Need info on Spirit Airlines

[aubriee]

I've been looking at flights for my upcoming May trip, but have not been able to find anything under $350.00. I just noticed that apparently Spirit has started flying out of DFW now. They have a nonstop for $205.00, but when I looked at their site, their fees confused me. They charge a fee for a carry on ($20.00 if you are a member of their $9.00 Fare Club and $30.00 if you are not)? Then for a checked bag it's another $18.00 if you're a member of their $9.00 Fare Club and another $28.00 if you are not? Most airlines have a 50lb weight limit, but Spirit's is only 40lbs for a checked bag? For seat fees it says $1.00-$50.00, for their basic coach leather seats? What's the difference between a $1.00 and a $50.00 seat? Then they charge a $10.00 booking fee? even booking online? They then charge $5.00 if they print your boarding pass and $2.00 if you print it at a kiosk? Then there is an airport fee. Then there's an additional $10.00 reservation booking fee? What's the difference between the booking fee and the reservations booking fee? They're listed as two different fees. So in addition to the $205.00 what the heck would the total price be?

Is it worth joining their $9.00 Fare Club for $59.95 a year? With Air Tran leaving Dallas, the only other option for nonstop flights is American which is staying over $400.00. Since Southwest pulled Air Tran out of DFW Nov 22nd, airfare has skyrocketed. I used to never pay more than $158.00-$220.00. I need flights for my May, Sept, and Oct/Nov WDW trips.

 

[MichelleVW]

I flew Spirit to Vegas from DFW in November. I was just going for the weekend and my DH was already there on business so I sent my clothes with him since his luggage was paid for through his job. As long as you know about the fees before hand you CAN get a good deal. You just have to do some math and figure all of that extra fees into the price of the ticket.

You can carry on a personal item for free as long as it fits in front of the seat in front of you. I had a backpack and it fit fine.

We're thinking about buying into the $9 club if it makes sense, but our next trip is too far out to do that now.

 

[wcw57]

just so you know...Spirit is consistently one of the lowest rated airlines for customer satisfaction....

I will never use them again because of my flight experiences....other seem to enjoy them....who can tell

 

[MichelleVW]

just so you know...Spirit is consistently one of the lowest rated airlines for customer satisfaction....

I will never use them again because of my flight experiences....other seem to enjoy them....who can tell

I think some of that comes from people that don't understand all the fees before hand. I saw many people on my flight grumbling about the carry on bag fee. Well ...it clearly says that on their website and shouldn't have been a surprise at the ticket counter.

I had a nice flight, the flight attendants were nice and we were on time....so I will fly them again if the price is right.

 

[debster812]

I think some of that comes from people that don't understand all the fees before hand. I saw many people on my flight grumbling about the carry on bag fee. Well ...it clearly says that on their website and shouldn't have been a surprise at the ticket counter.

I had a nice flight, the flight attendants were nice and we were on time....so I will fly them again if the price is right.

I know that we flew Spirit one time several years ago, prior to them unbundling all their fees. They were fine as far as flight ops went. They were ATROCIOUS as far as customer service goes. We live approximately 1 hr from the airport. I confirmed that our flight was on time right before we left the house. By the time we got to the airport, the flight had been cancelled. Not delayed, out and out cancelled, due to the Pilot and Co-Pilot not being able to get to Boston. Instead of arriving on our non-stop flight to Myrtle Beach at around noon, we arrived at 7pm, with one stop in Charlotte, on a US Airways flight.

Coming home, there were major delays up and down the east coast due to extreme fog in the North East. Our plane was late in arriving to Myrtle Beach by over 3 hours, since it was coming from Atlantic City, and they could not take off. Spirit had NO ONE available past security to update or answer questions. It was literally the planeload of passengers and no one else. And trying to get a live voice when calling Spirit was virtually impossible.

