Anyone Fly Spirit Without A Bad Experience?

[RCMommy]

Hi, we live in Ontario and have flown from Detroit to Orlando with NWA (now Delta) our last 4 trips.

For this upcoming trip I am watching prices and Spirit keeps tossing out deals but when I found a forum on airlines, not one person had a good thing to say about them.

Should I give them a shot or steer clear?? We are traveling with our two kids, both age 7.

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

we have used them a few times before all the fees went into effect and never had a problem with them out of Detroit. Just make sure you check all your fees for checked, carryon, and seat assignments if you wish to pick your own.

 

[pr surfer]

I would have something bad to say about them, except that now the legacy carriers nickel and dime on domestic flights as well. So in short, fly whoever appeals more to your wallet.

 

[FoodLover]

When it comes to Spirit, you definitely get what you pay for.

http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/7...cessary+for+Travel,+Says+Spirit+Airlines'+CEO

 

[mousebymarriage]

I personally have never flown with them but, my sister and her family have. They have used Spirit out of Atlantic City, NJ at least 1/2 dozen times and she has never had a problem. She said they are fine and she likes the fact that they fly out of Atlantic City because it's closer to her house than going to Newark Airport and alot smaller so less crazy. My sis agrees with the pp that said "you get what you pay for" but, she said that most airlines don't offer any extras anymore so they are all pretty generic flights.

 

[RCMommy]

I am not worried about the "extras" even with NWA/Delta we had to buy our snack boxes for $5.

I just want a decent airline. I always worry about hidden fees. I know most are charging for checked baggage now, and those airlines who are not it is usually reflected in a slightly higher fare anyway.

With Spirit though, I read that as you are going through the process of buying the ticket you are then asked to pay if you want to select your seats. Since we are flying with 2 little ones I cannot risk them sitting away from us, they would freak!

I am thinking that with the low fares I am seeing, by the time I factor in the seat selection fee, the baggage fees,....it will not be any cheaper than the competitors...so I might as well stick with what we are use too !?

 

[FoodLover]

I think the real issue with Spirit, besides all the hidden fees, is that if something goes wrong -- weather, strike, mechanical difficulties, etc. -- you can count on exactly ZERO customer service. They've made it very apparent, from the top down, that they don't care whether you're happy as a customer. See my previous post, which quotes the company president as saying exactly that. And the incidents in that post just scratch the surface. There are dozens of stories about Spirit's abysmal service.

In short, they are all about price. If you luck out and everything goes according to plan, great. If their pilots go on strike (which happened a few months ago) or your plane breaks, or the weather is bad, their attitude will be "tough luck" and you'll be stuck. So you kind of have to weigh how important that is to you.

Personally I wouldn't even consider flying on Spirit.

 

[johnnyr]

I have flown Spirit a few times before they started the nickel and dime game. While I never had a problem with the service, I will not be flying them any time soon. There are many hidden fess. They attract you with a fare that looks great. The total price of your ticket is not revealed to you until after they get your credit card. Fees for seats are outrageous. Luggage and carry on fees are ridicules. Then, once you are on the flight, they won't even give you a glass of water. They give you a free bag of 3 small pretzels that make you thirsty and then if you want something to drink, you get to reach for your credit card again as they do not accept cash on the flight. I used to like Spirit, but after my last experience, I had a change of heart.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

I flown Spirit several times out of Atlantic City, as have my parents and several co-workers, and we've never had a problem.

Just flew to Orlando from Atlantic City last month and had a great experience. First, I paid a lot less than Southwest, Air Tran or UsAirways would have been flying out of Philly, and that is after all the fees were factored in. Although they charge for carry-ons, you can still bring a bag that fits under the seat in front of you for free. Both flights were on-time or a little early.

I've already booked flights for May 2011. $550 for 5 roundtrip tix from ACY to MCO including all taxes fees. Even with bag and seat fees, it'll still be less than the other airlines.

Do you get what you pay for? Absolutely! And I couldn't be happier!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I think the real issue with Spirit, besides all the hidden fees, is that if something goes wrong -- weather, strike, mechanical difficulties, etc. -- you can count on exactly ZERO customer service. They've made it very apparent, from the top down, that they don't care whether you're happy as a customer. See my previous post, which quotes the company president as saying exactly that. And the incidents in that post just scratch the surface. There are dozens of stories about Spirit's abysmal service.

In short, they are all about price. If you luck out and everything goes according to plan, great. If their pilots go on strike (which happened a few months ago) or your plane breaks, or the weather is bad, their attitude will be "tough luck" and you'll be stuck. So you kind of have to weigh how important that is to you.

Personally I wouldn't even consider flying on Spirit.

This post sums it up....


I would NEVER get on Spirit. The only reason I can see to fly them are the price and it's not worth the risk IMHO. At least once a week over on the Trip Advisor forum there's another "Do NOT Fly Spirit" thread started by another unhappy customer...

In an industry not known for "customer serivce" this is "bottom feeder"

So when you get stuck etc... don't expect much!

 

[RCMommy]

I am not crazy about the "tough luck" philosphy. I think we will be flying with someone else. If it was just my DH and myself, maybe. With two little ones, and the thought of a problem and having to tell them we won't be heading to WDW or much later than planned....no thanks

This post sums it up....


I would NEVER get on Spirit. The only reason I can see to fly them are the price and it's not worth the risk IMHO. At least once a week over on the Trip Advisor forum there's another "Do NOT Fly Spirit" thread started by another unhappy customer...

