SPIRIT AIRLINES

[tnolan]

The one and only time my friend used Spirit was a couple of years ago. We were having our breakfast about half an hour away from checkout time when she suddenly got a text that her flight home was cancelled. No suggestions about rebooking or anything, just your flight is cancelled. With her in tears, I managed to get her a seat on a Delta flight for that day, and she swore that never ever again would she take Spirit. The moral of the story is, take them at your own risk. And once you add in things that other airlines don't charge as much or anything for, the price is not as cheap as it first looks. Good luck!

 

[debster812]

The one and only time my friend used Spirit was a couple of years ago. We were having our breakfast about half an hour away from checkout time when she suddenly got a text that her flight home was cancelled. No suggestions about rebooking or anything, just your flight is cancelled. With her in tears, I managed to get her a seat on a Delta flight for that day, and she swore that never ever again would she take Spirit. The moral of the story is, take them at your own risk. And once you add in things that other airlines don't charge as much or anything for, the price is not as cheap as it first looks. Good luck!

This is similar to our experience. We flew Spirit once about 10-12 years ago from BOS-MYR. I was very aware of any extra charges for bags, seats, etc. We had issues on both legs of our trip. Outbound leg, we checked in the night before, double checked flight status before we left home, and by the time we got to the airport, our flight was cancelled. Missed our entire 1st day of our long weekend, when our non-stop 9am flight turned into a one stop, 3:30pm flight.

Flight home, the entire eastern seaboard was experiencing major delays due to fog. I get it, weather, happens.

On both legs of the trip, the biggest problem was the complete inability to get hold of anyone at Spirit, either at the airport, or on the phone. The mark of great customer service is how companies deal with issues when things go wrong. Spirit failed us miserably, and we have not flown them since.

 

[writerguyfl]

The one and only time my friend used Spirit was a couple of years ago. We were having our breakfast about half an hour away from checkout time when she suddenly got a text that her flight home was cancelled. No suggestions about rebooking or anything, just your flight is cancelled. With her in tears, I managed to get her a seat on a Delta flight for that day, and she swore that never ever again would she take Spirit. The moral of the story is, take them at your own risk. And once you add in things that other airlines don't charge as much or anything for, the price is not as cheap as it first looks. Good luck!

Major carriers like Delta have invested money in software programs that automatically re-book passengers who have their flights canceled. It's not always perfect, as the software might "value" one option higher than another. For example, the software might consider nonstop flights to be "better" than a connecting itinerary that arrives sooner. But, at least you're not left high and dry. You can always call and discuss other options.

As debster812 notes, Spirit is infamous for their horrible customer service.

 

[Viking7641]

They were late both to and from Palm Beach when I was going to a ( paid by me) job interview. So not again

 

[Miskey]

I flew Spirit in December and wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again. It was a huge price difference, even with buying the bundle (carry-on, 50lb checked bag, priority boarding and choosing my seat in an exit row) The staff members in the airports and on the plane were all profession and friendly

The only difference as for as a Disney perk, was that I had to bring my luggage on the return trip on the magical express and check it myself, but they have many kiosks with workers nearby to help and it only took a few minutes. I used the app to check in for my flight.

 

[Pmlocke]

I have flown Spirit every year to Disney from Detroit since 2009 (twice in 2013). Never left late, never arrived late, never lost my luggage and saved tons of money. Last flight was last week (2/25-3/1/2019). If you are like me and like extra seat and leg room, grab the larger front seats. Costs more but I still save. I am also the first off the plane when we arrive. I am not giving you a bunch of hooey. I really love Spirit. I know others have complained about cancelled flights and small seats, but don't all airlines cancell flights and have small seats? It seems like most of the complaints I read about are from people who heard from a friend or relative. Not someone who actually rode the airlines. Last year there was a flight cancelled from MCO going to Detroit. That was a morning flight that was to leave 7 hours before my flight back home. Talking to the persons waiting they were pretty uipset. I went to talk to the person at the Spirit counter and the reason for the delay was Detroit was closed due to a snowstorm. How can you blame Spirit for that? Every airline to Detroit that morning was cancelled. Last time I tried pricing another airline (Delta) I was shocked by the difference in the cost. The flight is just over 2 hours from Detroit to Orlando. Why pay hundreds more?

