Has anyone ever flown Spirit?

[AC7179]

I can get a round trip ticket from DFW to LAX for about $180 on Spirit. The next lowest price in about $320. Since there will be six of us flying, that is some serious cash that could be saved.

However, when doing a little research, I've seen that spirit has terrible reviews. I understand there are hidden charges everywhere ($40 fee for carryon luggage, fee to sit with your party, etc.). I think those could be dealt with with some planning, but I do have the following concerns.

1. Safety. Being frugal is imporant to me, but not at the expense of flying in poorly maintained aircrafts or with poorly trained pilots.

2. Comfort. My husband read that thet seats were rock hard and there is absolutely no leg room.

I'm wondering if the bad reviews are coming from people who pay $180 for a round trip flight, don't research, and then show up at the airport and are charged an arm and a leg for luggage, etc. They would understandably be unhappy and write bad reviews. I would be aware of those issues though, and would make sure our personal bags met the requirements, etc. But if the bad reviews are from those who have flown and been truly miserable or unsafe, maybe we should go another direction.

Anyone with any first hand experiences?

 

[JandT'smom]

Yes I have..it was cheap but, no toilet paper in bathroom, I assumed plane was safe but seats were awful and very worn, The carpet on the floors was worse then the seats, They had no one show up at the gate area to the last minute before we boarded and we wondering if there was any gate personnel, and of course the tons of hidden charges. All that being said, six people is alot of people and that is a big savings just be prepared.

 

[auger]

Best bet is to do a search. There are a lot of posts about Spirit and the problems people have had with them.
Some are because, like you said, they did not do their research and were shocked by all of the hidden fees.
But many have to do with horrible customer service and some really bad experiences.

I personally have never had any troubles with them. I know about the hidden fees and factor that into my costs when comparing to other airlines.

As for the comfort, there is none!! The seats are tight and there is no leg room. I am 5'7" and have a hard time dealing with the lack of leg room for hte 2hr20min flight I take from Det to Orl. I cannot imagine being on for a flight much longer than that!!! My legs would be on strike for sure!!

I don't know of any safety issues, but I haven't flown them for a while, so I am not really up on their safety record.

Maybe someone else can help out with that.

Bottom line, everyone has different things they are willing to put up with. You have to weigh the good and the badand decide what's best for you.

 

[LiamandMaeve]

We've done Spirit several times due to cost but will no longer fly them because simply, Spirit is horrendous.

There is no leg room. If one needed to get into crash position, they would be unable! Your head would hit the back of the headrest in front of you! My husband was extremely uncomfortable and was unable to keep his legs in front of him.
They pack the plane with so many seats, it's like a flying clown car!! How many people can we fit on this plane??


The worst experience we had was leaving MCO. We were called to the gate because the seats we booked online were no longer available as the plane type had changed that evening. Due to this, my 6 year old daughter and I wound up in an exit row. Obviously, there are rules about children in exit rows. After standing for 1 hour waiting for the problem to be resolved ( they were supposed to ask someone to switch with us- they never did), they told us to board and that it was taken care of- guess where they had us sit? The same exit row!!! Grrr!! Also, friends of ours were also on the same flight. They were called to the gate because with the change of plane type, their seats no longer existed! The plane was significantly smaller and half of their family gave up their seats in order for my friends to be able to fly home!

Everything about Spirit is a la carte. You will pay to reserve seats, for luggage, for printing your boarding pass at the terminal, etc. Also, the size limitations on luggage are much smaller than other airlines- instead of 50 lbs., they only allow 40lbs.

If you decide to fly Spirit, factor in all their fees and be prepared for changes at the last minute for your flights. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Mickey527]

I only flew Spirit once and that was once more than enough.
The flight was good, I didn't notice that the seats were uncomfortable, I was only flying for under 3 hours. the food was just the same as other airlines, juice or soda, and pretzels. No biggie.
My complaint was how the pilot made a big deal of being early, we arrived at the destination 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The problem was they had no gate for us. We waited on the tarmac for 2 hours. Because we arrived early we couldn't use the assigned gate so we had to sit and wait.
One elderly lady was brought off the airport via stretcher. All the rest of us had to sit in a very stuffy plane until they could get us a gate.
I would fly them if the price was really cheap but never agian if I have to pay the same as what the other airlines are charging because I have read that waiting on the tarmac is a norm for Sprit.

