I have to say that have never had a problem with AirTran. I went to college in New Orleans and AirTran was by far my cheapest option for flying home, which was the primary concern for a college student! I never had a delayed flight or service issue. My flying certainly doesn't reach that of someone who does it for work, but I flew home about 4 times a year and never had any issues on any of the legs. With my experience, I wouldn't put them behind AA, United, Northwest or the like... I mean, you get what you pay for in terms of "amenities" but I thought it was worth it considering how much cheaper they were.