Air Tran: budget travel made good

I flew from Mexico to the US yesterday with Air Tran airlines, a company I’d actually not heard of until I started searching for low-cost carriers in North America.  While I confess to occasionally being a bit of a princess and actually rather enjoying the benefits of flying with airlines whose loyalty scheme I belong to, I need to hit low-cost airlines while I’m an unemployed gypsy. In my experience, this is always a double-edged sword, because inevitably you tend to get what you pay for. The abysmal VivaAerobus experience in Mexico sort of proved this point to me – endless, unexplained delays, being made to pay baggage charge after baggage charge for having the audacity to bring a bag with me on my flight, being shunted like cattle onto a flight without an allocated seat and generally ignored for as long as possible, etc etc. So in general, except in cases of extreme poverty (such as unemployment…) I would rather pay a bit more to be treated like a human being.

And so you can imagine my apprehension at spending 7 or so hours with Air Tran. At this point, beggars can’t be choosers, but frankly their prices are so low that expectations also needed to be set pretty low. I gritted my teeth and heaved my backpack off to see what I could find.

How pleasantly surprised I was. The service at Air Tran was exceptional. My first (and to be fair, only) checked bag was checked through for free. I was offered my choice of window or aisle seat (aisle, always) and front or rear of the aircraft (front, always.) You can pay for this service in advance, which I chose not to, but even picking a seat for free at the airport I was seated in the first row behind business class, the kind of seat I would expect to get with a carrier with whom I was a loyalty member. My carry on luggage was easily stowed, without hassle. Free soft drinks, tea and coffee were served, along with a delicious pretzel-y treat.  All of this stuff is pleasant, but it’s the little touches that make a journey great, like offering the use of pens when handing out customs and immigration forms. I always carry a pen with my travel documents, but still the offer was nice. Inflight wireless is available on all flights – when travelling for work, I had pretty strong feelings about this as in flight was the only time my Blackberry was ever turned off, BUT as a personal traveller, having the option there is pretty cool. The flight deck communicated openly and with humorous personal touches, in ways that reminded me of Air New Zealand and Virgin airways, my top two favourite airlines respectively.  And most importantly, the staff – from check in to cabin crew - was warm, helpful, interested and kind.

I love US Airways, whose service is always exceptional, and who make traveling a nice experience. But apart from that, I generally find flying domestically in the US a sometimes difficult experience. But I can genuinely say that flying with Air Tran was one of the most pleasant travel experiences I have had. They were hands down a vastly superior service to that of, say, United (with whom I am a loyalty member) at about half the cost.

So, memo to all budget travellers: Air Tran has not just revolutionized the price of travel, but also the friendly, helpful manner in which we do it. Full marks.