Is it always cheaper to book flights with Spirit Air at the airport or just the day o

[DreamChasers]

I am trying to book a return flight from Orlando to Detroit for January 5. I was going to book with Spirit Air as they have just about the lowest price now with $158.79, but at the bottom of the page it says Lower fares generally available at the airport”. I would think this means if there are any tickets left the day of the flight they will give you a deal, but I was wondering if anyone had experience with this.

For the flight down we are booked with South West. The Jan flights were not available when we booked with South West. I had expected the Jan flights to be cheaper as South West is one of the most expensive for Jan 5. To top it off none of South West flights are non-stop. After booking our flight down South West dropped the price of the tickets by $72 a ticket. I have a credit with South West for $360 that I would like to use, but the lowest fare for Jan 5 is $198 it leaves at 10:00 am so there goes our last day at WDW and it is 2 hrs longer than the Spirit flight. I would like to use the South West credit, as I don’t see use flying again in the next 12 months, but I don’t want to pay $40 more per ticket have to leave 5hr earlier and spend 2hrs more time in airports, just to use the credit. Do you think South West will drop their prices?

 

[RMAMom]

The problem with Spirit is that they charge you for everything. By the time you add fees for you checked bags and your carry on you may be in the same ball park as SW.
Make sure you are aware of Spirit's policy before you book because you could very well end up paying more in the long run.
As for SW dropping fares, it's anyones guess but I wouldn't book for a January trip just yet. I would wait until I was 3 or so months out from the flight.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

No, tickets are not cheaper the day of the flight. This just means Spirit doesn't charge you the online booking fee if you book at the airport. You really need to read and understand all the fees you will be charged on Spirit before buying tickets:

http://www.spirit.com/optionalfees.aspx#booking-related-fees

Who knows if WN's prices will come down?

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The lower fare will just be without some of their idiot fees they charge for selling a ticket. Of course you have to FIND a gate agent at the airport to sell you a ticket.

if you just walk in and and want to buy a flight for today to Orlando... expect to PAY BIG BUCKS and that's if you are lucky and there is a seat left.

But if you are checking luggage or bringing a carryon... SW is going to be cheaper! That $40 savings you are finding will be gone with the baggage charges!

 

[anonymousegirl]

As previous posters have mentioned the savings by buying at the airport the day of would be the online booking fee.

So yeah, it might save you 20 bucks a ticket but what if the flights are full? what if there are only three seats remaining and you need four?

Spirit is known for its fees-- fees for booking online, booking by telephone, carry on bags, checked bags, seat assignments, prefered seats. The list goes on and on.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

As previous posters have mentioned the savings by buying at the airport the day of would be the online booking fee.

So yeah, it might save you 20 bucks a ticket but what if the flights are full? what if there are only three seats remaining and you need four?

Spirit is known for its fees-- fees for booking online, booking by telephone, carry on bags, checked bags, seat assignments, prefered seats. The list goes on and on.

You left off my FAVORITE.

The fee they charge you because the government made them disclose the fees!

 

[punn]

To just answer your question, yes the price is less if you go to the airport. When i booked my airfare i waited til the price online was what i considered a good value and then i went to our local airport (Latrobe) and spoke with them. I ended up paying $30 less each way than the price online and didnt have to pay for seating either.

 

[dzorn]

Flying to DTW delta is usually cheaper than spirt when you add all spirits extra fees.

Denise in MI

 

[ready123go]

Air Tran is owned by SW. Could you call SW and see if they would be willing to transfer your credit to Air Tran? Don't know if they will, but it might be worth the call.

Air Tran pluses: 1) they are direct; 2) every time the price drops, you can get a credit; 3) allowed one carry-on in addition to handbag or laptop case.

Flying to DTW delta is usually cheaper than spirt when you add all spirits extra fees.

Denise in MI

I agree with Denise. We fly out of DTW and used to fly Spirit quite often, but my knees were always in someone else's back (I'm only 5' 7") and the fees do add up. We now go Delta or Air Tran (both direct).

GL!

 

[DreamChasers]

Air Tran is owned by SW. Could you call SW and see if they would be willing to transfer your credit to Air Tran? Don't know if they will, but it might be worth the call.

Air Tran pluses: 1) they are direct; 2) every time the price drops, you can get a credit; 3) allowed one carry-on in addition to handbag or laptop case.
GL!

I tried that they said although you can transfer reward points between the two airlines you cannot transfer credits. I almost booked with airtran, but the $20 per bag got me. We are going for 10 days and figure I need to take an empty bag down because it will be filled with all the stuff the kids will get us to buy for the way back. Now the flight I was looking at is up to $194. I really wish the airlines didn’t play games with their prices.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I tried that they said although you can transfer reward points between the two airlines you cannot transfer credits. I almost booked with airtran, but the $20 per bag got me. We are going for 10 days and figure I need to take an empty bag down because it will be filled with all the stuff the kids will get us to buy for the way back. Now the flight I was looking at is up to $194. I really wish the airlines didn’t play games with their prices.

Airlines don't play games with their pricing, it's all about load factors, as the load factor increases prices go up. As different fare classes fill up the prices generally increase unless there seems to be a drop in demand. It's all supply and demand and with supply at some of the tightest it has been in years and demand at some of the highest, prices typically only go up.

 

[Lewisc]

You left off my FAVORITE.

The fee they charge you because the government made them disclose the fees!

To be fair---Spirit doesn't like the 24 hour refund on non-refundable tickets. That means customers who booked within 24 hours of a sale can cancel and rebook. It also means Spirit might have lost a booking if the seat cancelled under the new grace period could have been sold during that window to a customer who made other arrangements.

Spirit will be charging a fee to passengers who need to print, or reprint, their BP at the airport.

 

[ready123go]

I tried that they said although you can transfer reward points between the two airlines you cannot transfer credits. I almost booked with airtran, but the $20 per bag got me. We are going for 10 days and figure I need to take an empty bag down because it will be filled with all the stuff the kids will get us to buy for the way back. Now the flight I was looking at is up to $194. I really wish the airlines didn’t play games with their prices.

Rats!

 

[kyomagi]

It was the opposite for me. We are going in late march and delta wanted $380 per ticket. Add on their $25 per way bag fee and I was looking at $440 per ticket. Spirit was $180 with seat selection, plus add $50 or bags and I was sitting at $230 each. Wayyyyyyy cheaper for me

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

To be fair---Spirit doesn't like the 24 hour refund on non-refundable tickets. That means customers who booked within 24 hours of a sale can cancel and rebook. It also means Spirit might have lost a booking if the seat cancelled under the new grace period could have been sold during that window to a customer who made other arrangements.

Spirit will be charging a fee to passengers who need to print, or reprint, their BP at the airport.

So that's fair?

The have to do SOMETHING that might be considered customer friendly so they charge for it?

Sorry, everyone else had to do it too and only Spirit added a FEE IMHO that's not fair it's another attempt to raise thier rates in a hidden fashion.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

So that's fair?

The have to do SOMETHING that might be considered customer friendly so they charge for it?

Sorry, everyone else had to do it too and only Spirit added a FEE IMHO that's not fair it's another attempt to raise thier rates in a hidden fashion.

If it is disclosed (as in the amount), the reason is less of an issue for me, I don't see the big deal.