 

[hoffmann2828]

I concur with all of the above. Horrible delays, horrible customer service, and crappy aircraft. Same for me, once was enough.

 

[Namsupak]

It may depend on where you fly from. We just recently flew Spirit for the first time. Our plane looked brand new and it had more room than usual for our legs. The seats are very hard and thin but I didn't find it that uncomfortable and I was 34 weeks pregnant. Before we bought tickets I had signed up on their email list and got a coupon for $50 off each... each ticket. So 4 of us flew with picking our seats and checking 2 bags each way for $616. That works out to $154 for each of us. The next cheapest flight was $158 each way. Our initial flight was delayed due to weather but that's not in their control.

We had great customer service both ways. They do have tons of hidden fees and it costs more to bring a carryon than to check luggage, but if you read up on everything before hand you will know that all the fees. You have to pay for drinks and snacks... but nothing unreasonable. Their luggage weight allowance is 40 lbs, but I believe you can pay $12 extra and add the 10 lbs.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

There are many threads with lots of information about Spirit. Do a search on the Transportation Board.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

I flew from DFW to Denver on Spirit in June. I wasn't too horrible. I was flying with my 20-month old daughter as a lap child, so I did reserve an aisle seat in advance for an extra $10 each way.

Even though they charge for carry-ons, they do not charge for any backpacks that can fit under the seat in front of you. They also didn't charge to gate check my stroller and car-seat.

They DID charge for all drinks including water. $3, I think. Hardly anyone got a drink or food on my flight but our flight was less than 2 hours.

The inside of the airplane was not in very good condition. Seats were worn and ripped, there were a few that had signs on them that you could not sit there so some people had to be re-assigned seats. I did not notice any less legroom, but I am 5'5" so I probably wasn't affected by it. I had no problems fitting my daughter on my lap.

They don't have much gate personnel, and they don't arrive until the last minute.

I assume (hope) that despite all the cost cutting measures, they are safe.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't have a problem flying Spirit, and I think a lot of the bad reviews are from people who didn't do their homework before buying tickets. They charge a LOT of fees. For everything. And a lot of people seem to click "buy" based on them having a slightly better fare that comes out to be higher in the end because of the added fees. But if you know what to look for you can get great deals - the last time I flew them, it ran <$100 r/t to Orlando, less than half of what any other carrier would have cost.

The seats aren't as plush as Delta, and there is less leg room. But I'm not a small woman (5'7" and overweight) and I don't find them especially uncomfortable.

I actually like that they charge for carry-ons, because it means more people check their bags. There's nothing worse than getting on a Delta flight to Orlando, packed to the gills with families using every bit of their carry-on allowance to avoid checked-bag fees!

I wouldn't want to fly Spirit for a 5+ hour flight where leg room and comfort would be more of an issue, but for short trips I don't mind them if the price is right.

 

[brekin67]

We just used them for the first time two weeks ago.
Horrible. Will never use them again. You were charged for soda, even water.
I didn't find the employees rude, but they were not really friendly either.
The plane was dirty, with old bottles and napkins, and snack trash that had not been picked up prior to our boarding.
Our flights to/from were both late. Coming home we boarded two hours late. We were not told the gate changed, nor was the board updated.
If you choose to prepay for luggage, you will not get a refund for luggage that you wound up not needing.
Really, just a poor experience all around.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

You dont get the true price with them until you are ready to pay. I had found a rate that I thought was $100 less than everyone else. With the fees it was actually more that the others!

 

[doobie11]

i just booked a flight today with them. We've flown Spirit several times, and Delta before too. For a short flight, it's fine. Delta charges $25 per checked bag, and Spirit $28, but the price of the actual flight was a lot cheaper than Delta, and the flight times were better. Yes, the seats are terribly small, and yes, they charge for water and drinks. But for us, it's only a 2 hour flight, and worth it.

