[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

To my understanding, the only way one gets advance seat selection, on Air Tran, is if they book into Business Class. Since the coach seats that are available for a surcharge make-up only a fraction of the total number of coach seats, one's chance of, even, bagging one of those seats are limited--unless--Air Tran follows the pattern of Northwest, and allows you to select on-line, and pay the surcharge on-line, within 24 hours of departure.

Of the US-based airlines, Air Tran, really, isn't all that bad. The DOT indicates they have a low rate of complaints and lost baggage. The only thing one has to be careful about with Air Tran are connecting times in Atlanta. Connecting times of less than 2 hours should be avoided. Atlanta is a congested airport, and relying on one of those 30 to 50 minute connections may result in either you not making your connecting flight, or your baggage not making that flight.

Again, I recommend Business Class on Air Tran. You get advance seat selection. And, if things go wrong, your ticket is fully refundable. However, unlike other airlines, there's no food service--only peanuts, pretzels, etc.