Is spirit airlines as bad as the internet says?

[mgarbowski]

I should have thought of that!! I have no problem with the extra hour, I just hate that they couldn’t be bothered to email me to let me know.
Luckily, I was able to change my car rental to drop It off an hour later without penalty

I have found that getting notifications of flight changes to be hit or miss even from "full price, full service" airlines such as Delta or American. More than once I have logged into my account for a routine activity and end up surprised to see a notice posted of a change to my booking. I double check my emails and my spam folder and never received any active notice. But other times, sometimes they do email me. And these are not flights I booked through a third party but booked directly on the Delta or AA website. But I have made it a habit to check my account at least monthly, and even more often as trips get closer, just to see if anything has changed.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

That’s too bad you could only get a direct flight, rather then a nonstop one.
Denise

Oops. I used the wrong term. Both original flights were non stop as is the new one. It just changed times.

 

[Microcell]

I wanted to thank you all so much, I wanted a heads up on what to expect on Spirit and shared the concerns posted with my husband and his response was “you could put me in the trunk of a VW Bug and I will be happy to get to Disney for these prices. I have bulging discs in my back that are not currently ruptured at all. I think I can manage on a 2.5 hour nonstop flight there and back. It is a $500 per person savings over any other flight so I will bring ice and anti inflammatory meds. Now to see what their fleet size is in Kansas City to determine risk of delay!

 

[kylenne]

I have found that getting notifications of flight changes to be hit or miss even from "full price, full service" airlines such as Delta or American. More than once I have logged into my account for a routine activity and end up surprised to see a notice posted of a change to my booking. I double check my emails and my spam folder and never received any active notice. But other times, sometimes they do email me. And these are not flights I booked through a third party but booked directly on the Delta or AA website. But I have made it a habit to check my account at least monthly, and even more often as trips get closer, just to see if anything has changed.

One of the many reasons I use App in the Air and TripIt, one time I was delayed coming back from YYZ to JFK due to inclement weather here in New York and there was a gate change. My apps notified me and I got to the new gate before they even announced it over the loudspeaker (this was Air Canada). Well worth the price of premium subscription if you fly often.

As for OP...as others have said, flying Spirit is like playing Russian roulette, you have to pray that nothing goes wrong. A couple of years ago we had a death in the family here, my cousins in West Palm flew up for the funeral, and my cousin booked them on Spirit. We didn't see them until 5 minutes before the service was over and it was time to go to the repast...mind you they were supposed to fly in the day before. Delay after delay and minimal communication from the airline. To add insult to injury what communication they did get after pulling teeth was rude as heck. Even my cousin swore never again after that.

Even with a decent travel CC I would never take this risk. Especially in this day and age when flying is so uncertain. It's not worth it imo but to each their own.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

One of the many reasons I use App in the Air and TripIt, one time I was delayed coming back from YYZ to JFK due to inclement weather here in New York and there was a gate change. My apps notified me and I got to the new gate before they even announced it over the loudspeaker (this was Air Canada). Well worth the price of premium subscription if you fly often.

As for OP...as others have said, flying Spirit is like playing Russian roulette, you have to pray that nothing goes wrong. A couple of years ago we had a death in the family here, my cousins in West Palm flew up for the funeral, and my cousin booked them on Spirit. We didn't see them until 5 minutes before the service was over and it was time to go to the repast...mind you they were supposed to fly in the day before. Delay after delay and minimal communication from the airline. To add insult to injury what communication they did get after pulling teeth was rude as heck. Even my cousin swore never again after that.

Even with a decent travel CC I would never take this risk. Especially in this day and age when flying is so uncertain. It's not worth it imo but to each their own.

that suck that your family had to go though that hassle at the same time they were grieving a family member. I’m sure it was beyond stressful.

Thank you for the recommendations on the Flying apps, I haven’t heard of them before.

 

[hp_lovecraft]

Not to mention that Spirit's seats do not recline and have no padding/upholstery on the back.

They remind me of the seats you get on a go-kart. Find for short flights though. The only seats I found unbearable were on a united flight this year. I picked a front row seat, and had a armrest foodtray digging into me the whole flight.

I've personally never had a problem on Spirit. I tend to flight light with my kids. Everything we need has to fit in the backpacks (personal item). But I manage my expectations. I know spirit tends to have more delays, and more issues. Customer service is worse, and dont expect special treament.

