I have flown many times in the past 20 years. I fly to Florida to visit my grandparents. I fly to the Bahamas for vacation. I fly often because I enjoy reaching destinations without having to drive myself. I also fly because it has become more economical with the rising prices of gas.
Which airline should you choose to book a flight- Southwest or AirTran? Both offer great prices on their flights. The following discussion gives some useful guidelines…
Things to consider when making your choice include:
1. Where are you flying to and from? This will be the first thing in deciding which airline to fly.
Both airlines fly into many major cities. However, Southwest doesn’t fly at all into some states, such as Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia, and North and South Dakota. AirTran doesn’t fly into Kentucky or many of the midwestern states, but their hub is in Atlanta, so you can fly into Georgia. If you live in the Baltimore/ Washington area, Southwest does fly to and from both BWI (Baltimore-Washington) and IAD (Dulles). AirTran also flies in and out of these two locations. But, if you are visiting Florida, Southwest does not fly into Miami or Daytona Beach. AirTran flies both of these places, as well as the Bahamas. Southwest is starting new service to Hawaii in the summer of 2007. Air Tran does not fly to Hawaii.
To see a map of where Southwest flies go to http://southwest.com/travel_center/routemap_dyn.html?ref=wwf_fgn . To see where AirTran flies, go to http://www.airtran.com/route-map/city_information.aspx .
2. Do you need a non-stop flight? If so, you will need to find out what city pairs have nonstop flights available. With Southwest, you can go nonstop from Baltimore to Los Angeles, and from Baltimore to Orlando. The hub for Southwest happens to be in Baltimore, so if you live in this area you will find many more nonstop flights than someone flying Southwest from, for instance, Seattle, Washington.
On AirTran, the hub is in Atlanta. This means that if you fly from a point out west to somewhere in the east, you may have a layover and change of planes in Atlanta. With AirTran, you can fly nonstop from Baltimore to Orlando, but not from Baltimore to Los Angeles. You would have to stopover in Atlanta to take this trip.
It will also depend on the time you are flying to decide if a nonstop flight is available. With Southwest, if you wish to go from Baltimore to Orlando at 7 am, you would have to pick the 6:30 am flight. Otherwise, you would go at 8:30 and have one stopover. With AirTran, there is a 7 am flight that is nonstop. With both airlines, it is usually easy to find a flight at a time close to when you wish to leave that is nonstop. The only determining factor at that point will be whether the flight is sold out. The lower prices of flights sell out quickly, especially on busy days (Friday and Sunday). You may have to pay more for a nonstop on either airline than if you pick a close time with one connection.
3. What type of plane do you wish to fly on? The Southwest fleet of planes are Boeing 737’s. The Boeing 737-700 was the first model used, and Southwest also uses the Boeing 737-300 and 737-500. The average age of the 490 jet fleet is 9 years. AirTran uses a different type of plane, the Boeing 717. This plane was introduced in 1998. None of the planes are older than 9 to 10 years old. This is a very quiet-engined plane, and the engine is environmentally conscious. 24% better fuel efficiency is noted compared to similar planes. The planes are also roomier, with 3 seats on one side and 2 on the other, so there are less middle seats (which noone seems to like!).
4. What type of frequent flyer program do you wish to have? Southwest Airline has the Southwest Rapid Rewards program. For each one-way flight, you get one credit. It takes 16 credits to get a free round-trip flight. The only bad thing is that you have to get these credits within a 24-month period (used to be 12 months.) There are other ways to get credits, such as by applying for the credit card, where you get a credit for a certain amount of purchases on the card. If you fly 100 one-way flights or 50 round-trip flights in a 12 month period, you get a companion pass. For one full year, a companion can fly with you for free! With the Rapid Rewards program, you can also fly on ATA airline, a partner of Southwest. The Rapid Rewards sometimes has special offers, like a drink-coupon book to be used for a free-alcoholic beverage during the flight, hotel discounts, or rental car discounts. A credit can also be obtained sometimes by renting a rental car through Southwest for a minimum duration of days.