Did they get us where we needed to go safely? YES. Did some 'stuff' happen? YES. It's the manner in which they handled the irregular ops which makes me VERY VERY wary of booking with them again.

 

[DebbieB]

If you are flying on a Spirit A320, they have only a 28" seat pitch, which is the distance between rows. Because of that, seats do not recline.

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Spirit_Airlines/Spirit_Airlines_Airbus_A320.php

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I feel your pain. Truly. Fares on AA have been $219 each way for months. Fares on SW $180 to MCO, $239-$275 coming back. INSANE. And of course instead of doing our usual June mega-trip we are looking at going June AND October this year. Almost $3000 in airfare for 3 people to fly 2 round trips.

For June we are going on Delta. 3 r/t tickets, $722 total. It was a fare I just stumbled on while I was searching one day. We stop in Atlanta on the way there and in Detroit one the way home (which makes NO sense). DH got the AmEx card that offers free checked bags for everyone on the reservation, plus he got a $50 credit on his first purchase so the flights were even cheaper.

I asked my friends about Spirit and they all said NO. If I was feeling brave I might give them a try, but their flight schedule won't work for us in June anyway.

 

[NJFireman22]

Just booked Spirit tonight , for our trip down the end of Feb. ACY- MCO
$175.00 pp total round trip, incl. taxes, bags & seats ( row 4 ) etc. !

 

[aubriee]

I feel your pain. Truly. Fares on AA have been $219 each way for months. Fares on SW $180 to MCO, $239-$275 coming back. INSANE. And of course instead of doing our usual June mega-trip we are looking at going June AND October this year. Almost $3000 in airfare for 3 people to fly 2 round trips.

For June we are going on Delta. 3 r/t tickets, $722 total. It was a fare I just stumbled on while I was searching one day. We stop in Atlanta on the way there and in Detroit one the way home (which makes NO sense).
I asked my friends about Spirit and they all said NO. If I was feeling brave I might give them a try, but their flight schedule won't work for us in June anyway.

I fly from Dallas to Orlando 4-6 times a year and have always paid $158.00-$220.00 r/t. These fares since Southwest pulled Air Tran out of Dallas are killing me. The last Air Tran flight out of Dallas was Nov 22nd. My last flight was Nov 26th, so I missed being able to fly them by just a few days. American was running over $400.00 for that time, but I was looking late one night and was able to snag it for around $270.00. That's the most I've ever paid for airfare to Orlando. My next WDW trip is Feb 4th-11th. Again American was running over $400.00, until it suddenly dropped one night to $193.00. I again grabbed it and a few days later it went back to over $400.00 where it's stayed. I still need airfare for my May, Sept, and Oct/Nov trips, but no way am I paying over $400.00 for it. When Air Tran was at DFW, they kept American in line and both had fares for around $200.00 all the time.

Thanks everyone. I don't think I'll take a chance on Spirit. Maybe I can catch American or Southwest dropping their fares again.

As far as layovers, I forget which airline it was, but when I was searching for flights for my recent Nov/Dec trip, I found a flight from Dallas to Orlando with a layover in Denver, Colorado. How much sense does that make? No way was I going to fly from Dallas (which was warm at that time) to snowy Colorado, then warm Florida and take a chance of getting snowbound in Colorado.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am HOPING for October we'll be able to go on SW for about $285 per person r/t. I looked at the pricing for May and IF October shakes out the same way we should be able to go to MCO for $180 and come back for $105. Maybe.

I have read that if Delta changes the schedule you can get on a different flight, so maybe we can switch to a flight through Atlanta coming back. If not, I guess we'll go to Detroit!

DH has enough miles to get a one way ticket on Delta for free, but I don't know if I want to mess with them on a short trip where our time is really valuable. Not to mention if we go one way on Delta and the other way on SW the car will be at the wrong airport when we come back.

 

[KristaTX]

I also spent a lot of time yesterday considering Spirit for either a February or March trip. I priced it out several times. Today I thought I'd do a search on the DIS, and it brought me to this thread.

