One of the most discouraging aspects of AirTran's flights is the lack of direct routing. In 2009, AirTran expanded into many smaller, regional airports such as Branson, Missouri; Ashville, North Carolina and Allentown, Pennsylvania. While growing broadly, AirTran has not strengthened connections or increased flights between its existing destinations. So, while you may wish to travel to Portland, Maine, from Atlanta, one of the airline's hubs, you have to fly through Baltimore to get there. Even from a major airport, such as New York LaGuardia, AirTran only offers four direct flights out of 48 possible routing destinations.
For business travelers, AirTran's large selection of 6 a.m. flights may be just the thing to let you sleep in your own bed and make it to your morning meeting in another corner of the country. The dearth of evening flights, however, presents a problem for anyone who is not able to make it out of the office before five. The last flights leave New York LaGuardia at 6:43 p.m. to Atlanta, 7:39 p.m. to Newport News/Williamsburg and 7:59 p.m. to Akron/Canton. From Washington Dulles and Reagan airports, the latest you can fly out is 6:38 p.m. or 6:59 p.m. to Atlanta.
While some airlines, such as Southwest, allow you to sit anywhere on the plane for no extra charge others, such as JetBlue, charge for extra legroom. On the AirTran booking page, you are offered seating options for extra leg room, sitting together, aisle seats and window seats. However, you have to pay an extra fee to confirm a seat assignment for any seat on the plane, whether window, aisle or even the middle seat. As of October 2010, fees range from $6 in the back half of the plane to $15 for aisle seats in the front half of the plane. For $20 you can buy both the extra leg room in the exit row and the privilege of boarding before the rest of the main cabin.
Though passengers may have become accustomed to checking their flight confirmation for baggage fees and to see if there will be food available on the plane, AirTran advertises some amenities without letting you know they don't come gratis. The Gogo Inflight Internet service is a prime example. On its booking page, website and even on the bridgeways between the gate and the airplane, AirTran advertises the Gogo Wi-fi. Neither on its website nor on its physical advertisements does AirTran let passengers know there is a fee for this service, which can only be discovered when you attempt to log-on.