 

[debster812]

I have flown Spirit every year to Disney from Detroit since 2009 (twice in 2013). Never left late, never arrived late, never lost my luggage and saved tons of money. Last flight was last week (2/25-3/1/2019). If you are like me and like extra seat and leg room, grab the larger front seats. Costs more but I still save. I am also the first off the plane when we arrive. I am not giving you a bunch of hooey. I really love Spirit. I know others have complained about cancelled flights and small seats, but don't all airlines cancell flights and have small seats? It seems like most of the complaints I read about are from people who heard from a friend or relative. Not someone who actually rode the airlines. Last year there was a flight cancelled from MCO going to Detroit. That was a morning flight that was to leave 7 hours before my flight back home. Talking to the persons waiting they were pretty uipset. I went to talk to the person at the Spirit counter and the reason for the delay was Detroit was closed due to a snowstorm. How can you blame Spirit for that? Every airline to Detroit that morning was cancelled. Last time I tried pricing another airline (Delta) I was shocked by the difference in the cost. The flight is just over 2 hours from Detroit to Orlando. Why pay hundreds more?

Well, I’m a person who did share a personal experience, not a friend, or acquaintance

And you are not wrong in that all airlines cancel flights, and the seats are getting smaller, and you can’t blame Spirit for the weather. All VERY valid points. However, the main takeaway is, and always has been, when things run smoothly, Spirit is fine. It’s a low cost carrier that will get you from Point A to Point B. The issues come in when there are any type of irregular ops whether due to weather, crews timing out, crews calling in sick, mechanical issues, etc. That’s when things go south in a hurry. Spirit is very difficult to get in touch with on the phone, and if, like us, you’re stuck at a smallish airport like MYR and there is no one from the airline at any of the gates, you have to go back OUTSIDE of security to find anyone to speak to.

I think it’s a risk/reward scenario more than anything. We typically fly during the winter out of New England, or during high traffic times (Labor Day weekend, Thanksgiving week). I’m not willing to take a chance that Spirit will flake on us, and then not be able to get us out for days after due to weather or limited capacity because of holiday travels.

 

[Tinkerbell58]

Is a 1 personal item considered a purse? I use and travel with a CPAP.

Yes, a purse is considered a personal item. I use a backpack as a personal item and put my purse inside it.

 

[Laura527]

We flew Spirit for the first time last week from MCO to BWI to save some money, and never again. At the time of online booking, we purchased 1 checked bag ($30), and in the fine print it said that that max allowed weight is 40 lbs which we didn't notice at the time; most other airlines allow a max of 50 lbs. When we got to the airport, there were big signs all over the place saying that you have to pay an additional $30 for baggage weight from 41-50 lbs (why don't they have big signs about checked bag weight limits when you are booking online???). So, we ended up paying $60 to check the 1 bag since our bag weighed 42 lbs. Plus, you have to pay for EVERYTHING: $10 pp to check in at the airport versus online. Thirsty on the flight? that's another $5 for a soda. Seats are really uncomfortable AND our flight was delayed by more than an hour because the airline crew was not able to make it to airport on time. Other than that, it was fine (we made it to Baltimore alive).

 

[ElizabethG]

I have only flown spirit one time; a few years ago. I will not use them again. For me, it is never hundreds less. It was maybe $80 less with an extra layover. If it is a lot cheaper, you can bank on everything going according to plan.

In my experience, the seats were noticeably smaller than Delta. It was also very dirty. There was garbage coming out of the seat pocket in front of me.

We were taking it on the way home from Disney. The night before checkout I got the ME notice on my door. When I checked it, it seemed really early. I went online to check the flight. It was moved up by 4 hours. I never received an email about the time change. I searched my inbox and junk folder. If not for Disney, I would have missed the flight. If I had been notified, it is possible I could have changed my layover flight to an earlier one. Instead, we now had a 7 hour layover. A direct flight is worth more than $80 extra to me.