I used to get annoyed with the seat charge. But now that my kids are older, I don't stress it. We sit where they put us. There has been a long time rumor that spirit will purposely split of groups that don't pay the seat charge... to gently encourage them to pay it. lol who knows.

 

[Pmlocke]

For the last 10 years or so we have flown nothing but southwest. I know that some people don’t love the cattle call boarding process but I have A List which usually gets us a great boarding number. I love that we get 2 free checked bags, love that if the price goes down, we get a refund on the points we paid. Love that if there was an emergency and we have to cancel last minute. I can go on and on why I love SW.

We booked our direct SW flights for the end of January from BDL to MCO but SW changed our direct evening flight home to and early flight with a 3 hour layover. There are no other direct flights that would work for us and the idea of sitting in a connecting airport instead of enjoying our last morning at BLT in very unappealing.

I found a direct flight on spirit that leaves mco at 5:25 pm For $18.09 per person!!
Granted, that price includes absolutely nothing other than the flight. I can add 2 checked bags up to 50lbs and get our coveted exit row seats for $161 total for 2 of us. If we decide to try spirit, we would keep our direct flight to Mco on SW and fly home on spirit.

Everything I have read about spirit has been awful, has anyone had any good experiences?

I have utilized Spirit every year since 2009 for our Disney annual trip and here is what I think. 1. We have never left late or landed late. On the contrary, we usually land early. 2. Have never had luggage lost. 3. Never had a flight cancelled. 4. Because the seats are so cheap, we always pay extra for the larger front seats and we still save money 5. I like that my seat is reserved. I have never had a bad experience with Spirit and neither has my son and his family who also fly down to Disney every year.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I have utilized Spirit every year since 2009 for our Disney annual trip and here is what I think. 1. We have never left late or landed late. On the contrary, we usually land early. 2. Have never had luggage lost. 3. Never had a flight cancelled. 4. Because the seats are so cheap, we always pay extra for the larger front seats and we still save money 5. I like that my seat is reserved. I have never had a bad experience with Spirit and neither has my son and his family who also fly down to Disney every year.

Thank you for posting your positive experience, I was beginning to think that very few people have had good luck with spirit.

every single airline is changing flights right now and screwing up peoples plans. I get why but it it’s just so frustrating.

I’m hoping my experience with spirit is as good as yours. I’m pretty easy to please, all I ask is that they don’t move my flight time, crash or loose my luggage

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I just got back last night from our spirit flight in question and I am pleased to report that it went perfectly. Thanks again to everyone that gave input on this.

 

[staceyj2]

I just got back last night from our spirit flight in question and I am pleased to report that it went perfectly. Thanks again to everyone that gave input on this.

So glad to hear this! I'm a loyal SW customer but my daughter and I are taking Spirit in 2 weeks for the first time. At the time of booking, SW had no nonstop flights for my days and the flights they did offer were super pricey. Fingers crossed that our Spirit flights will be as uneventful as yours.

 

[gharter]

I just got back last night from our spirit flight in question and I am pleased to report that it went perfectly. Thanks again to everyone that gave input on this.

Glad your trip was better than our 2 attempts.
Both were totally screwed up by Spirit. Left us high and dry when they cancelled. Said, here is your money, good luck finding another flight. They would not help us booking another flight with a different airline.
Will NEVER fly them again even though they are cheaper.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Glad your trip was better than our 2 attempts.
Both were totally screwed up by Spirit. Left us high and dry when they cancelled. Said, here is your money, good luck finding another flight. They would not help us booking another flight with a different airline.
Will NEVER fly them again even though they are cheaper.

I’m so sorry that happened to you.
Stories like yours are what made me so nervous about booking them in the first place.
for our situation it wasn’t about price but direct flights. I absolutely hate layovers and early morning flights when heading home from vacation.
I felt bad about doing it but I did make a back up flight for a direct flight on SW for Sunday just Incase the worst happened and we were stranded.

 

[macraven]

Wise decision !

