A totally different view of AirTran

I read Catharine Hamm’s article on AirTran [“Do the Right Thing,” On the Spot, Dec. 28] with great interest.

In 2005, I paid full fare for a first-class ticket for my 84-year-old mother to fly from Tampa, Fla., to Milwaukee. My mother had recently undergone a hip replacement and was headed to a nursing home. I took her to the airport in Tampa and made arrangements for her to be picked up in Milwaukee.

Once she boarded AirTran, she was bumped back to coach, despite her full-fare first-class ticket and her recent surgery. AirTran gave her two free upgrades from coach to first class for use on future flights as compensation.

It was a safe bet on AirTran’s part that this elderly woman, on her way to a nursing home, would never use those free upgrades.

My mother had a miserable trip.

I wrote a letter to AirTran’s chief executive describing this situation and asked him whether he would be disappointed if an airline treated his elderly mother this way. I never received a response.

Frankly, I was surprised AirTran refunded any money to that grieving family.

Andy Couch

Newport Beach