Spirit Air

[Lewisc]

Is the customer service awful or would non-existent be a better term?

Spirit has decided their customers want low advertised base fares and don't care about fees, service or passenger comfort. They feel for every customer they lose more customers are around who'll fall for the low promoted price.

Spirit doesn't like passengers who try to "cheat" Spirit out of paying fees. Too many passengers cheated Spirit out of checked bag fees by bringing carryon bags so Spirit started to charge for bin bags. Too many passengers were cheating Spirit out of the fees for an overweight or second bag so Spirit lowered the maximum weight from 50-40 lbs.

I haven't flown Spirit in about 5 years. Their customer service is TRULY AWFUL. I just don't want to subject myself to it if at all possible.

Sometimes, it's not worth it to be cheap. Sometimes, service is worth it.

 

[TDC Nala]

I am flying AirTran this year and they do the same.

I'm missing something here. When did Airtran start charging to put a carryon in the overhead? If they do, I'm guessing that goes away as soon as they become Southwest.

As for Spirit, if it saves you cash, it's a short flight, and you know what you are getting into, go for it.

 

[crashbb]

Ryanair is certainly in a similar position in Europe. That's not to say that these airlines don't have their place. Just that it's buyer beware, and you need to go in with your eyes open. You can get a *great* deal, but you may have to incur add-on fees for anything you can think of, a tight fit inside the plane, and a general lack of customer service in some cases (experiences vary obviously).

You missed the "possibly landing in a different city (or even country) then you expected". Ryan Air often posts a destination like "Barcelona", but when you look at the details you are actually landing in an airport in "Reus" which is 120km away (about a 90 minute drive). Now, I blame the passenger for not noticing this (the destination is labeled "Barcelona(Reus)", but it would be more honest to label it as "Reus". I know there is at least one example, where the airport is actually in another country!

 

[Lewisc]

You missed the "possibly landing in a different city (or even country) then you expected". Ryan Air often posts a destination like "Barcelona", but when you look at the details you are actually landing in an airport in "Reus" which is 120km away (about a 90 minute drive). Now, I blame the passenger for not noticing this (the destination is labeled "Barcelona(Reus)", but it would be more honest to label it as "Reus". I know there is at least one example, where the airport is actually in another country!

Is that much different then airlines claiming Sanford or even Lakeland are Orlando "area" airports?

 

[crashbb]

Is that much different then airlines claiming Sanford or even Lakeland are Orlando "area" airports?

Nope. I meant my comment to include all Spirit and Ryan Air like airlines. From my experience, legacy airlines and airlines like SW tend to fly into the main airports (i.e. MCO) rather than the "area" airports. I'm just more familiar with the European ones. To be fair, I have used it to my advantage, when I actually needed to get to an area outside of the main city.

I suppose, you could argue that it isn't much different than airlines flying into EWR and calling it New York City, (though, it depending on where you are going in NYC, EWR can actually be easier than JFK or LGA). The extra distance is definitely less than the extra distance to Sanford or Lakeland.

 

[Lewisc]

I suppose, you could argue that it isn't much different than airlines flying into EWR and calling it New York City, (though, it depending on where you are going in NYC, EWR can actually be easier than JFK or LGA). The extra distance is definitely less than the extra distance to Sanford or Lakeland.

EWR is considered to be in the NY metropolitan area. JFK is about 20 miles to Times Square and EWR is about 17 miles. Train service is available from EWR to NYC.

I don't think any reasonable person would call Lakeland an Orlando airport. It's closer to Tampa then it is to Orlando. Sanford is also pushing it.

Airports in the same metropolitan are generally offer bus service (every 15-30 minutes) to accommodate connecting passengers. You don't find any such service at Lakeland or Sanford.

Even Spirit Air uses MCO.

To be fair the European "area" airports are more likely to have rail service to nearby locations then airports like Lakeland and Sanford.

 

[crashbb]

EWR is considered to be in the NY metropolitan area. JFK is about 20 miles to Times Square and EWR is about 17 miles. Train service is available from EWR to NYC.

Oh, I agree. I was just putting it out there before someone came at me and said - "But United/AA/whatever", flies into EWR and calls it NYC, but it is in NJ".

I love EWR because my usual destination is in walking distance to Penn Station, so the train from EWR is perfect.

And, just to be clear, I would not have much sympathy (if any), for someone who came on here (or another board) complaining that they thought they were flying into Barcelona or Orlando and found themselves in Reus or Lakeland. It was more just a point of "know what you are getting into". I've never flown Spirit (I'm not based in the US and it has never serviced a route I need), but I have flown Ryan Air - I just made sure that I knew exactly what I was getting (i.e. extra fees, where the airports were, seating) and that I was okay with it.

 

[Lewisc]

I have no sympathy for Direct Air if they are forced to compensate passengers.

Lakeland is 60 miles from Orlando but only 35 miles to Tampa. You don't see airlines listing Tampa as an "Orlando" are airport. It's intentionally deceptive, if not an outright lie, to list Lakeland as an Orlando are airport.

The airport is certainly convenient to many Central Florida Attractions such as Busch Gardens, Legoland and Disney.


edited to add--DirectAir is (currently) marketing their service to Lakeland/Orlando but when you book a flight it's now listed as Lakeland/Tampa. A few days ago it was listed as Lakeland/Orlando. I have no sympathy if Directair has to make a full refund to passengers who booked flights to "Lakeland/Orlando"

And, just to be clear, I would not have much sympathy (if any), for someone who came on here (or another board) complaining that they thought they were flying into Barcelona or Orlando and found themselves in Reus or Lakeland. It was more just a point of "know what you are getting into". I've never flown Spirit (I'm not based in the US and it has never serviced a route I need), but I have flown Ryan Air - I just made sure that I knew exactly what I was getting (i.e. extra fees, where the airports were, seating) and that I was okay with it.

 

[di19]

We have experienced every ( I should say almost every - lest a new one should appear on our next trip) inconvenience possible while flying to Orlando and many, not all, have been while using Spirit. That being said, I do now and will always look for the most affordable flight out there. It is roughly 2 hours and all I want to do is get there. We are DVC owners and we have annual passes for the parks so whenever we can find a great deal on airfare it allows us to take a trip we would not normally have scheduled (beware of buying APs - you will be drawn to Disney even more). Last Jan. my mother, sister and I booked an impromptu weekend trip to AKL and we each paid $77 roundtrip - bag included! How can you pass that up? I can't drive roundtrip to mo mother's house for that price. We pretty much hope for the best but know that when you travel there are all types of problems that can arise and you have to try and not let that ruin your trip.