Spirit Airlines-Boston

[happily single]

A recent post about Spirit Airlines got me curious. I can fly out of Boston for about $100 per person ROUND TRIP from Boston to Orlando. Yes, I realize this is the base price, but we can travel with one piece of luggage. Jetblue and Southwest as north of $120 EACH way.

I have been watching all of the arrival and departures from Spirit via the Logan Airport website and aside from one Las Vegas flight everything seems to be flying with normal departure and arrival times.

Does anyone have any experience flying the Boston to Orlando route with Spirit?

Its soooo tempting to fit a quick trip in at these prices!

 

[Carriemel]

If your flight for some reason cancels, you're probably not going to be able to reschedule easily. If there's only one flight (full) per day to a destination, and it's cancelled, all those people will need to be re-accommodated on other Spirit flights, possibly days later. Spirit doesn't seem to have any reciprocity with other airlines, so it's not easy to rebook on another airline.

Realize that you're not going to have a seat assignment until check in, and no guarantees that you'll sit with your party.

Yes, it's a great price, but if it gets cancelled, can you handle the possibility of not getting to your destination for up to several days?

 

[abner1776]

If flying on Spirit, you had better be under 6 ft and less than 175 lbs. The seat pitch( distance between seats) is the lowest in the industry so be prepared for your knees hitting the seat in front of you.
Also, as the other posters mentioned, a flight cancellation can mean a long delay of up to 24 hours. This is also the reason why I will not fly Jetblue out of Worcester during the winter months...only one flight a day can wreck havoc on your travel plans if the flight is cancelled.
But even more important than all that is what airport does Sprit fly into...is it MCO ? If not, then you are flying into Orlando all right, but most likely into Orlando-Sanford Int'l airport which is a lot further to WDW than MCO, and you have to make your own transfer plans...no Magical Express from Sanford.

 

[robinb]

I flew Spirit from Chicago to Tampa and had no issues whatsoever. If you do choose to go with them I would recommend 2 things.

(1) Buy your tickets from the airport if it's easy for you. Spirit tacks on a "Passenger Usage Fee" that ranges from $8.99-$17.99 per ticket each way for booking online. If you book at the airport you'll not be charged that fee which will save you between $18-$36 per person round trip. If you try a pretend booking online you'll get to the place that shows the "Purchase Price" which includes the "Flight Price" and "The Government's Cut". If you click on "Flight Price" you'll see the Passenger Usage Fee" and determine if driving to the airport is worth it to you to buy your tickets.

(2) Buy the Ciao Carry On bag at Costco: http://www.cochaser.com/blog/ciao-carry-on-under-seat-rolling-bag/ . It holds PLENTY of clothes for a long weekend and lots of people will use it for a full week. I bought one for my DD to pack in last year (I packed in a backpack) when we went to my FIL's memorial service in Tampa. It fits under the seat and in the "free personal item" sizer at Sprint. I use it all the time now for weekends away and as my regular carry on even when we fly Delta. I love it!

 

[MillauFr]

Do yourself a favor and avoid Spirit. All you need is one of your checked bags to weigh 40.1 pounds and get hit with and extra $100 charge. The price doesn't look like such a bargain after that.

 

[RedAngie]

Realize that you're not going to have a seat assignment until check in, and no guarantees that you'll sit with your party.

You can pay for an advance seat assignment.

But even more important than all that is what airport does Sprit fly into...is it MCO ? If not, then you are flying into Orlando all right, but most likely into Orlando-Sanford Int'l airport which is a lot further to WDW than MCO, and you have to make your own transfer plans...no Magical Express from Sanford.

Spirit flies into MCO, not Sanford.

I flew Spirit from Chicago to Tampa and had no issues whatsoever. If you do choose to go with them I would recommend 2 things.

(1) Buy your tickets from the airport if it's easy for you. Spirit tacks on a "Passenger Usage Fee" that ranges from $8.99-$17.99 per ticket each way for booking online. If you book at the airport you'll not be charged that fee which will save you between $18-$36 per person round trip. If you try a pretend booking online you'll get to the place that shows the "Purchase Price" which includes the "Flight Price" and "The Government's Cut". If you click on "Flight Price" you'll see the Passenger Usage Fee" and determine if driving to the airport is worth it to you to buy your tickets.
!

If you decide to buy tickets at the airport to avoid the Passenger Usage Fee, be aware that Spirit's ticket counter may not be open at all times. I don't know how many flights Spirit has from Boston, but there could be gaps between flights where the ticket counter is not staffed.


Like others have mentioned, there's a certain risk factor involved with Spirit. Most flights operate without problems, but when there IS a problem, oh boy, it's a doozy.

 

[robinb]

If you decide to buy tickets at the airport to avoid the Passenger Usage Fee, be aware that Spirit's ticket counter may not be open at all times. I don't know how many flights Spirit has from Boston, but there could be gaps between flights where the ticket counter is not staffed.


Like others have mentioned, there's a certain risk factor involved with Spirit. Most flights operate without problems, but when there IS a problem, oh boy, it's a doozy.

Good point about the ticket counter being open. I would say that the OP can count on it being open 2 hours before a flight.

 

[happily single]

Wait...so if I buy my ticket on-line I have to pay more? So my option is to drive to the airport and hope the counter is open to purchase tickets? Jeez.
Ok, so maybe Spirit is not the way to go. But seriously, how are they still flying with all these terrible reviews?

 

[robinb]

Wait...so if I buy my ticket on-line I have to pay more? So my option is to drive to the airport and hope the counter is open to purchase tickets? Jeez.
Ok, so maybe Spirit is not the way to go. But seriously, how are they still flying with all these terrible reviews?

Yes. You pay more to buy online. You can see see Spirit's scheduled flights and then plan to be there when the agents will be there.

Spirit is what it is: a low cost bus that flies. If you read the fine print and understand all the rules you'll be fine. I think many people who get mad at Spirit do so because they are surprised by some rule they didn't understand and had to pay a fee that was not expected. Of course if is a problem with the weather or the aircraft it will be worse on Spirit because the fewer number of flights available.

 

[RedAngie]

Good point about the counter being open. I would say that the OP can count on it being open 2 hours before a flight.

Yes, and try to arrive as soon as the ticket counters open. If you get there much later, like within an hour of the flight, they might be too busy handling the current flight to sell future tickets and might tell tell you to wait.

Wait...so if I buy my ticket on-line I have to pay more? So my option is to drive to the airport and hope the counter is open to purchase tickets? Jeez.
Ok, so maybe Spirit is not the way to go. But seriously, how are they still flying with all these terrible reviews?

I think of it as a discount for buying at the airport rather than "more" for buying online. Personally I don't think it's worth the time and effort involved unless I'm already at the airport for a different flight.

I looked up the current flight schedule from Boston. About 12:15 pm or 6 pm seem to be the best times to buy in person.
https://www.spirit.com/content/Documents/en-US/timetable15DEC2016.pdf

How are they still flying with all the terrible reviews? Easy answer. They're cheap if you can travel lightly, and for many passengers, that's the primary (or only) criteria.

 

[DisneyDiana]

I have flown on Spirit 20+ times. Generally, I save at least $100 per person from my airport on a roundtrip flight even after paying baggage fees and seats. I have been delayed but never had a flight canceled. I have had just as many delays and problems on Southwest. Of course bags are free on SW but for me the flights on SWA are much more expensive and I end up buying Early Bird Check IN to make sure I sit with my son anyway. Just know what you're getting into and you'll be fine.