, joined Feb 2006, 1242 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 853 times:
As much as it pains me to admit it Airtran is a great airline. Very friendly people. Service is good and ATL is a nice airport that is building to be better.
Position and hold runway one three right landing traffic on runway two two left
Dartland From United States, joined Apr 2005, 516 posts, RR: 2 Reply 8, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 819 times:
I flew them for the first time on Monday. They were fine -- not especially great, but not bad either. Service was non-descript but friendly, plane left the gate 20 minutes early (and arrived 35 minutes early). I was on a brand new 73G, but my XM didn't work, which kinda pissed me off since I really wanted to try it (luckily I am still working on Season 1 of 24 on DVD, so didn't have a problem keeping occupied).
Not a fan of their "snack", but otherwise, not a bad product.
7E72004 From United States, joined Mar 2004, 3570 posts, RR: 2 Reply 9, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 819 times:
I don't hink you can expect anything in terms of food anymore on a plane...better off bringing your own onboard. btw..have you seen the other seasons of 24?
The next generation of aircraft is just around the corner!
LGAtoIND From United States, joined Jan 2005, 489 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 793 times:
I flew them for the first time 2 weeks ago (LGA-ATL-DFW then DFW-ATL-LGA). I flew the 73G on the ATL-DFW leg and 717 on the LGA-ATL legs. Air Tran seemed to be a pretty good airline, not fabulous, but nothing to complain about. I sat in coach and got a standard coach seat, very friendly service, and I thought the XM radio was cool. I found the 73Gs to be much newer and more comfortable than the 717s (which I thought were a bit cramped) but thats just my opinion. Also, I was going through their ATL hub on a Sunday, and the place seemed a little disorganized (gates spaced around the terminal,understaffed, etc.).
DesertJets From United States, joined Feb 2000, 6923 posts, RR: 29 Reply 11, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 793 times:
Generally good service, though nothing special. In flight XM is nice to have. I really liked that. However the seat pitch on the 717s is quite tight, @ 30" my 5'9" self felt rather cramped.
Stop drop and roll will not save you in hell. --- seen on a church marque in rural Virginia
ATLFlyer323 From United States, joined Jan 2005, 438 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 762 times:
AirTran is a nice airline, like everyone else not amazing service but nothing to complain about. You do get a snack, which is ok but hey at least you don't have to pay for it like on some other airlines. I fly them a lot between ATL and CAK and on quite a few of my flights I've seen some ValuJet stuff being used. On my last flight the can opener had the critter which them sparked up a nice little conversation between me and the FA, a lot of the old ValuJet workers have kept their stuff and if you have a sharp eye you can sometimes catch it. It's like my own little game I play now. Anyways I really like AirTran and find their service to be very friendly, a few years ago when I had to fly alone as an unaccompanied minor I would almost always get put in Business Class as I was usually the only UM, I found that very nice. I love both DL and FL and think overall ATL has 2 awesome hometown airlines (well FL isn't technically but they have their largest hub here).
ChiGB1973 From United States, joined Mar 2004, 1543 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 745 times:
When working in the industry and using the interline, FL was always so awesome to me. The crews were always great, put me in biz class and I would have a few drinks. They offered to change my interline tickets from ATL-MDW to ATL-LAX without any problems.
I realize sometimes interline people get a little preferential treatment, good or bad, it is the truth, but I would definitely recommend FL to anyone and would gladly fly them without question.
At least you get different planes and will get that power back at ATL in the 717, one engine taxi and all that fun stuff.
I always recommend the biz class update for a nominal fee. It will definitely worth the money, especially SFO-ATL. I would save the money on the shorter EWR flight though. Call now before they are all sold out.
I hope this helps and you have an awesome flight. Seems like I am an ad for FL, but just a satisfied customer!
Gr8SlvrFlt From United States, joined Jan 2002, 1490 posts, RR: 21 Reply 15, posted (3 years 6 months 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 655 times:
How often does FL do the powerback with the 717 at ATL? I don't recall one when i last flew there.
Hardly ever in Atlanta or anywhere else anymore.
Also: I don't recommend the bulkhead (Row 10). Not much more legroom and Row 3 and the divider curtain will be uncomfortably close. The 737 Recaro coach seats are very comfortable, IMO. All 717s have XM but newly delivered 737s might fly around for a week or so before installation is complete. Headsets are free but not the highest quality. Bring your own if possible. Full cans are gladly given on request.
NorthstarBoy From United States, joined Jun 2005, 1122 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (3 years 6 months 12 hours ago) and read 516 times:
overall, they are okay, they're good at what they do, providing inexpensive transportation to the masses. I was not impressed with their ATL terminal, the word dump comes to mind. the XM radio is a neat gimmick, but it's the same sanitized stuff you get on the legacies, just more of it, i had a hard time finding stuff i really wanted to listen to, it's all too sanitized and inoffensive for my taste. the seats were comfortable, but of the two 717s i flew on, i found that the ex-TWA bird had bigger seats. finally, 4 and a half hours is a long time to go without a movie lol. the overhead bins are huge, especially on the 717. the windows on the 717 are also huge. i'm not sure i'd fly them again, but it's always fun to try anything once.
I thought I felt an earthquake in Atlanta once, turned out to be an L1011 spooling up, long may the TriStar live
JBLUA320 From United States, joined May 2002, 3043 posts, RR: 24 Reply 17, posted (3 years 5 months 4 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 505 times:
ive only flown airtran a few times, all on the 717 and i could not complain too much. the seats on the 717 when i was in coach were awful, however, they were not standard FL seats-- it wasn ex-TWA plane. i sat in biz on an FL plane and the seat was comfortable. service was friendly and attentive and the xm was entertaining-- im not a fan of the earbud style headphones they give you, though.
all in all, i had good trips on airtran-- punctual and friendly service. and i flew through both ewr and atl and was not delayed at all. id fly FL again.
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