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Airtran U Linky

Airtran U allows 18-22 year olds to hop onto any flight for a flat rate.  The segments used to cost $69 or $99 each.
Effective immediately Airtran now has 3 pricing levels for Airtran U flights.
Short-Haul: $49/segment.
Example: Akron, OH-NYC/LGA.

Medium-Haul: $69/segment
Example: NYC/LGA-Orlando.

Long-Haul: $99/segment
Example: Baltimore-Los Angeles.

Rules:
-Valid for anyone 18 to 22 years old (once you turn 23 you no longer qualify)
-It is only available on a standby basis-show up at the airport, and if there’s room you’re on-if not, tough luck.
-No luggage can be checked in.
-Taxes tack on about $9/segment.
Not valid for travel on:
March 26-28
April 1, 2, 11
May 28, 31
June 20, 25, 27
July 2, 5, 11
November 24, 27-29.
The last date for travel is December 15, 2010.

Offer Linky

After entering in the Little Debbie Great American Getaway you can get a $10 Airtran voucher emailed which will come instantly!

HT: gf

Offer Linky

Airtran is offering a $20 coupon off one-way flights for subscribing to their Net Escapes emails.  The coupon should come instantly.

-Sign up for emails by 12/31/09

-Book travel by 01/01/10

-Complete travel by 03/08/10

-Limit of one $20 coupon per email address.

-You may be able to use the $20 coupon through 01/01/10 to purchase exit row seats online ($20 per one-way flight), paying for baggage, or for upgrading to business class ($49 and up per flight segment).

More thoughts/trip notes from 31,000 feet in the sky…thanks for the free wi-fi Airtran and gogo!

-This was my 5th trip to NYC this year of 1 night or less…which is fine because that’s about when my NYC tolerance level runs out.  (My trip back to NYC next week will actually be for a weekend-2 whole nights!)

-I’m flying in business class.  Airtran gave myself, my wife, and my mother comp upgrades due to my elite status!  The business class really is quite nice for an LCC.  Lots of legroom, wide leather seats, tons of great free drinks and even non-alcoholic drinks like Fuze, Smartwater, Vitamin water, etc.  And the flight attendant has already refilled my Fresca three times without asking!   There is also a free snack basket that has T.G.I. Friday salt and cracked pepper chips under OK parve supervision that I’ve never seen sold in any stores.

-Avis hooked me up with a nice Caddy for the trip…at $30/day, market rates for gas, and valet return service it’s hard to go wrong! Gotta love Avis Chairman status!

-Clubhouse Cafe on 46th street in the city is simply awesome.  The fries are crisp to perfection.  The Brazilian drinks are great as well.  Their Caipirinha (pronounced Ca’eye-pa-rinya) is great! My recommendation? An off the menu option that’s popular in Brazil, A Caipirinha de Maracujá, or Caipirinha made with passion fruit.  It might be an acquired taste after a year in Brazil, but it tasted great to me. Plus when I go there I get to brush up on my Portuguese with all of the Brazilian employees…

-I used my free Diamond Hyatt Place night in Secaucus, NJ.  Typical great Hyatt Place!  Every room is a mini-suite with a pull-out couch, semi-room divider, 42″ LCD, emtpy fridge, nice work desk, free wi-fi, and a great free breakfast with Tazo teas, Seattle’s best coffee, Quaker oatmeal, cereal boxes, fruit, etc.  It’s not too far away, and there’s some great shopping nearby.  The rumor mill is that there will soon be some more Hyatt Place properties in Manhattan.

-I was able to use the United Red Carpet Club (RCC) in LGA for the first time thanks to Continental’s switch to the Star Alliance. Here’s a quick comparison.

Pros: It’s much newer and way nicer looking than the dreary Continental President’s Club (PC) in LGA (easily the worst looking PC I’ve ever been in, but then again LGA has some of the worst terminals that I’ve ever been in so it still beats that).  There are also self-service cans of soda available, which is better than having to ask for soda from the bartender at the PC

Cons: The RCC charge $$$ for all alcoholic drinks (Free in PC’s).  They do not allow you to take newspapers/magazines from the club like the PC does. Their is no ice water dispenser like that have in PC’s, you must request water from the bar.  There were no kosher snacks besides for apples. (PC’s will often have granola bars, chips, bananas, apples, and cereal boxes.  They even had matzah and other kosher snacks on Passover!)

So the RCC has much better facilities but worse services…tough choice!

Ding…they want me to turn off my computer, the FA just announced to please put our seats up to the upright and most uncomfortable position…how true it that!  I better just publish this before the wi-fi gets turned off…

Hope you enjoyed this mini-trip report!

-

Some thoughts from 31,000 feet in the sky…

-If GoGo’s plan to give away free wi-fi is to entice people to pay for the service in the future I have to say that it’s working at least on me. Flights have never gone by so fast before!

-I’m posting now aboard Airtran from Akron to LaGuardia for the first of 2 NYC trips within the next 2 weeks.
It’s the first time this year that I wasn’t able to land a complimentary elite business class upgrade as the flight was oversold. I had forgotten just how tight the seat pitch is on Airtran’s B717, a miserly 30 inches!

