Spirit Airlines expert needed

[disneynewman]

So I am looking at flights from BOS - MCO in August. If I join the $9 fare club I can get $39 flights which comes to under $600 for 4 tickets including the $9 fare club membership.
My question is about seating...I can't seem to find anywhere on the web site that states how much it costs to choose your seats. Also the baggage check fee is each way right? I usually fly Southwest so I am not used to paying for that
And is this $9 fare club too good to be true?

 

[Lewisc]

Remember Spirit charges for roller bags that go in the overhead bins and the maximum weight for checked bags (without paying for an overweight bag) is 40lbs (industry standard is 50lbs).

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

1. Are you sure you can get the tickets? not all seats are availalble for the "reduced price" based on posts on other boards

2. Any carryon that will NOT fit under the seat in front of you has a charge $20 if you pay the club fee, $30 in advance, $45 at gate (regardless of club membership)

3 Baggage fees..first bag $18 for club members $25 for others. 2nd bag costs more....

4. Seat fees. $10 to $15 each leg. And seats don't recline which is not really an issue, but that allows them to have MORE seats which means LESS leg room.

Service... well you aren't paying for it so don't be surprised that there isn't any. This is the bottom feeder in an industry with a bad reputation.

 

[wezee]

We flew on Spirit last March and last October and our seats reclined.

 

[Lewisc]

The new planes Spirit is taking delivery feature seats that are "pre-reclined" (they don't recline). Since those planes feature more seats they're more likely to be used on routes that sell out.

You need to assume you'll be getting that kind of plane when you make your reservation.

 

[The 4 "Quay"balleros]

Spirit has low fares, but you pay for everything. If you need nothing then you pay nothing. For my family(for our March trip) have paid $248 in extra fees so far. To choose my seats so I can sit with DW and DS's(5&3) is $80 round trip. And my bags are $168 round trip(only for 3) The price of may airfare was about $581. So the fares are low, but nail you for everything else. And as PP said, carry ons are an extra....it keeps going and going.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I did not even know they charged to "choose my seat" until after I committed to buy tickets with them. Between that fee and the luggage fees, I would likely never use them again.

I have flown Spirit several times, and liked it fine, the planes and crews were great.

 

[disneynewman]

Sounds like I might be waiting and crossing my fingers for good fares thourgh SW when they release in Feb. Manchester is closer to home and much cheaper to park at MHT than BOS....

Thanks all!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I did not even know they charged to "choose my seat" until after I committed to buy tickets with them. Between that fee and the luggage fees, I would likely never use them again.

I have flown Spirit several times, and liked it fine, the planes and crews were great.

I don't think they hide anything. Charging for luggage is so common now, the few airlines that don't do it make sure we know they don't .

Just for fun, I did some comparison-shopping. It's no secret I love Jet Blue, so I picked a random set of dates: May 1 to May 9 (because I didn't like their return fare on the 8th ) and chose the same for Spirit, Boston to Orlando, one person.

JetBlue's base fare down is $129, back is $119. With all taxes, round-trip is $280.10. That's it. Unless I want to upgrade to an Extra Legroom seat for $20, there are no extra costs. I can check one bag and carry one one small bag and a personal item. I know all this, but it's also explained to me on the JetBlue website - the seat cost when I select seat 3D, and the other information is just 'there'.

Spirit's base fares are $79 each way. With tax, the total base fare is $209.80. One carry-on and one checked bag in each direction will cost me $28 if I join the $9 fare club, $58 if I don't. Now my fare is $265.80/$295.80. Of course, it will cost me $59.95 to join the $9 fare club .

Okay, now, the next page - granted, I've provided traveler information but I haven't committed to anything, I haven't given any payment information - is about seat selection. I can pay another $75 for a Big Front Seat, or between $10 and $25 to select my regular coach seat now. It's pretty explicit. The text states "Pre-select your seating in order to ensure that you get the seat that is best for you. Want a window seat? No problem! Sit next to your traveling partner? You bet! More legroom? Sure thing! - You are an individual. Go ahead, treat yourself as one." and the seats are color-coded.

Now, granted, in small print at the bottom of the page there's a statement that if you don't want to pay to select your seats, a random seat will be assigned to you at no charge when you check in. But the information is absolutely there, and it's clearly offered before any passenger commits to anything.

 

[Lewisc]

I don't think they hide anything. Charging for luggage is so common now, the few airlines that don't do it make sure we know they don't .