In an industry not known for "customer serivce" this is "bottom feeder"

So when you get stuck etc... don't expect much!

 

[DanceGirl914]

We flew with them in 2008, and I had no issues.
We fly out of Buffalo now but if we had to go out of Detriot and they had the best price we would use them again with no hesitation.

 

[Vickis3js]

Dh and I flew them in March and had no problems at all. We picked the big front seats on the way down, emergency isle on the way home and paid for 3 checked bags and we paid less then we would have flying Southwest and I didn't have to drive over an hour to the airport since Spirit flys out of AC. We will be flying them again in March as well.

 

[tooncanator]

We fly Spirit when the price is right. We flew to Myrtle Beach from NYC round trip for 4 people, after all fees, bags & seats about $400.
NOW THE BAD NEWS. We gate checked our very expensive Maclaren twin stroller, just as we do on Southwest twice a year. Spirit ruined our stroller, bent and broken and refuse to accept responsibility.
Will I fly Spirit airlines again? Probably not.

Toon

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

We fly Spirit when the price is right. We flew to Myrtle Beach from NYC round trip for 4 people, after all fees, bags & seats about $400.
NOW THE BAD NEWS. We gate checked our very expensive Maclaren twin stroller, just as we do on Southwest twice a year. Spirit ruined our stroller, bent and broken and refuse to accept responsibility.
Will I fly Spirit airlines again? Probably not.

Toon

As you saw, when something goes wrong it's "too bad, not our problem"

 

[richmo]

They do seem to be the worst for adding fees. I flew them once about 4 years ago without a problem, but my SIL flies into ACY at least twice a year. The past three times there have been 3+ hour delays flying north. One was due to weather, but the other two were crew related: once waiting for the crew to arrive from another flight and the other that the crew hadn't met their rest requirements. Not sure how all that works, but the net result was a delay.

The other thing scary about Spirit, at least with flying to ACY, is the lack of a backup. Many of their flight segments only go once or twice a day and other carriers aren't there to back them up. If your flight gets cancelled, you can be in for some very serious delays.

 

[CleveRocks]

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I doubt it's just dumb luck. I'll go out on a limb and say I've been flying Spirit for more years than anyone else here ... I've been flying on Spirit consistently since 1995. I used to live in Cleveland, and it just so happened that Spirit flew from Cleveland to Atlantic City, where I liked to vacation, as well as visit family in nearby Philadelphia.

Coincidentally, at around the same time Spirit stopped flying that route, we moved to Atlantic City! Spirit was the only commercial airlline flying out of ACY for a while. We used Spirit for MANY years to get to WDW, and also flew Spirit during the relatively brief time they serviced Las Vegas from ACY.

In all these years, the past 15 years, with an average of 3 round-trips a year, we've never had a substantial problem, nothing out of the ordinary. We once had a 2 or 3 hour flight delay because they needed to fly in a fresh flight crew from another city, but in all of those flights over all of those years, I don't begrudge one such problem.

I'm a happy and satisfied Spirit passenger!

Also, regarding someone's comment about TripAdvisor and negative comments about Spirit ...
I'm a TripAdvisor Destination Expert for Orlando, so I'm very familiar with how things go over there; I can honestly report that TripAdvisor gets MANY MANY more negative reports than positive reports. It's just the nature of that website. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'mjust saying that it's tough to judge an airline or a hotel or even a city based on a preponderence of negative reviews on TA.

 

[NJFireman22]

Everyone seems to like to bash Spirit, over bag fees, customer service etc.
I for one, LOVE Spirit! My DW and I along with the kids, on and off have flown Spirit over 25 times in the last 8 years. From ACY to MCO.
We have never had any bad experances, Spirits employees have always been
more than reasonable, and proactive.
More than offen, the customer is the problem, not Spirit.
Everyone need to remember one thing, you get what you pay for, if you want free drinks, food, bags then you are going to pay for them, one way or another, nothing is free in this world. That goes for Trains, Buses and Ships.
I always say, if you dont like flying with Spirit or any other airline, dont bash them,then get in your car and drive.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

"The customer is the problem" That sums up the Spirit attitude exactly!

Did you follow Sprint's actions in response to their strike?

Step 1. Lie to the passengers and tell them you have alternative plans and the planes will keep flying.

Step 2. Do not pick up the phone or man the airport counters to deal with the customers who just discovered Step 1 was a lie.

Step 3. Stall on issuing the refunds. (I have a co-worker who only got her's because her credit card company just gave it to her. Her comment to me "You were right about them")

I have been through airline strikes. Generally the airline at least has someone at the counter. They may be understaffed, but there is a human to be found. They all say they will keep flying, but since the "majors" do have interline agreements you have a slim shot at getting to your destination without paying walk up ticket prices. Something a lot of stranded Spirit passengers discovered they didn't have and that cost most of them a lot of cash.

When they went to "charge for carry on" and "no recline in the seats" I just started laughing.

As for the comment on TripAdvisor, I know that's true. Generally people ONLY post when they are unhappy. It's the same everywhere. That said, there seem to be a lot of unhappy posters for a few key airlines. (Spirit, RyanAir, EasyJet...maybe there's a trend)

 

[NJFireman22]

OCC there is a simple solution. DONT FLY !!! Your words are harsh toward airlines in general, the public on this forum deserves better. Remember we as
"visitors to Fla,/Disney keep your econmony going, it doesnt matter what airline we fly as long as " we are happy".