[Jack]

I printed my AirTran boarding pass on July 19 for ATA to RSW, flight 173, on July 20. Gate C6 was shown. I arrived at the Atlanta airport, cleared security and had breakfast in the bookstore in the B terminal. My gate had changed to C10 according to the monitor. After breakfast, I checked the monitor agian. Gate C10 was still posted. I arrived at gate C10 about five minutes before boarding should have begun but was told there had been a gate change to D10. Changing teminals at ATA is not hard but it is time consuming. When I arrived at D10 a plane from another airline was there. The gate agent had no clue where my gate was. I proceeded to the nearest AirTran gate and went to the head of the line to ask where my gate was since it was supposed to be boarding. The gate agent said I was not allowed to jump the line and to get in line. I thanked her for her underestanding and went back to terminal C. The gate monitors still said my flight was at gate C10. At the C terminal, an AirTran agent said she was sorry the monitors were messed up but my flight was really at gate D1A. Once I got back to the D terminal I saw there is no sign for gate D1A. On blind faith I walked all the way to gate D1 and finally saw a sign for D1A. I arrived at D1A at the scheduled 8:50 departure time, sweating and pretty upset. The monitor at D1A was broken so I asked an agent if that was the correct gate. She said yes. I said this was the most messed up boarding I had ever experienced (I have 4 million miles on American). She said if I though this was bad I should keep flying AirTran (Southwest). The flight took off about 15 minutes late. Everyone boarding after me was complaining. There was no apology from the cockpit. Thank you AirTran and Southwest.

[AADFW]

Did you mean ATL? I am pretty sure that AirTran doesn't fly to Comandante FAP German Arias Grazziani Airport in Huaraz, Peru...

[jeffwestt]

May be because they don't consider it big enough to say sorry.

[xjcaptain]

How would the cockpit crew have known about bad information about gate changes, and how you had been mis-informed about the gate info from gate agents. Most likely they had checked in at their operations area, saw their plane and gate assignment, and went to work. Many times the monitors in the airport are run by the airport itself, and can not be easily changed by airline staff. The runaround shouldn't have happened, and proper information should have been provided, that is not in question. As far as the cockpit crew, they are busy getting the aircraft ready for the flight, and a rarely aware of boarding issues, especially issues that happen at the gate.

[xjcaptain]

..........