-Both of the following free wi-fi codes still work like a charm on Airtran:
airtrantrygogo
bosbwi

-Some 30% of the passengers on this flight are Orthodox Jews. The Blue Fringe band is sitting just behind me and I’ve seen more than a dozen people that I know from the local Jewish community. I wonder how long it will be before Airtran starts selling kosher meals on this flight

-It’s incredible how Continental has ceded the Cleveland-NYC market to Airtran. Granted that Akron is a less convenient airport for most people, but this round-trip flight cost just $89. The identical flight on Continental within just a 1 night stay was over $800! Seems like it’s worth the extra 15 minute drive.  Mind you that you can always fly back one way  from NYC to Cleveland on Continental for about $60, but that requires hidden-city ticketing which is officially against the terms of most airlines and you wouldn’t be able to check luggage…

-Yes, the Bose QC15’s really are that much better than the previous generation QC2’s at noise cancellation…Wow!

Update: Dead!

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Related: Free Wi-Fi On All Airtran Flights

Step 1: Sign up for a $25 off voucher. (These have been delivered instantaneously to my gmail accounts.  Limit of 1 voucher per email address.)

Step 2: Book your ticket at www.airtran.com and don’t forget to use your voucher!

Book one-way tickets to maximize the discount as only one voucher is allowed per person on a single reservation.

The price before the voucher is $44 each way.  After the $25 voucher it is $19+ tax.

Tax varies with the market as follows:

Sample dates: 10/27-11/03:

Prices are for each way and include tax.

Sample cities are listed, other cities are available as well

Nonstops:

Atlanta-Fort Lauderdale: $44+tax=$54.60-$25=$29.60

Baltimore-Fort Lauderdale: $44+tax=$54.60-$25=$29.60

Stops:

NYC-Fort Lauderdale: $44+tax=$65.20-$25=$40.20

Detroit-Fort Lauderdale: $44+tax=$65.20-$25=$40.20

For those of you who want to go on a “mileage run” Airtran Elite status requires 10 flight segments within 90 days (or 25 in 12 months) and gives you a boatload of benefits like free upgrades for you and a companion, 2 free checked bags, mileage expiration extension, free transfers of credits, and lots of other great stuff.  It also gives you top-teir reciprocal status on Frontier. The cost from BWI or ATL would be $290 for the 5 round trip flights required.  Plus the 10 credits earned is more than enough for a free ticket.

I didn’t think I would really care to stay connected while flying, but it really is quite nice and a great way to pass the time.

I’m posting from 28,000 feet in the air on an Airtran flight (free upgrade on a $29 coach ticket to business class, of course) from Akron, OH to LaGuardia.

I was able to connect to the Go-Go internet on the ground, but it only started working once the flight passed 10,000 feet.

The speeds are slightly slower than the last Airtran flight that I was on, it’s running at about 1 mbps down and 350 kbps up.

At a regular price of $9.95 I’m not sure who would pay for 45 minutes of slowish wi-fi, but as long as GoGo keeps on giving it out for free then I’ll keep on using it!

The following 2 codes worked for free access:

airtrantrygogo

bosbwi

Codes are specific for the airline you are on, as aatrygogo and deltatrygogo did not work on Airtran, but do work on American and Delta respectively.

Anyway I’m off to my newest (twin!) cousin’s bris and to buy an esrog set for the holidays and and then flying right back home to Cleveland tomorrow night!

Related Posts:

$25 off Airtran flights to/from Florida

$25 off Airtran flights to/from Kansas City


$25 off Airtran flights to/from Akron/Canton, OH

Related Post: Free Wi-Fi on American Airlines (Exp: 08/23)

When on a Delta or Airtran flight with Wi-Fi use the following code on the payment page (Exp: 08/31):
159FLT3161

HT: Eli, via dansdeals.com/forums

$25 Airtran Voucher Linky

HT: pauld314, via dansdeals.com/forums

Related: 18-22 years old? Fly without a ticket for cheap with Airtran U!

AMEX MR Offer Linky

The normal exchange rate for AMEX membership rewards points into Airtran credits is 1,500:1.
Between 07/01 and 08/30 you can transfer just 1,125 AMEX MR points for each Airtran credit.

A nice thing about Airtran is that they still don’t charge an expedite fee for award tickets, but beware that credit expire just one year from when you earn them unless you have an Airtran credit card or elite status.

With the discounted exchange rate the cost of Airtran rewards are as follows:
-One-way upgrade to business class (allows for upgrades to both nonstop or connecting flights) from any paid or award fare: 4 credits/4,500 MR.
-One-way “restricted” coach systemwide free ticket: 8 credits/9,000 MR.
-One-way “unrestricted” business class systemwide free ticket: 16 credits/18,000 MR.
-Round-trip coach ticket on Frontier in the US48 and Canada: 20 credits/22,500 MR
-Round-trip coach ticket on Frontier to Alaska and Mexico: 32 credits/36,000 MR
-Round-trip coach ticket on any airline to US48 cities Airtran doesn’t fly to: 32 credits/36,000 MR
-Round-trip coach ticket on any airline to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico: 50 credits/56,250 MR
-Round-trip coach ticket on any airline to anywhere in the world: 100 credits/112,500 MR
-Unlimited free Airtran companion pass for a year: 100 credits/112,500 MR

Airtran has slashed the requirements to become elite in half!

