Spirit Airline?

[adamak]

Has anyone flown Spirit Airline and what are they like? I'm actually flying from New York down to Fort Lauderdale. And Spirit seems to have the cheapest ticket.

Are they reliable?

 

[Dana30]

We flew spirit down in 8/2001. The planes are old, very old. They bought them from the old Eastern Airlines. We sat in an emergency exit row on the way back, and it wasn't sealed completely, and I could see the insulation.

The way down the flight was ok, but since it is a smaller airline, it shares a gate with another small airline, so we waited to gate over 1 hour in FL and 35 minutes in Newark. It was a cheap flight, but never again.

Dana

 

[adamak]

Thanks Dana30,
That's it. I'm not flying Spirit. I am already worried about flying and safety is #1 concern. I'll pay more for JetBlue.

 

[Dana30]

I am flying for the first time in January since 9/11 and I am scared to death. But, I know it will be fine.

Enjoy your vacation.

Dana

 

[mom23guys2]

I fly them all the time from Atlantic City. We have never had a problem from there or in Tampa or MCO. The flights were comparale to USAirways except less hassle because of the smaller airport. I'm not sure how it would be from NYC. I know I'd like to try Jet Blue but they aren't close.

 

[LisaR]

We have used Spirit out of Detroit MANY times and have never had a problem with them. The only other airline we have ever used has been NWA. The NW planes and Spirit planes have been in the identical shape. I didn't find one to be any better or worse then the other. My dh just came home from California using Spirit. He said it was a great flight, on time in both directions, clean plane, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. Actually, we are! We leave in 4 weeks!!

Lisa

 

[irish]

Having flown Spirit out of Atlantic City several times in the past 4 years, we've never had a problem. I do agree though, that an opinion is only as good as your last experience. IMHO

 

[sgtdisney]

Actually it looks like the planes that Spirit owned, that originally belonged to Eastern, have since been retired. Spirit flys mostly MD-80s at this point and the oldest one is about 20 years old, which in the airline industry isn't all that old... (Northwest is still flying DC-9s built in the 60s.. albeit it rebuilt ones) I have never flown on them personally, but my Brother in Law has, and he hasn't ever had a problem with them.

 

[fa mulan]

When I bought our Spirit tix, I checked out their planes on their website & other news & press releases about them on google. They report an excellent safety record and planes seemed fine; they also recently expanded their fleet (?) to Las Vegas - so the company's growing which is a good sign. A friend has flown on them happily for years from ACY to Florida and says they have a good on-time record too. Check out all the info on them you can on the web to satisfy yourself. I also found them to be the cheapest direct flights to MCO....

I'll see for myself in a couple months!

 

[Debi]

I have flown Spirit many times out of Atlantic City, and have never had a problem. I've only experienced one (1.5 hour) delay, and that was weather-related. Spirit is definately no-frills (no first class, snacks are only pretzels and juice, etc.), but also worth the savings.

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by Debi
(no first class,

Spirit does actually have something like a first class cabin now.. It is called Spirit Plus.. I would imagine it is something like AirTran is offering in their business class.. Wider seats, more service.. Supposedly the 'Spirit Plus' section features wider 'business class' leather seats. I think they started this in the last year or so...

 

[kel3420]

We flew Spirit over Thanksgiving from Chicago and would fly them again in a heartbeat.

We are very glad that they just opened a route to Vegas from Chicago, and just wish they would change the only return flight time from 12:30 am! LOL

I recommend this airline.

 

[shelbyjosh]

Very, very old jets?? Come on, they aren't dinosaurs! Actually, they are retired FinnAir jets. They have recently added to their fleet, too. We fly them from Detroit to Orlando and have no complaints. In fact, I have a Spirit voucher that has to be used by 1/9/03 and it is a shame that we aren't going until March. I would not hesitate to fly them.

 

[LisaR]

Michelle,
It is probably too late for anyone to use your Spirit vouchers since they expire so soon. But, did you know that anyone can use those vouchers and it will only cost $25 for a name change?! Of course, if the new airfare costs more then the old one, then the person would also need to pay the difference. We had vouchers on Spirit and couldn't use them. We gave them to some friends who never get much of a chance to get away. For $100 (4 people @ $25 each) they were able to fly to WDW! Just an FYI for next time.

Lisa