The prices to get to Orlando that first week Spirit is flying are excellent! Like $8 a flight??? If it weren't for one thing, we'd go then because we have AP's anyway. But my in-laws are taking my nephew to WDW during Spring Break (SIL is a teacher - ugh), and my husband is afraid he'll feel guilty if we go anytime soon but not with them. I understand, but every time we've taken them (3 times so far over the years), we've kind of played the roll of planners/guides since we've been 25+ times. I know they want us to go with them, but it's SOOO much cheaper to go not at spring break.

Anyway, we're still going back and forth on this Spirit airlines thing. I have googled and seen the crummy reviews. If we do it, we'd need to stay a whole week to get the airfare at a decent price during spring break (and DH and I go Thursday to Thursday), but I'd really rather do 5 or 6 nights, which we could do if we went in February.

I agree with y'all that it STINKS STINKS STINKS to live in DFW - the home of American Airlines AND Southwest - and be stuck with such crappy options for flights to Orlando and elsewhere . Airtran used to be my back-up, too. It also stinks to have to go by someone else's school calendar. We're in our 40s and don't have kids, so we never have to contend with that unless we're going with the in-laws. We try to travel at off-times.

And these AP's expire May 5th and are burning holes in our pockets!

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

I honestly don't know why spirit gets such bad reviews - they are clearly a budget airline (comparing mercedes to hyndai). They tell you upfront how it is, what the extra fees are, etc...They give you majorly discounted air ($9 flights)! If you add in the fees and the price of flights and realize they are no frills and don't expect more - they will get you SAFELY to your destination and for less money. We travel spirit for 90% of our travel. We have learned to pack accordingly (1 free backpack size carry-on pp), bring food and drinks on-board and do not choose seats ahead of time (they ALWAYS seat families together) so it really isn't a problem for us. They rarely cancel/change flights. I like Spirit because I am educated about them and do not expect more then what they are - I would give them a try - you don't have to book them again if you are dissatisfied.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I couldn't figure out how to determine the full cost of a ticket on Spirit. I started going through the website as though I was booking a flight, but I only got so far. I wasn't going to put my CC# in, and it seems like the bag fees and seat fees and that sort of thing come after they have your card info. Or maybe they don't add those until you check in for the flight?

Anyway, we'll see how it goes with Delta and reassess from there.

Krista, DH and I are counting the days until DS is out of high school so we won't be bound by the school calendar anymore. He is a sophomore now, so we still have a bit of a wait. It would be awesome to be able to take advantage of low fares when we stumbled on them, and not be stuck flying on certain days, at certain times, and having to be back on another certain day, at a certain time.

We flew AirTran the past 2 years and we were very pleased. It is unfortunate that SW and AA have decided that r/t fares to MCO should be almost $500.

 

[aubriee]

I honestly don't know why spirit gets such bad reviews - they are clearly a budget airline (comparing mercedes to hyndai). They tell you upfront how it is, what the extra fees are, etc...They give you majorly discounted air ($9 flights)! If you add in the fees and the price of flights and realize they are no frills and don't expect more -- I would give them a try - you don't have to book them again if you are dissatisfied.

I couldn't figure out how to determine the full cost of a ticket on Spirit. I started going through the website as though I was booking a flight, but I only got so far. I wasn't going to put my CC# in, and it seems like the bag fees and seat fees and that sort of thing come after they have your card info. Or maybe they don't add those until you check in for the flight?

