Another Spirt Question from Me

[js]

Hi.
I keep seeing people never fly Spirit but can anyone please tell me why?
I need to buy air for August for my family and cannot spend a lot of money.

I see Spirit for $67 one way. Even with a bag to check, I am guessing it won't be too much more.
We don't have carryons, just a pocketbook for my dd and I. Kids are older, 24 and 19 so the four of us do not need to sit with each other either.

Are they not safe? I am just wondering if I should book and hope for the best or just discount them all together.

Thank you.

 

[Keacc]

We have flown them our last 3 trips to WDW. No problems, no snacks, nothing to drink, but on time.

 

[js]

We have flown them our last 3 trips to WDW. No problems, no snacks, nothing to drink, but on time.

Thank you. Did you see my other thread? I would purchase but maybe should wait for the flights to open on Spirit. How would I find out when flights open for August (but I can purchase August on Priceline) so I can purchase directly from the site?

 

[MillauFr]

If you want to gamble with your vacation then go ahead and risk flying Spirit. If you want piece of mind then fly one of the other more reliable airlines like Delta. Spirit is known to cancel your flight at the last second and leave you stranded.

 

[sam_gordon]

I've never flown them, but from my understanding:
* Spirit charges for EVERYTHING. Make sure you examine their website to find out which charges apply to you and find out what your true cost will be.
* I believe Spirit has less legroom than other airlines
* Spirit usually has limited flights, so if a flight does get cancelled, you might have to wait days to get to your destination.

That being said, they might save you a lot of money. I would not recommend flying ANY airline carrying just a pocketbook however. What will you do if your luggage gets delayed? ALWAYS have what you need for the first 24 hours with you on the plane.

 

[js]

Thank you all very much. I appreciate all your help!

 

[NJ Goofy]

We used them once out of AC without any issue. As the other posts noted, they charge for everything so be careful looking at only the flight cost. I do know people that have used them and they just canceled the flight and offered little or no help with getting another flight, not a big issue coming home but could cost you big bucks if you're staying at Disney.

 

[anonymousegirl]

As others have said, flying Spirit may save money, but it has lots of "gotcha" fees and they don't have agreements with other airlines. They also don't have a large fleet of airplanes. So if a mechanical issues causes your flight to be canceled, they may not be able to get you to your destination for 3-4 days. They just don't have planes sitting around to replace a faulty one, and their other flights will be full.
Concerning the fees, be sure to carefully add up bag fees, carry-on fees, seat assignment fees, boarding pass fees. Also please make sure of the accepted size of carry-ons - some budget airlines allow for only small carry-ons or limit them by weight.

 

[MillauFr]

Spirit is one of the only airlines where the travel insurance could cost you more than the airline ticket. The travel insurance companies are more likely to charge you much higher prices for the travel insurance when you are insuring a Spirit flight.

 

[writerguyfl]

As others have said, flying Spirit may save money, but it has lots of "gotcha" fees and they don't have agreements with other airlines. They also don't have a large fleet of airplanes. So if a mechanical issues causes your flight to be canceled, they may not be able to get you to your destination for 3-4 days. They just don't have planes sitting around to replace a faulty one, and their other flights will be full.

This is the reason why I will not fly Spirit. I'll quote myself. Here's what I wrote in a past thread with a similar question about Frontier:

So called Ultra Low Cost Carriers (ULCC) like Frontier, Spirit, and Allegiant do not participate in interline agreements. An interline agreement allows one airline to transfer a ticket to another airline in the event of a cancelation or extreme delay. When things run smoothly, interline agreements are irrelevant. However, when problems arise, they can save you hundreds of dollars and/or many hours of frustration.

When a ULCC cancels a flight, their only obligation is to either refund your money (which may take days) or put you on the next available flight. The keyword in the sentence is "available". During a busy time, the next available flight might be the next day or even later. Typically, ULCCs will not pay for any additional costs incurred by the delay. That means you're on the hook for meals and/or hotels until they can get you on a flight.

The only way I'd fly on one of these airlines is if I had stellar travel insurance. Without that, you're gambling. It just takes one cancelation to negate any savings. If you have to get home that day, you're stuck paying the last-minute fare on another airline.

[Note: Southwest is another airline that does not use interline agreements. Due to Southwest's size, the lack of interline is not much of an issue. Southwest has 735 planes serving 99 destinations. In comparison, Frontier has 69 serving 62 destinations. As such, it's much easier for Southwest to recover when a flight gets canceled. They can more easily find a different plane, cabin crew member, or alternate routing to help get you to your destination.]​

Link to that thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/to-frontier-or-not-to-frontier.3635301/

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

I hear the complaints all the time, majority of the complaints have to do with the extra fees. I honestly know the fees going in and when I total everything up, it is usually cheaper. I have checked bags, I even went for a short trip and put everything I needed in a personal item, never paid extra. I have flown 3 times on sprit and I did not have any issues. To me, it is an affordable airline, and I am not afraid to fly them.

 

[Ed J]

We fly Spirit out of AC regularly, maybe 30 + times over the years. My personal experience is that the legacy carriers have left me waiting day(s) to get somewhere way more than Spirit ever has. In fact I have missed my flight on Spirit and they got me to my destination on the next flight same day. I used to travel quite a lot for work, I've logged a lot of flight time.

My experience is that many who dog Spirit have never flown with them. Watch the extra fee's but based on your OP it looks like you have that covered. I'm a happy Spirit customer.

 

[Pmlocke]

I have flown them every year since 2009 and have NEVER had any problems.

 

[js]

Thank you all so much. They will be a contender when I am checking flights. August hasn't opened with them yet but when they do, I will check.
My cousin has flown four times with them too and not a problem. Thank you all for your feedback, I appreciate it.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Several years ago we had a girls trip to a Caribbean Island.

6 women, 5 flew AA and the "smart" one flew Spirit. I say "smart" because in the weeks prior to the trip she mocked us for wasting money on AA.

So the last day of the vacation a winter storm hits the US. All our flights are cancelled.

The 5 of us on AA get out the next day. The "smart" one??? Well, Spirit told her "It's going to be 7 days before we can get you on a plane" After 2 more days of hanging around the airport to see if she might get lucky and clear onto a plane she gave up, paid AA for a FULL FARE ticket and flew home. The "savings" cost her 3 nights in a hotel and a full fare ticket. Spirit did refund her a few bucks for the flight she couldn't take.....

 

[RedAngie]

All of the problems reported above are possible.

On the other hand, 10,000+ passengers fly Spirit daily without incident.

 

[shannonstar]

We are flying Spirit for the first time and going IAH to TPA and back again. We are under no illusions about greatness. It was less than half the price of any other airline even with the baggage fees. If we end up with a cancelled flight one way, we would still come out even to what the others cost, so I guess I'm willing to risk it. We shall see how it goes.

 

[js]

We are flying Spirit for the first time and going IAH to TPA and back again. We are under no illusions about greatness. It was less than half the price of any other airline even with the baggage fees. If we end up with a cancelled flight one way, we would still come out even to what the others cost, so I guess I'm willing to risk it. We shall see how it goes.

Enjoy! I will be pricing them too when prices come out for August.

 

[MillauFr]

My experience is that many who dog Spirit have never flown with them. Watch the extra fee's but based on your OP it looks like you have that covered. I'm a happy Spirit customer.

Maybe so but isn't it telling when the former CEO even bragged that they "don't do customer service" Isn't that statement pretty telling? The CEO in charge of the company basically telling its customers that they should be expected to be treated like crap?

 

[Ed J]

So what you're saying is you have never flown on Spirit?