 

[Dbktmc]

Even if I check a bag at $40 round trip, no one else can come close usually. For my family of 4, for a trip lasting more than 3 days, we will share a checked bag.

We fly Spirit due to the fact that it they fly out of the airport 2 minutes from my home. I have never seen prices for checked baggage at $40/round trip. The best that we can get is $35-$40 each way. That price is amazing!

This is similar to our experience. We flew Spirit once about 10-12 years ago from BOS-MYR. I was very aware of any extra charges for bags, seats, etc. We had issues on both legs of our trip. Outbound leg, we checked in the night before, double checked flight status before we left home, and by the time we got to the airport, our flight was cancelled. Missed our entire 1st day of our long weekend, when our non-stop 9am flight turned into a one stop, 3:30pm flight.

Flight home, the entire eastern seaboard was experiencing major delays due to fog. I get it, weather, happens.

On both legs of the trip, the biggest problem was the complete inability to get hold of anyone at Spirit, either at the airport, or on the phone. The mark of great customer service is how companies deal with issues when things go wrong. Spirit failed us miserably, and we have not flown them since.

We had MAJOR problems with Spirit several years ago. They cancelled flights out of our local airport about 50% of the time for about a few months. In fact, they ended up on the news when a fight broke out in a Florida airport. (I am pretty sure that it was Florida but someone else can correct me if I'm wrong.) They ended up saying that the flight crew and/or pilots (I can't remember) were calling off during negotiations. After that terrible time I haven't heard as many horror stories. (Our flight was cancelled after about a week of cancellations. We ended up having to drive to Disney with a 3 year old on a spur of the minute decision and it wasn't fun.)

The thing is that the CEO has said, "we don't do customer service". We fly Spirit to avoid the 2 hour drive to the next major airport as well as to avoid the parking fees. However, we are aware that "we get what we pay for". We choose to take our chances but if they ever cancel our flight and leave us stranded again then we will never return as customers.

 

[Laura527]

One other thing, if you are taking the DME bus from your resort to the airport, the resort will not allow you to check your bags at resort if flying Spirit. Probably because of all the extra baggage fees with Spirit, you have to keep your bags with you on the DME bus and check them in yourself at airport. If flying Southwest or other major airlines, the resort will let you check your bags at resort before boarding the DME bus.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I have flown Spirit every year to Disney from Detroit since 2009 (twice in 2013). Never left late, never arrived late, never lost my luggage and saved tons of money. Last flight was last week (2/25-3/1/2019). If you are like me and like extra seat and leg room, grab the larger front seats. Costs more but I still save. I am also the first off the plane when we arrive. I am not giving you a bunch of hooey. I really love Spirit. I know others have complained about cancelled flights and small seats, but don't all airlines cancell flights and have small seats? It seems like most of the complaints I read about are from people who heard from a friend or relative. Not someone who actually rode the airlines. Last year there was a flight cancelled from MCO going to Detroit. That was a morning flight that was to leave 7 hours before my flight back home. Talking to the persons waiting they were pretty uipset. I went to talk to the person at the Spirit counter and the reason for the delay was Detroit was closed due to a snowstorm. How can you blame Spirit for that? Every airline to Detroit that morning was cancelled. Last time I tried pricing another airline (Delta) I was shocked by the difference in the cost. The flight is just over 2 hours from Detroit to Orlando. Why pay hundreds more?

I think your experience of paying "hundreds more" for legacy carriers is a big driver in your satisfaction with Spirit, but that's not the case everywhere. In my experience, the price difference between Sprint and the mid-range carriers like Southwest and Jet Blue is minimal or non-existent. I'm in reasonable driving distance of a few airports, so that might be a factor. But our flights in June are less on Jet Blue than they would be on Spirit, and that's just for the basic cost of the ticket, not including the extra I'd pay for bags, seats, in-flight beverages, etc. on Spirit. A year and a half ago, Delta had the best option for our flights to Universal.