 

[MikeinBoston]

I flew Spirit for the first time this summer. They are literally the only carrier that flies into Atlantic City. Seats ripped, dirty plane, over crowded, everything costs money.

 

[johnsontrio]

They called us at 10pm the night before our trip to Cancun two years ago to tell us our flight was cancelled and that we had the option to travel one day later or get a full refund. We had friends meeting us that would not have been able to check into our resort without us. We were forced to make last minute arrangements on another airline, extremely expensive. We vowed then, never again!

 

[CoP Luv]

We have flown them twice. Once about 7 years ago with no problems and the most recent time a few months ago to Vegas.

I'll admit, I didn't do my research. I didn't know about all of the hidden fees. We were gone for a week, so we knew we would check a bag, but their bag allowance was much smaller than any other airline before getting charged. It'd my fault on not knowing the extra fees and I can't blame Spirit for that.

BUT

What others have said about the leg room is so true. I am 5'0" and am petite. Even I was really uncomfortable and my knees were hitting the seat in front of me. I was just reading an article on CNN about how airlines are cutting back on legroom, and Spirit was a full 3-4 inches less than the "new" reduced legroom space on the two airlines they were writing on.

I never thought about if we would have had to have an emergency landing what people would do because you cannot put your head down.

Unless the price (with ALL of the additional fees - my husband had to buy water to take medication) was significantly lower, I will never again fly Spirit.

 

[michellejed]

I think it makes a difference where you fly from. We fly out of Detroit to Florida every year and never had any major problems.

Almost every airline charges fees for just about every thing. Southwest is free bags but they are 2x the cost for the flight!

The seats could be more comfy but for the savings I will sit on my pillow I bring from home.

Ever fly Allegiant or Air Tran? They charge the same hidden cost as well. I haven't flown Delta or USA in years, they just can''t compare for us out of Detroit!

You need to try it for yourself, it is as safe as any airline and you can bring your own food and drinks on, save a few $$.

 

[Friendly Frog]

I can get a round trip ticket from DFW to LAX for about $180 on Spirit. The next lowest price in about $320. Since there will be six of us flying, that is some serious cash that could be saved.

However, when doing a little research, I've seen that spirit has terrible reviews. I understand there are hidden charges everywhere ($40 fee for carryon luggage, fee to sit with your party, etc.). I think those could be dealt with with some planning, but I do have the following concerns.

1. Safety. Being frugal is imporant to me, but not at the expense of flying in poorly maintained aircrafts or with poorly trained pilots.

2. Comfort. My husband read that thet seats were rock hard and there is absolutely no leg room.

I'm wondering if the bad reviews are coming from people who pay $180 for a round trip flight, don't research, and then show up at the airport and are charged an arm and a leg for luggage, etc. They would understandably be unhappy and write bad reviews. I would be aware of those issues though, and would make sure our personal bags met the requirements, etc. But if the bad reviews are from those who have flown and been truly miserable or unsafe, maybe we should go another direction.

Anyone with any first hand experiences?

It is not cheap to fly out of DFW is it? I have been tempted to try them, the reason I have not is the seating room. I addition to the reduced leg room, I have heard that their seats do not recline. (I am 5'8".) If you use them, drop me a message and let me know how it goes.

 

[tinatark]

We used Spirit for an ATL-FLL flight - prepurchased baggage and better seats. Our flights were fine - none of the horror stories you've heard.

 

[kthshh]

My family of four flew from DFW to chicago this July. Yes, the seats are crammed up together. My 6' husband was slightly uncomfortable.

I did the research and knew all the charges. Honestly, it was one of the best flying experiences I've had. Flights were on time and all my luggage made it. I didn't use the bathroom so no idea about that. The planes were clean and the seats were no ripped. I don't remember them being hard either.

There were many unhappy people at the airport flying Spirit. It's because they didn't research what they were getting.

We had a $50 off coupon and flew on a Tues and Wed. I paid the $10 to pick the seats. Less than $500 for 4 people round trip. Couldn't beat that!