Spirit vs Frontier

[ClapYourHands]

Can anyone tell me a little more about the differences between the two carriers?

 

[_19disnA]

There are several older threads on this topic. Personally, I would never fly on Spirit since where we used to live there were constantly in the news showing irate customers when a flight was cancelled and the next flight wasn't for several days. The very small budget airlines typically don't have extra planes available to use where there is some sort of mechanical issue. They also obscure their ticket prices such that there are several extra adds to get the total price. Assume this is an effort to make them appear to be cheaper when doing online searches for prices but once you add in all of the extra charges, not so much.

Have flown several times on Frontier and never had any issues. Always found them well organized and very efficient.

 

[theostwalts]

I have flown both from Charlotte directly to MCO with no issues from either airline. Frontier did seem a little more organized for some reason, but not enough to make much of a difference or justify paying a lot more for one over the other. I would be comfortable using either one for short, direct flights without connections.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I fly both, they are both really similar ultra low airlines. We fly Spirit the most because the schedule fits us best. I have never had an issue with spirit and flown with them over a dozen times in the last 6 months.
We never expect much... heck I paid half of what I pay on AA so I'm happy ... we look at spirit and frontier as greyhound of the sky.
My family has gotten use to the amount of snacks available on spirit for sale and they were disappointed when last time we flew SWA they had no choices lol

 

[Gary2T]

We've used both for a cheap getaway. Not much difference between the two. Similar flight pricing. Similar extra fees for seats, luggage, etc. Similar onboard experience. As long as nothing goes wrong (ie. flight cancelled) either will be fine. If for some reason your flight gets cancelled with either of these, you may be in for quite the adventure. All other things being equal, I'd pick the one that has more flights into/out of your airport. Better opportunities to get another flight should a flight get cancelled.

Spirit does get bonus points for "The Big Front Seat" though. Totally worth it to me.

 

[KristaZ]

In my experience, they're pretty much the same. I've never had an issue with either as far as flight cancellations or delays (though I gather this probably makes me lucky). You get what you pay for with both. As long as you go in knowing what to expect, it's fine. We can manage to pack our stuff into personal items and don't bother with picking seats ahead of time, so we're able to avoid their additional fees, but if you're not someone who can do those things, make sure you pay attention to the costs, because they can add up quickly and easily surpass the cost of another airline that includes those things in their ticket.

 

[Brer Chump]

Both are pretty much the same, publicly traded ULCC flying newer Airbus aircraft. I have flown on both with no major issues. Just be aware that Spirit checked bag weight limit is 40 pounds compared to the standard 50 pounds.

 

[needvaca]

I’ve flown both a few times and they are fine and pretty similar.
but you get what you pay for- meaning we have more glitches with them than with the big airlines.
My 2 big tips are
-only take them for direct flights. Anytime we’ve had a connecting flight, it gets messed up.
- only take morning or early afternoon flights, they seem to be the most reliable. We had a 6pmSpirit flight out of Orlando and due to “weather”, we ended severely delayed and on a connecting flight that got us home the next morning.

 

[jamescanuck2001]

Have flown both, no issues. Ticket price is barebones, you and a fairly small carry on. Anything above and beyond that is extra. We have shared 1 piece of checked luggage to go with the 3 carry ons in the past. Packing light but it works.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Thank you all! I ended up booking Frontier, as it seems to have a bit of an edge over Spirit. I'm a little nervous, as there is only one direct flight per day, and only three days per week to/from my airport, so fingers crossed it goes well. Back up plan is that there are three other airports within a couple hour's drive that have Frontier flights, so we wouldn't necessarily need to wait two days to get on an other plane. As long as we get down there, I don't think I'd totally mind being delayed a day or two on the return

I bought the tickets at the airport, and that saved me a few hundred dollars more. While it clearly is barebones (limited ticketing counter hours), and the employees didn't seem very experienced (one guy had no idea how to sell me a ticket "It's my third day"), everyone was polite and apparently helpful to the limits of their abilities. That's something anyway. I feel like it's much easier to be patient when people seem to be honestly trying.

So, I've pulled out my tape measure to figure out which of our backpacks will fit in the personal belonging sizer, and I'll do laundry down there. I mean, we're going to Florida in the summer - how much do we really need to pack? We will bring snacks for the plane, and water bottles we can fill past security. It would be much easier if TSA would allow obviously sealed soda cans through security, but we'll make do with flavor packets added to water.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Thank you all! I ended up booking Frontier, as it seems to have a bit of an edge over Spirit. I'm a little nervous, as there is only one direct flight per day, and only three days per week to/from my airport, so fingers crossed it goes well. Back up plan is that there are three other airports within a couple hour's drive that have Frontier flights, so we wouldn't necessarily need to wait two days to get on an other plane. As long as we get down there, I don't think I'd totally mind being delayed a day or two on the return

I bought the tickets at the airport, and that saved me a few hundred dollars more. While it clearly is barebones (limited ticketing counter hours), and the employees didn't seem very experienced (one guy had no idea how to sell me a ticket "It's my third day"), everyone was polite and apparently helpful to the limits of their abilities. That's something anyway. I feel like it's much easier to be patient when people seem to be honestly trying.

So, I've pulled out my tape measure to figure out which of our backpacks will fit in the personal belonging sizer, and I'll do laundry down there. I mean, we're going to Florida in the summer - how much do we really need to pack? We will bring snacks for the plane, and water bottles we can fill past security. It would be much easier if TSA would allow obviously sealed soda cans through security, but we'll make do with flavor packets added to water.

We use a bag we bought at walmart that's made to fit under airline seats, my kids use there school backpacks. Technically the school backpacks are too big by the measurement but we have never been stopped...

 

[vail2denver]

Can anyone tell me a little more about the differences between the two carriers?

I have never flown Spirit, but I can 100% vouch for Frontier Airlines. We've used them many many times (used to live in Denver) and for price and service they have always been outstanding. We've flown a few other "barebones" carriers both stateside and while abroad, and Frontier while no thrills, is definitely honest and customer orientated. I'll always recommend them to family/friends.