I used spirit years ago but it was too frustrating for me
I’m not good with late changes

Good move on your part of having a back up plan

 

[hp_lovecraft]

Last week we flew spirit. I wanted to keep the trip under a strict budget so didn’t pay for seats.
Leading up to the flight, I got a few spirit emails asking if I’d like to volunteer to get bumped.

that made me worry, flight was obviously overbooked. But I was traveling with my 4 kids, so not an option

and naturally, none of us were seated together on our boarding passes. No big deal, I wanted to stay on budget.

just before the flight is to start boarding, we get called to the spirit desk. Damn... I thought for sure we were getting bumped. Can’t be good news.

but no, the lady says, “I see your party is spread all over the plane, let me give you different seats, and sit you together”.

the flight was sold out, so not sure how she did it, but that’s very nice service that was not expected

 

[dancergirlsmom]

W,e have been flying Spirit out of Detroit for years with no problems. The seats are definitely smaller and there is less legroom but for a short hop to New York, Myrtle Beach or Orlando we are fine. I am 5'2" though. Not sure about someone that is tall. We don't care about the not seating together because it is a short flight. I do have to say that I will always book Delta first if the price is right. My worst experience with airlines was actually Air Canada and Northwest (back in the day). The pilots went on strike while we were in London, England and it was a challenge getting back home. Took us two extra days but Air Canada did pay for all expenses.

 

[Leigh L]

OP so glad your flight worked out!

Seems like such a mixed experience with this airline. I've never actually had the chance to fly them but I've had 2 flights significantly changed this past year.

My current frustration with them is that they say you can use up all the credits before the expiration date, but customers seemingly only can use one credit at a time. I was originally booked last April for DD and myself. and that was $189. This winter I rebooked for February. The rescheduled flight was cheaper, so I booked all the extras to use up what I could but there was still about $40 leftover.

That flight - from DC to Chicago - was recently canceled (not exactly canceled but changed to a 7-hour layover - in Fort Lauderdale! Not happening for a long weekend trip, lol). So I go to book again, hoping 3rd time is the charm, and it seems instead of one set of credits, with two confirmation #s, I now have 2 separate sets of credits. Ok makes sense. However, it seems only one can be used at a time? I put in one code and it takes, but if I add another it reverts to the other credit. So, one set of credits is going to expire. The last cancelation they did extend by 2 months but the $40 expires in March. The other credit is for $150 so I'll be using that if I get to use it at all.

I could book to and from Chicago separately, but I'd have to add more $$ which I'm not willing to gamble in case of another major change or cancelation (was going to fly another airline for one-way).

Very different from SW where you can put in 3 forms of payment for one flight.

Anyone have any luck using 2 separate credits?

 

[cjlong88]

We use Spirit often when we can’t find a good Delta flight out of MSP. Flying to Orlando has never been a problem. If you can travel with everything in your personal item, I think it’s a good option. I wouldn’t fly Spirit if I had to check a bag and a carry-on. At that point I might as well just fly Delta.

If the flight ends up being super cheap, we will pay for the front seats. So much roomier and we don’t have to sit next to a stranger. That’s the only add-on we would pay for, however.

 

[belle032]

Just popped in to say thank you for posting this thread. We are loyal SW customers, but the prices for the flights we need in March have skyrocketed! No idea why. So for the first time ever I was checking out Spirit, but am still a little hesitant. Such mixed reviews. And by the time I add in checked bags (no getting around them, we have a black-tie wedding to go to before the Disney trip!) and choosing seats (might be a necessity with my 6'3 husband with bad knees ), the flights are not super cheap anymore. However, they have better flight times and better nonstop options.

I think I'll give SW another week or so and see what happens, but Spirit is getting to be real possibility. Happy to have these reviews and first-hand experiences here!

 

[hedberg1661]

I read this thread as I am experiencing the same issues many of you are having with SW changing the schedules. Two flights were impacted for me that were Non-Stop and are now one stop. I am a very very loyal Delta (Medallion Member) and Southwest customer. Coming from Pittsburgh, SW has always had the best prices and of course the coveted Non Stop flights. Early to WDW and Late back to PIT. Well that all changed with COVID. It was interesting to hear what you all thought about Spirit as that is another option I could take.

I will say that for the two flights that impacted my travel...I decided to cancel flights down to MCO on SW (keeping the non-stop back) and book Delta down for both. Sure I have to connect in Atlanta but that really doesn't bother me. Plus with my lounge access, I can stop in for a quick bite and drink before connecting.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Since October we have flown 8 times , 6 on spirit.
2 on AA . Our aa flight definitely had better seats but the leg room was the same. AA took a page out of the ultra low airfare book on how to pack em in. AA had wifi and 1 free bag that was nice.
All my flights except 1 were on time. The 1 spirit flight was running behind from the flight before and I was notified on the app for free. Boarding passes are free on the spirit app.
They are not super picky on the backpack you choose I have never had them question me.
For Disney we packed really light 3 shirts two shorts and wore a pair of pants etc for a week trip and used the washer and dryer mid week and it all fit.