I had the same problem Jackskellingtonsgirl had: I can't seem to figure out how much the actual fare will be and I don't want to give them my credit card info to find out. Also the R/T base fare is like $205.00 not $9.00, so those extra fees could really add up. For my May trip I could pack light, so get by with a personal item and one checked bag or maybe a carry on and a personal item. I prefer aisle seats close to the front of the plane so would probably pay to choose my seat even though I'll be solo. I just don't understand what the difference is between a $1.00 and a $50.00 coach seat if both are in coach. Are there any in between prices and where would those seats be? Is the $10.00 reservation fee whether you book online or by phone., The passenger usage fee is $8.99-$16.99 per person each way? How do you know if it's $18.00 r/t or $34.00 r/t. Then how much is the airport fee? Then they charge to print out your boarding pass? I just want the total price of the r/t airfare. Someone who is familiar with Spirit, could you please find the total price to leave DFW the morning of May 5th and come back the evening of May 12 for someone who is not a member of their $9.00 Club?

 

[KristaTX]

I haven't bought anything, but I was able to price it without having to give them my credit card. I had to go through a bunch of screens, but eventually it showed me the airfare, baggage, seat, taxes, club fee, and gave me a total. I never game them a credit card #. I doubt it would make any difference, but I use Chrome as my browser.

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

I am not part of the $9 fare club, but was using that figure to make a point regarding low fares. I ran the numbers for you and it looks like your RT fare is $193.58 with the regular taxes and fees. If you bring a personal item, that is free. The first checked bag fee is $18 (if you purchase it ahead of time). The most expensive seats are in the front (like buiness class - leather seats) they are $50 all other seats are around $10. Printing your boarding pass from home is free. So if you pick a regular seat, 1 checked bag and RT air the total is around $220. HTH

 

[KelnRon]

I had the same problem Jackskellingtonsgirl had: I can't seem to figure out how much the actual fare will be and I don't want to give them my credit card info to find out. Also the R/T base fare is like $205.00 not $9.00, so those extra fees could really add up. For my May trip I could pack light, so get by with a personal item and one checked bag or maybe a carry on and a personal item. I prefer aisle seats close to the front of the plane so would probably pay to choose my seat even though I'll be solo. I just don't understand what the difference is between a $1.00 and a $50.00 coach seat if both are in coach. Are there any in between prices and where would those seats be? Is the $10.00 reservation fee whether you book online or by phone., The passenger usage fee is $8.99-$16.99 per person each way? How do you know if it's $18.00 r/t or $34.00 r/t. Then how much is the airport fee? Then they charge to print out your boarding pass? I just want the total price of the r/t airfare. Someone who is familiar with Spirit, could you please find the total price to leave DFW the morning of May 5th and come back the evening of

May 12 for someone who is not a member of their $9.00 Club?

I'm getting $193. $20 cheaper w/ the fare club. There is no reservation fee that I saw and I know it was mentioned above about the $1 seats. I looked and looked and saw nothing that said that. When you go to pick your seat there are colored tabs so you will know exactly what you want and how much the seat costs. There is a running tally on the top of the itinary. No credit card needed up to that point.

I have flown spirit a couple times a year for the past 10 years! I have a family of 6 and if we want to go to Disney that is what we have to do or drive! So I have a lot of experience with them. Are they great,no BUT IMO they get us there safely. We have never had any major issues! A delay maybe here and there but not more then 30ish min. etc. I have flown to Vegas, Mexico, NY, various cities in FL & Myrtle Beach w/ them over the years. The planes are not the cleanest and that probably is my biggest peave but I can deal! I agree w/ above poster if you know what you are getting and prepared for the extra fee's it's not so horrible!

Our tickets for our next trip in 3 weeks cost us $55 TOTAL w/ taxes and fee's each!! ($54.90 to be exact ) That is the RT price! How can we beat that!? We never pay for seats, we always sit together and they will go out of there way to accomadate you if you want an aisle seat etc. If concerned just get to the check in a little early. We stay in a 2 or 3 bedroom resort so we always have a washer/dryer so we don't overpack. Our trip last June we took 3 large suitcases for the 6 of us and it worked well for us.

I haven't heard about paying for your boarding pass so can't answer to that. I understand that some people won't fly them and that is okay. We do because of the cost and they are not as horrible as some make them out to be!