Airtran gone

SurferLucas said:
It was pretty cool that ATL/TPA/airTran all got into the act with the last flight using the original ValuJet callsign, "Critter 1":


Found this today while going through stuff at the parents house...seemed a bit ironic, but this was HUGE for the post-Valujet 592 airTran. I'm going to miss JS'ing on them, they got me from ATL to DEN many many times when I was commuting to PDX, most of the time in Business class. The crews were always willing to go the extra mile for other crew members.
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@ATN_Pilot
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I like how she had to keep emphasizing "CRITTER" to TPA approach. I only got to ride on AirTran a couple times but the crews were very accommodating and always friendly. Sad to see them go.
 
bLizZuE said:
Pretty sure this is a paint shop airport.
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GYR is like a mini MZJ. Not everything goes there to die, some just get parked for a bit. Very likely you're correct that that's all that will be done here. Would've been neat to see all the arrivals though.
 

_MG_3219 by citrusflyer35, on Flickr

@ATN_Pilot

Thought this might make you cringe. Seriously though, it's sad to see another name go. I'd be shocked if we see anymore mergers or successful start ups soon (With the exception of the new Eastern. We'll see how that goes). It's a sad sight.
 
BobDDuck said:
No. AirTran got screwed. Badly.

In a nutshell all the Critter Captains are back in the right seat and Southwest FOs have filled the captain seats of all the 737s AirTran brought to the party.

EDIT to add: however, the guys DID vote it in that way. I think (and a lot of people way smarter than me agree) that what Southwest management was threatening to do if they didn't take the deal, was illegal and wouldn't actually happen, but I completely understand that people didn't want to gamble their careers on that fact.
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That is a very one sided representation of how this all went down. There are individuals on both sides that got screwed. Ask anybody at SWA with a 80000 number what their upgrade time looks like now. There are also individuals on both sides that will make out. It is a tough pill to swallow for both pilot groups. I really do feel bad for Airtran dudes who can no longer hold their old base and hope that will be changing soon.
What we really need is unity in our negotiations right now. Like it or not, we are stuck with each other.
 
An old pilot mentor once told me, "it's not a successful merger unless both sides are screwed equally".
 
Bit of a bummer I suppose. I liked SWA and Airtran equally, for different reasons. Airtran was my go-to for getting to ATL because it was way cheaper than Delta, and the business-class upgrades were quite nice. Hated Concourse C, though. Always felt scuzzy to me...like MDW before they overhauled it...
 
ZapBrannigan said:
An old pilot mentor once told me, "it's not a successful merger unless both sides are screwed equally".
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Exactly. Which is why this merger wasn't successful.

For those who asked, my class date hasn't happened yet. A few hundred of us were still flying on the AirTran side when it shut down, and it's taking three months to get everyone into class. We're getting paid to sit idle until then. I've put in a request for a long-term leave of absence, but if that's not approved, @ZapBrannigan will be moving up a number. ;)
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Exactly. Which is why this merger wasn't successful.

For those who asked, my class date hasn't happened yet. A few hundred of us were still flying on the AirTran side when it shut down, and it's taking three months to get everyone into class. We're getting paid to sit idle until then. I've put in a request for a long-term leave of absence, but if that's not approved, @ZapBrannigan will be moving up a number. ;)
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Told you you're never leaving! It will be another excuse if you're not granted long term leave!

:)
 
Richman said:
Having watched the fire truck salute myself...well, it has a high suck factor.

As for my bros at Tranny, most of them are fairly grumpy.

That said, they got a couple of good licks in. The AirTran "Get along little doggy" ad was pretty funny.



Richman
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That was an awesome commercial....:D
 
I'll never forget Air Tran. I'm normally on point and organized with international travel, but for our honeymoon, my wife decided to wait until 11PM to pack. Cue our passports being tossed back and forth until 2am on a 530am departure and guess who showed up dead to the world at the airport at 4am sans passport, uh me. The normally 60 minute round trip passport retrieval was accomplished in 25 minutes by an Eastern European Richard Petty cab driver whilst the Airtran ticket agents not only comforted my new bride, but when I miraculously appeared, upgraded us. Very sad to see that company go the way of many others.
 
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