Spirit Air

[marandr]

Anyone familiar with Spirit?

Do their prices say pretty constant?

How about the $9 fare club? Is it worth it?

How easy is it to get the "Big Seat Front Seat"? Worth it?

We'll be flying out of Detroit.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Well... They will charge for your carrryon!!! If you do not get a "Big Front Seat" your seat will not recline and consistently gets reported as the most uncomfortable out there. When the plane is delayed, the staff goes on strike, weather delays you etc.. you will get to discover why they have the worst service repuation among US carriers (and considering the overall reputation of the industry being the bottom feeder is pretty bad!)

You can't pay me to fly them!

 

[TheTurners]

We used them last year from Atlantic City. For a two hour flight, it was fine and their price was lower than any other company by more than $350.

They're prices really depend on fuel prices so I don't think any carrier is reliably consistent right now. The $9 Fare club is worth it--only the person booking the flight needs to join. As a member not only are the fares lower but the baggage fees are lower so it pays for itself in one flight. You get one free carryon as long as it fits under the seat in front of you. We haven't used the big seats but they look much better. I was surprised to see how close the rest of the seats were--it's tight and nothing like Qantas or British Airways, etc. It is important to go through the whole booking process before knowing what your final price will be--with baggage and seating assignment charges it can add a bit to your final cost. But these rediculous charges are becoming standard for most of the airlines. If the savings is significant, I would say flying Spirit is worth it.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Spirit is the ONLY airline that charges for carry ons that do not fit under the seat in front of you.

Spirit also has a lower weight limit on checked bags then most of the others.

I am on an Delta flight as I type this. I did not pay for my carryon, I did not pay for my seat assignement, I did not pay for either the water or diet coke I was served. My seat reclines

IMHO Spirit has taken charging to a new level with the carryon charge!

 

[mickey2000]

Well... They will charge for your carrryon!!! If you do not get a "Big Front Seat" your seat will not recline and consistently gets reported as the most uncomfortable out there. When the plane is delayed, the staff goes on strike, weather delays you etc.. you will get to discover why they have the worst service repuation among US carriers (and considering the overall reputation of the industry being the bottom feeder is pretty bad!)

You can't pay me to fly them!

Couldn't agree more !

 

[Disneykidsdad]

We fly Spirit out of Atlantic City every year. We get the first non-stop flight out in the morning and have never had a problem. We travel with our daughter who is in a wheelchair and her service dog. Spirit always give us the bulkhead seats. In 14 years we have only had one flight delayed.

 

[Lewisc]

We fly Spirit out of Atlantic City every year. We get the first non-stop flight out in the morning and have never had a problem. We travel with our daughter who is in a wheelchair and her service dog. Spirit always give us the bulkhead seats. In 14 years we have only had one flight delayed.

Passengers with a service animal are entitled to a bulkhead seat, even if it means moving a passenger who paid for an assigned seat.

Spirit is just doing what is necessary to avoid a law suit.

 

[DarleneW]

We fly Spirit every time we fly to Disney because no other airline beats their price and I always shop around. I do enjoy leaving from the Atlantic City Airport because it is closer to my house and the airport being small is so much nicer IMO than those bigger, crowded airports. I am a member of their $9 club and have occasionally been able to snatch up some really cheap fares. We almost always always leave on their early morning flight and have paid to sit in the big front seats which are more comfortable than the other seats. When we don't sit in the big front seats, we don't pay for our seats and my DH and I have always been able to sit together. I think the seats that don't recline are the newer ones...go figure We have never been delayed and most of the times we get to our destination earlier than scheduled.

 

[TheTurners]

Spirit is the ONLY airline that charges for carry ons that do not fit under the seat in front of you.

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

 

[NJFireman22]

OCC,
That CHIP on your shoulder is really showing, I think eveyone on this board has read your posts about Spirit Airlines, and how you feel that they are
"bottom Feeders" Well, they must be doing somthing right, there flights are always full, they are making money, and are expanding there markets.
As my Grandaddy used to say; " If you cant say somthing nice, dont say anything at all". You have showed your true colors over and over, enough said.

 

[AutoSlash]

There are many people who have no issue with Spirit, so I won't disparage them, but I will say that their track record for customer service is among the worst in the industry. That's not my opinion, but a well known fact.

Their model is to provide the least expensive no-frills base prices for those folks who like to travel on a budget. You have to be careful about all the add-on fees though. They started charging for carry-on bags a while back, and now they are even going to charge for printing your boarding pass at the airport as opposed to home.

Lastly, their seat pitch (basically the distance between your seat, and the one in front of you) is among the lowest in the industry.

I've flown them before, and I will fly them again, but they are far from my first choice. I personally will pay a premium to fly someone like JetBlue as opposed to Spirit, but when JetBlue is charging 3X as much in some cases, I think long and hard about whether it's worth it.

