Has anyone booked with Spirit Airlines?

[DLfan4]

Spirit Airline seems to have some good deals coming up. Has anyone booked with them before? pros ? cons? tia

 

[canadiandisneymommy]

Yes many times. Even with the extra fees for luggage, it's still an amazing deal, especially if you fly frequently and pay to join their $9 club. Service is good. They try to get you to pay for all of these add ins like advanced seating but I just check in online the day before my flight and have always gad plenty of seats to choose from. Seats are a little tighter but comfortable for most. Have flown between Detroit (we are just over the Ontario border) to Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York and LA.

 

[samserena]

I've used them once before - Vegas to San Diego. There was a group of 8 of us - we all pre-booked luggaged and some of us pre-booked our seats. And we had no issues whatsoever.

 

[bcla]

It's fine if you do your research. It's not if you don't. They're far less forgiving than other airlines if you do something like forget print up a boarding pass. At LVS I couldn't even continue to look up my reservation at an automated kiosk without swiping a credit card. Every other airline would be free, but they charge $10. I had everything done at Kinkos for $2 rather than spending $30 to print at the airport for three.

Also - you better arrive on time. I heard they don't do free same day standby like most other airlines.

 

[mlnbabies]

It's fine if you do your research. It's not if you don't. They're far less forgiving than other airlines if you do something like forget print up a boarding pass. At LVS I couldn't even continue to look up my reservation at an automated kiosk without swiping a credit card. Every other airline would be free, but they charge $10. I had everything done at Kinkos for $2 rather than spending $30 to print at the airport for three.

Also - you better arrive on time. I heard they don't do free same day standby like most other airlines.

I have flown Spirit both as a standby and buying tickets. We haven't had any issues with Spirit. If you have your confirmation number to use at the kiosk it will print your boarding pass so you don't need to print paperwork before you go.

I'm not sure what you mean by free same day standby's. I have used standby's several times and there wasn't an issue if there were empty seats. The same goes for other airlines.

Spirit does charge for bags and seat assignments but Southwest also charges for seat assignments.

Do your research for all airlines and you will find a lot of price differences between them.

 

[SMD]

I have flown Spirit both as a standby and buying tickets. We haven't had any issues with Spirit. If you have your confirmation number to use at the kiosk it will print your boarding pass so you don't need to print paperwork before you go.

I'm not sure what you mean by free same day standby's. I have used standby's several times and there wasn't an issue if there were empty seats. The same goes for other airlines.

Spirit does charge for bags and seat assignments but Southwest also charges for seat assignments.

Do your research for all airlines and you will find a lot of price differences between them.

Southwest doesn't have seat assignments, so no, they don't charge for them. If you have one of the lower fares you can pay for a higher priority boarding number, but that doesn't guarantee you a specific seat.

I think PP was saying that if you miss your flight, Spirit does not usually allow you to fly standby for free in another available flight. I fly between LAX band Vegas a few times per year on Southwest, as they have flights almost hourly, and I've met a few people who missed their flight because the gate closed earlier than they were expecting. The woman I sat next to this past May has shocked that I checked my bag because it was free, whereas she was charged for a carryon, and then denied boarding. But if you know what you're getting into with them, and you take into account the fees, they might be the best deal.

 

[::danielle::]

I've flown Spirit many times. I've never had a problem. It's true, the seats are uncomfortable, they charge for everything and their customer service is non-existant.

The savings mean more work for you but as you mentioned their prices are unbeatable.

 

[mlnbabies]

Southwest doesn't have seat assignments, so no, they don't charge for them. If you have one of the lower fares you can pay for a higher priority boarding number, but that doesn't guarantee you a specific seat.

I think PP was saying that if you miss your flight, Spirit does not usually allow you to fly standby for free in another available flight. I fly between LAX band Vegas a few times per year on Southwest, as they have flights almost hourly, and I've met a few people who missed their flight because the gate closed earlier than they were expecting. The woman I sat next to this past May has shocked that I checked my bag because it was free, whereas she was charged for a carryon, and then denied boarding. But if you know what you're getting into with them, and you take into account the fees, they might be the best deal.

I did pay for SW's priority boarding number since my family of 4 will be flying from Dallas to LAX. I was wrong in saying it was for seat numbers. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

 

[DLfan4]

Thank you everyone for the info.

Yes many times. Even with the extra fees for luggage, it's still an amazing deal, especially if you fly frequently and pay to join their $9 club. Service is good. They try to get you to pay for all of these add ins like advanced seating but I just check in online the day before my flight and have always gad plenty of seats to choose from. Seats are a little tighter but comfortable for most. Have flown between Detroit (we are just over the Ontario border) to Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York and LA.

Canadiandisneymommy, so its worth joining the $9 club then? you get discounts on everything like airfare, baggage etc, right?

Do you know if they offer for you to purchase refundable or changeable tixs? or are they non-refundable only?

 

[canadiandisneymommy]

Thank you everyone for the info. Canadiandisneymommy, so its worth joining the $9 club then? you get discounts on everything like airfare, baggage etc, right? Do you know if they offer for you to purchase refundable or changeable tixs? or are they non-refundable only?

For us it is worth it to join the club because we are flexible with our travel dates and can usually book around their discounted dates. Travelling with a group of 4 saves us quite a bit and at the very least covers the cost of the membership. It's good if you plan on travelling with them more than once a year. I don't think they offer free exchangeable tix....they charge you at least $70 to change a reservation online and more if you try to do it with a customer service rep. As OP said, flights are cheap but they will charge you an arm and a leg for anything else so just make you know what you're getting yourself into.

 

[bcla]

I have flown Spirit both as a standby and buying tickets. We haven't had any issues with Spirit. If you have your confirmation number to use at the kiosk it will print your boarding pass so you don't need to print paperwork before you go.

I'm not sure what you mean by free same day standby's. I have used standby's several times and there wasn't an issue if there were empty seats. The same goes for other airlines.

Spirit does charge for bags and seat assignments but Southwest also charges for seat assignments.

Do your research for all airlines and you will find a lot of price differences between them.

I only heard that and never got to try it out. I heard they charged a fee for same-day standby if you miss your flight. As far as charging to print up a boarding pass at the airport, it's well known that they charge $10 each at the airport. I saw it myself - just to see what it would do. I've flown at Las Vegas and used their automated kiosks before, including the ones at the rental car center. For Southwest I could actually print up as many as I wanted with just the confirmation code. For Spirit, once I selected them, the machine wouldn't go any further without a credit card swipe. At least that's my experience. I didn't go any further because I didn't want to get charged.

https://customersupport.spirit.com/...-How-can-I-check-in-and-get-my-boarding-pass-

How can I check in and get my boarding pass?

Checking in online at Spirit.com is free, and it's the quickest way to check in for your flight and print your boarding pass. Check-in begins 24 hours before departure and ends an hour prior to departure. This is also a good time to buy a seat assignment or last minute bags – it will be less expensive online than at the airport. Bags purchased within 24 hours prior to departure will be charged at the online check-in rate, so buy bags early and save major moola.

If you don’t check in online, our kiosks at the airport are self-serve and easy to use. Customer Service Agents are available at the airport; however, you may wait longer at our check-in counters and there is a charge of $10 to print each boarding pass.

Another issue is their check-in luggage limit. The limit is 40 lbs for their standard fee. The oversize fee is $25 if it's 41-50 lbs, $50 if it's 51-70 lbs, and $100 if it's 71-99 lbs. They also have an oversize fee of $100 for more than 62 inches.

http://www.spirit.com/optionalservices