You now have to fly 10 A+ flight credits within 90 days or 25 with a year to become elite. A one-way flight in coach earns 1 credit, in business class it earns 1.5 credits.

Main benefit: As an elite on Airtran you and a companion get a free upgrade at the gate if it’s available.  (It’s fairly reliable-I’ve never missed an upgrade ever!)

You are also able to transfer credits to any member for free and everyone on your itinerary can check 2 bags for free.

Airtran elites also get top-tier elite benefits with Frontier as well.

Airtran Sale Linky

Sample one way pre-tax fares, valid in either direction:

Akron/Canton, OH-Boston: $39.

Akron/Canton, OH-NYC/LGA: $49.

Baltimore-Boston: $39

NYC/LGA-Atlanta: $59

NYC/LGA-Milwaukee: $49

NYC/LGA-Orlando: $69

Pittsburgh-Ft. Lauderdale: $59

Airtran is offering a $25 coupon off one-way flights for subscribing to their Net Escapes emails.
Travel must be booked by 01/02 and completed by 04/30/09.
Limit of one $25 coupon per email address.

Offer Linky
Use a gmail account to get a coupon instantaneously!

Update: This coupon expires tonight! Use a gmail account to get a coupon instantaneously!

Originally posted on 11/26:
Airtran is offering a $20 coupon off one-way flights for subscribing to their Net Escapes emails.
Travel must be booked by 12/01 and completed by 04/30/09.
Limit of one $20 coupon per email address.

Offer Linky

HT: SBS

Related: Are you 18-22? Fly Airtran U on the cheap!

Airtran Sale Linky

Valid on Monday-Thursday flights from Atlanta that depart before 9:30am!

Offer Linky (Exp: 11/30)

Update: This coupon expires tonight! Use a gmail account to get a coupon instantaneously!

Originally posted on 09/17:

Airtran is offering a $20 coupon off one-way flights for subscribing to their Net Escapes emails.
Travel must be booked by 09/23 for completion by 11/19.
Limit of one $20 coupon per email address.

Offer Linky

Unfortunately there’s no way to use a coupon good for Airtran’s awesome Airtran U program for really cheap ($69-$99) walk-up fares for 18-22 year olds.

HT: SBS

Promo Registration Linky

Sale Linky
Purchase by: 08/09
Travel between: 09/05-11/07
Sample OW+ Prices:
Akron/Canton: $29
Baltimore: $29
Boston: $39
Houston: $39
Miami: $29
NYC/LGA:$49
Newark: $39
Pittsburgh: $29

Sale Linky (Purchase by 04/18-11:59pm EDT)
Airtran is having a massive fare sale on all of their nonstop routes, travel is valid until 05/31.

Ctown Prediction: Expect the “Big Six” to match many of these fares in the next airfare filing at 10:00 in the morning.

Sample OW+ fares:

To/From Akron, OH(CAK):
Atlanta: $44
Boston: $44
Ft. Lauderdale: $59
New York/LGA: $34
Orlando: $54
Tampa: $54

To/From Atlanta(ATL):
Akron: $44
Baltimore: $44
Boston: $59
Chicago/MDW: $44
Dallas/DFW: $54
Dayton, OH: $39
Denver: $79
Detroit: $44
Grand Bahama Island/FPO: $44
Houston/HOU: $54
Miami: $44
New York/LGA: $54
Pittsburgh: $44

To/From Chicago(MDW):
Atlanta: $44
Boston: $49
Charlotte: $44
Miami: $59
Minneapolis $29
Orlando: $54
Sarasota: $59

To/From New York(LGA):
Akron: $34
Atlanta: $54
Newport News/Williamsburg: $29

To/From White Plains, NY(HPN):
Atlanta: $49
Ft. Lauderdale: $59
Orlando: $54
West Palm Beach: $59

Airtran has rebranded their popular x-fares program as Airtran U.
The program allows 18-22 year olds to hop onto any flight for a flat rate.
In the old program the ticket didn’t qualify for any mileage credits, however in the new one every flight segment qualifies for .5 credits!
Rules:
-Short-haul segments are $69 (a connecting flight is two segments), long haul segments (San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, and Denver) are $89 a segment.
-Valid for people 18 to 22 years old (once you turn 23 you no longer qualify)
-It is only available on a standby basis-show up at the airport, and if there’s room you’re on-if not, tough luck.
-No luggage can be checked in.
-Taxes tack on about $9/segment.
Not valid for travel on:
February 17, 20.
April 7-9, 13-16, 23.
May 26, 29.
June 18, 25, 29, 30.
July 1, 5, 9, 16.
November 21, 22, 25-27.
The last date for travel is December 15, 2007.
Airtran U Linky