 

[debster812]

We flew Spirit one time, for a long weekend to Myrtle Beach, and once was enough for our family as well.

Flight crew had timed out for our flight from BOS to MYR, so rather than leaving at 10am, on a non-stop to Myrtle Beach, we wound up on a USAir flight at 4PM, with a stop in NC. Killed the entire 1st day of our trip.

Coming home there was fog up and down the entire east coast, and flights were delayed everywhere. However, there was not a Spirit employee to be found ANYWHERE in the airport, so we were getting NO information, aside from the message boards stating 'delayed'.

I completely understand that 'stuff' happens, but it was the complete lack of information, and utter contempt that Spirit showed us that turned me off to them permanently.

OCC,
That CHIP on your shoulder is really showing

So I guess Orange County Commuter and I will share that chip on our shoulders.....

 

[PlutoPony]

Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCommuter View Post
Spirit is the ONLY airline that charges for carry ons that do not fit under the seat in front of you.

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

Are you sure? Don't mean to be argumentative but I'm considering AT for a trip and nowhere on their website does it say there's a charge for carry-on. Just the typical allowance of a carry-on and personal item that must fit under the seat or in an overhead bin.

Is there different info somewhere on their website that I've missed?? Thanks!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

OCC,
That CHIP on your shoulder is really showing, I think eveyone on this board has read your posts about Spirit Airlines, and how you feel that they are
"bottom Feeders" Well, they must be doing somthing right, there flights are always full, they are making money, and are expanding there markets.
As my Grandaddy used to say; " If you cant say somthing nice, dont say anything at all". You have showed your true colors over and over, enough said.

If you don't like my posts, the igore button is right there.

Sorry, but if posters ask for views it should not all be "only look at the bottom line"

I spend time on travel boards dealing with more then Disney and every few weeks another "I will never fly Spirit" poster appears with a horror story.

Sorry that I think that the DIS board should be aware that they have problems.


But for your reading enjoyment

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/spirit.htm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...24928-Spirit_Airlines-Air_Travel.html#8324928

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...Another_bad_Spirit_Air_review-Air_Travel.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...Airlines_again_if_it_was_FREE-Air_Travel.html

http://www.onlinetravelreview.com/2011/01/04/a-spirit-airlines-survival-guide/

The last one is actually from a defender of Spirit but even he says "Only you are looking out for you, aka Spirit is an Every Man for Himself operation." And then goes on to explain how to be rude in order to get your bag checked

And none of those include the email from the CEO saying "ignore passenger complaints, they will fly us again because we are cheap" or thier absolutly "horrid" reaction to their strike last year. (which was "lie and hide" LOL!)

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCommuter View Post
Spirit is the ONLY airline that charges for carry ons that do not fit under the seat in front of you.



Are you sure? Don't mean to be argumentative but I'm considering AT for a trip and nowhere on their website does it say there's a charge for carry-on. Just the typical allowance of a carry-on and personal item that must fit under the seat or in an overhead bin.

Is there different info somewhere on their website that I've missed?? Thanks!

AirTran does not charge for carry ons. They do charge for advance seat assignements and checked luggage so be sure to add those in when booking. Of course you should check that out on any airline and add everything you will have to pay for to allow for a true comparision of costs.

 

[evaready51]

Sorry, not on SouthWest Airlines

 

[AutoSlash]

Timely article from Elliott.org regarding Spirit charging for boarding passes:

http://www.elliott.org/blog/ridiculous-or-not-a-fee-to-print-a-boarding-pass-no-seriously

 

[crashbb]

OCC,
That CHIP on your shoulder is really showing, I think eveyone on this board has read your posts about Spirit Airlines, and how you feel that they are
"bottom Feeders" Well, they must be doing somthing right, there flights are always full, they are making money, and are expanding there markets.
As my Grandaddy used to say; " If you cant say somthing nice, dont say anything at all". You have showed your true colors over and over, enough said.

I didn't. I've never associated OCC with being a vocal Spirit opponent.

You may want to follow your own advice, by the way (the bit I've bolded).

Further, the OP asked for opinions on the airline - OF COURSE, negative ones are welcome (and appropriate).

Personally, I think of Spirit as the “Ryan Air” of the US.

 

[AutoSlash]

Personally, I think of Spirit as the “Ryan Air” of the US.

Truer words were never spoken.

Just want to say that before I started AutoSlash I used to work with the founder of Airfarewatchdog so I think I'm fairly well informed about both the car rental and airline industry.

Both of them have companies with good reputations and some with, well, not so good reputations. Spirit generally speaking is on one end of that spectrum in the US, and this is in an industry that does not engender a lot of love in the first place.

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).

 

[jodifla]

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.