By Scott McCartney
- Associated Press
The airline-merger gremlins have started to frustrate travelers at Southwest and AirTran airlines.
This week’s Middle Seat reports on problems travelers have encountered as the two discount airlines, which are No. 1 in domestic passengers carried, have begun splicing together their flight schedules this year.
Travelers say Southwest Airlines ag ents struggle with AirTran Airways tickets and vice versa, sometimes leaving passengers who have been delayed and need rebooking in the lurch. Different prices and seat availability sometimes show up for the same flight on Southwest’s and AirTran’s online sites. Buying early boarding privileges on Southwest doesn’t get you early boarding on connecting AirTran flights. Frequent-flier credits remain separate, and Southwest companion passes, awarded to top frequent fliers, can’t be used on AirTran.
The Southwest-AirTran merger may seem small and simple considering the corporate marriages of bigger, more-complex international carriers like US Airways and American Airlines, United-Continental and Delta-Northwest. But Southwest is at a big disadvantage: Its homegrown reservation system needs major help to handle code-sharing of flights with AirTran plus AirTran’s international flights. So while Southwest is busing replacing AirTran, it also is replacing much of Southwest, in terms of reservation and passenger handling systems.
Those computer systems are the most difficult part of any airline merger, executives say. For now, Southwest is running two computer systems on different screens for airport agents, and is essentially running two separate airlines. Customers are getting frustrated as they run into some brick walls between the two airlines.
As the merger starts its third year, the story shows what’s ahead, and where customer frustrations are rising.
Source: southwest - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNErsMwctG4AOarj1SiUQnzy7ae-fg&url=http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2013/07/18/southwest-airtran-fly-into-merger-problems/
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