Your point about a snowstorm is well-taken, but @debster812 is right on about Spirit vs other carriers when something goes wrong. If all is well, Spirit will get you where you want to go reasonably well. When everything shuts down for weather, everything is grounded, no matter which airline you're on. However, the difference between Spirit and, say, Delta comes into play with how fast the airline can recover from the problem and get you to your destination once the snow stops. Ultra low-cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier don't have extra the planes or crews to handle the backlog of people. A carrier like Delta is generally going to have more flights per day, and will be able to rebook you to get you home, even if that might mean rerouting you through an odd connection. Those people at MCO who were there seven hours after their flight was scheduled to leave for Detroit? Who knows when they got home? My bet is they weren't upset that Spirit cancelled because a storm made flying unsafe. They were upset Spirit didn't have available flights to get them home in a reasonable time, and likely Spirit wasn't being particularly proactive and responsive in their customer service, either.

Would I ever fly Spirit, Frontier, Allegient? Maybe. If the price difference were big enough to make the risk/reward worth it. If my vacation were fairly long with flexible start and endings, so I wouldn't miss something important due to a delay of a day or so. If I were flying during a time of year with typically good weather. But would I pay for non-refundable hotel reservations for a long weekend in the winter and even consider Spirit? No way!

 

[joscortel]

I will be flying spirit for the first time in October. I had been waiting to see southwest fares before deciding but since they releasing October flights last weekend spirit is much cheaper. I know there is a possibility that they southwest fares could go down but they could also increase so I'm not willing to chance that. Our flights for spirit round trip non-stop with 1 checked bag(between the both of us) and paying for our seat choice comes to 389.20 for 2(myself and 7yo grandson) and southwest roundtrip non stop with EBCI for the 2 of us 756.00 That is 366.80 in savings. Flying southwest out of Pittsburg to Mco has gotten quite pricey over the last couple years. I have had friends and family who have flown Spirit out of Pittsburgh and back and have had no issues. But no way would I fly them out of Latrobe I have heard nothing but horror stories about spirit airlines as well as the airport itself in Latrobe. My dates are not flexible because we have rented dvc points and cannot change the dates. So hoping to have a good experience with spirit and then maybe I will be able to travel more often lol.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Make sure you know exactly what they consider a "personal item",

It's any item that fits completely (per a JetBlue flight attendant, this includes wheels, straps, handles, etc.) under the seat in front of you

Legacy/Low-Cost US Airlines:

• Alaska: 116 destinations with 330 planes
• American: 350 destinations with 57 planes

Is Wikipedia sure about this?

We flew Spirit for the first time last week from MCO to BWI to save some money, and never again. At the time of online booking, we purchased 1 checked bag ($30), and in the fine print it said that that max allowed weight is 40 lbs which we didn't notice at the time; most other airlines allow a max of 50 lbs. When we got to the airport, there were big signs all over the place saying that you have to pay an additional $30 for baggage weight from 41-50 lbs (why don't they have big signs about checked bag weight limits when you are booking online???)

Right in the booking box, there a link you can click for baggage information. https://www.spirit.com/optional-services It's different from last time I looked at Spirit. Curious, though, why you didn't just shuffle some contents?

The thing is that the CEO has said, "we don't do customer service".

As far as I know, that CEO has moved on. To jetBlue.

One other thing, if you are taking the DME bus from your resort to the airport, the resort will not allow you to check your bags at resort if flying Spirit. Probably because of all the extra baggage fees with Spirit

Nope, just because they don't participate. No idea if that was Spirit's decision, or Disney's. Southeast wasn't a participating airline at first - and we all know that has zero to do with baggage fees.

 

[writerguyfl]

Is Wikipedia sure about this?

Good catch! Wikipedia was correct...I'm just a bad typist. The correct number of American Airlines aircraft (mainline) is 962. I was only off by about 900.