Industry standard weight limit is 50 lbs without a charge for an overweight bag. Industry standard is no charge for bags that fit in the overhead bins.

Having such policies, without big print on the main screen, is an attempt to hide something.

 

[dehlers]

good luck

 

[Nadjalu]

We just got nailed purchasing Spirit for our trip out of Detroit for this upcoming trip.

We are not club members, but since the flights were about $80 cheaper rd/trp we jumped on it. IN the end we will paying about $30 more per person than flying Delta which we are use to.
We will have less leg room (9 inches less and to a 6'3 guy that is alot), the seats don't recline and we have to check our own bags at the resort.

I am so diappointed. won't ever use them again.

 

[wannago2disney]

I am just adding this so that if anyone goes searching for spirit info as I did a few weeks ago, they can get some current (2012 info)

we fly spirit out of Detroit, have done so twice before....we know what we are getting for our money.

that said i was worried about being split up from my kids because i did not choose to pre purchase my seat.

we are a party of 8 for this flight, and i just printed off my boarding passes via online check in. Spirit did request one last time to pre purchase the seats but i went ahead without doing so. Seats were assigned on the boarding pass and we are all sitting together.

I did keep an eye over the last couple of weeks to see how full the plane was looking and since it looked like there would be lots of choice up until yesterday, i took the chance of not pre paying. if it had been very full, i would have pre-paid just to be safe.

hope this helped with anyone's questions.

 

[aubriee]

We just got nailed purchasing Spirit for our trip out of Detroit for this upcoming trip.

We are not club members, but since the flights were about $80 cheaper rd/trp we jumped on it. IN the end we will paying about $30 more per person than flying Delta which we are use to.
We will have less leg room (9 inches less and to a 6'3 guy that is alot), the seats don't recline and we have to check our own bags at the resort.

I am so diappointed. won't ever use them again.

What is meant by the bolded? Does Spirit not participate in resort airline check in? You can't use BAGS to get your luggage from the resort to your home airport?

 

[DebbieB]

What is meant by the bolded? Does Spirit not participate in resort airline check in? You can't use BAGS to get your luggage from the resort to your home airport?

Spirit does not participate.

The participating airlines for luggage service are:

•AirTran Airways
•Alaska Airlines
•American Airlines
•Continental Airlines
•Delta Air Lines
•JetBlue Airways
•Southwest Airlines
•United Airlines
•US Airways

 

[Vickis3js]

We fly Spirit every year and while they do have a lot of fees sometimes they are a lot cheaper then other airlines. We thankfully have never had a problem flying with them and staff has always been very friendly and helpful. We are flying them March. We got airfare for $124 round trip for total for 2. We booked the big front seats for $40 pp each way so a total of $160 and 3 bags for $122. $406 from Atlantic City to MCO. Southwest was $543 rt and we would have to drive an extra hour to get to the airport. Its all about doing the research and checking out everything thats included.

 

[aubriee]

What is meant by the bolded? Does Spirit not participate in resort airline check in? You can't use BAGS to get your luggage from the resort to your home airport?

Spirit does not participate.

The participating airlines for luggage service are:

•AirTran Airways
•Alaska Airlines
•American Airlines
•Continental Airlines
•Delta Air Lines
•JetBlue Airways
•Southwest Airlines
•United Airlines
•US Airways

Uh oh! OK, so we'll have to take the bags from the resort on the DME bus, then check them at the airport. Right? How about on the way down there from your home airport to the resort?

 

[trasor]

We fly Spirit often. We fly them because they fly out of Atlantic City and I will fly out of AC anytime possible over Newark. You do have to check their base airfare and than figure out the add-ons but for me they usually work out to be cheaper than Continental out of Newark. I flew Continental in Nov. for the first time in a few years and besides getting the free soda, I didn't notice much difference. I certainly didn't feel like I had any more seat room.

Their charging for a carry-ons doesn't affect me because we're a family of 4 and if I need more to survive a plane ride than can fit in 4 personal bags, I'm bringing way too much stuff. I've never had a problem with staff. Belonging to their $9 club makes sense for us. Between the reduced fares we have been able to take advantage of and the slightly reduced baggage fee, it has always paid for itself.

Magical Express takes care of your luggage on the way to Disney. Nothing is different there. When leaving you have to bring your bags to the bus instead of bell services and when you get off the bus you take your bags up the same elevator that you took to get down to Magical Express when your arrived except you get off on the middle floor and the Spirit counter is right there. There is absolutely nothing difficult about it.