AirTran has a different frequent flyer program. The credits don’t expire in a certain period of time, which is nice if you don’t fly every month somewhere, for instance. With four roundtrips in coach, you get a free one-way coach ticket. This is exactly the same as Southwest. With AirTran, however, you also get a half-point bonus credit for flying business class. A Hertz car rental of five days or more gets you 1 extra credit, and a rental of less than five days gets you half a credit. With 100 credits, you qualify for the free companion pass, just like Southwest. One added bonus is qualifying for elite membership. If you fly 20 one-way flights in a 90 day period, or get 50 credits in a year, you become an A+ rewards elite member. This allows you to upgrade to busines class and waive change and cancellation fees on select fares. Any flight on partner Frontier airlines also gives you credits.
5. What services and amenities do you want on the flights? Southwest Airlines has won awards for its service. For instance, in 2006 they were considered by Fortune Magazine to be #5 among America’s Ten most admired corporations. Over the years, Southwest has also won awards for its customer service and satisfaction. I always felt that everyone was incredibly friendly working for Southwest. I have to say, however, that my last experience with Southwest was not as positive. On this flight, I found that the flight attendants were less friendly than they used to be, perhaps even somewhat rude. AirTran has also won awards for its service. The flight attendants on AirTran were somewhat pleasant, but not as upbeat as Southwest had been previously.
6. What seating availability and selection do you prefer? Southwest Airlines is unique in the seating arrangement on plans. Instead of reserving your seats in advance, or even being assigned a seat when you check-in at the airport, there is something different. Based on when you check in, you get in a seating group A, B, or C. If you want to be in the first seating group, A, you need to check in very early, probably online. At the airport gate, there are three different lines that form based on your seating group. You want to be at least in the front of your seating group line. If you are at the beginning of group A, you will get the first selection of seats on the plane. If you are in Group C at the back, you may end up with a middle seat or at best an aisle. The window seats go quickly. Southwest has added the ability to check in from your cellphone! You can check in at mobile.southwest.com .
With AirTran, your seats are preassigned. If you are buying a business class or full coach fare ticket, you can select your seats at the time of booking. If you ticket is a discounted fare, you will be assigned a seat at check in. There are obvious advantages to this if you buy a full fare ticket, because you can select window or aisle, but also whether to be near the front of the plane or towards the back. However, if you have a discounted flight and you arrive late to the airport, you could still end up with a bad seat. I flew airtran to the Bahamas and couldn’t sit next to the person I was flying with. I didn’t enjoy this at all as I am already nervous to fly. I even asked for help, but the flight was overbooked. Three people had been assigned to my seat!
7. What type of refund/ change of time and dates do you want available? Southwest wins hands down in this department. You don’t have to pay a fee to change your date/time of flight. All you pay for is any change in fare for the new ticket. This to me is a big reason to choose Southwest for your flight. Anything can happen that could cause you to have to change your travel dates. With AirTran, it costs $60 to change your reservation once it is booked, plus the additional cost of the new fare.
8. Baggage Policy. The baggage requirements are similar for both airlines. Your carry-on allowance is one carry-on item and one personal item. The checked luggage must weigh no more than 50 pounds and be no more than 62 inches (length plus width plus height.) If you are 51-75 pounds over, you would pay an extra $25 for that piece. If you are 75-100 pounds over, you pay $50 extra. The advantage with Southwest is that you can have three checked items, whereas with AirTran you only get two. I like this because I will almost always have an extra suitcase full of items I purchased on my trip. And, if I happen to be overweight with my luggage, I can just put some of it in a third bag to get rid of the extra weight.
Overall, Southwest and AirTran are both great airlines. They have discounted fares compared to many other airlines, the fleet of planes are newer, and the service is generally reasonable. Southwest is better for the extra piece of luggage, no change fees, and the ability to pick your seat when boarding the plane. AirTran has a little more room on the planes, you can pick your seat ahead of time with a full coach fare, and the frequent flyer miles don’t expire. Hopefully these tips will help you decide which airline to choose when booking your next flight, and show you a comparison between the two airlines!
