Spirit Airlines (from Atlantic City)

[smep013]

Hi - I am again looking at Spirit Airlines website and the $9 Flight Club. With prices being what they are, it might end up worth it to join for $59/year to get the better rates. I still have to actually do the math.

We usually fly Southwest or Air Tran from Philly.

Anyone part of this? What is your feedback? Are the planes smaller than SW/AT or about the same?

Also, does anyone fly Spirit from AC? What is the airport like? Parking there expensive/safe?

Positive and negative feedback appreciated!

Stacey

 

[CPT Tripss]

Parking is either $9 or $12 per day depending on which lot you use.

I'm 6' 1" and find that the seat pitch on Spirit plane is much tighter than on SW. It's not comfortable for me!

When doing a price comparison, be sure to figure cost of checked as well as carry-on luggage.

The ACY terminal is small and poorly laid out . . . they are doing construction, so that might help soon. As of two months ago, TSA had no Nude-o-scope deeployed. That too may change when construction is finished.

 

[GrumpyBa*D]

You can catch some bargains but they kill you with fees. I was just looking at my supposed 9 dollar fares and yes some of the fares were 49 but they were tacking on 35 for fuel surcharges... have gotten a real cheap deal only once. by the time I paid for one suitcase and seats for my 4 yo and myslef the deal wasn't that cheap. the 9 dollar fares are for particular routes AC to MCO you can get on sale for 29 -49 don't think I have seen it for 9 because I do look to see because for 9 bucks I'll head to disney....

Airport is small, convenient and literally right across the street from the parking garage and lot. that is good parking is reasonable as for safe not sure only parked there once.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

You can catch some bargains but they kill you with fees. I was just looking at my supposed 9 dollar fares and yes some of the fairs were 49 but they were tacking on 35 for fuel surcharges... have gotten a real cheap deal only once. by the time I paid for one suitcase and seats for my 4 yo and myslef the deal wasn't that cheap. the 9 dollar fairs are for particular routes AC to MCO you can get on sale for 29 -49 don't think I have seen it for 9 because I do look to see because for 9 bucks I'll head to disney....

Airport is small, convenient and literally right across the street from the parking garage and lot. that is good parking is reasonable as for safe not sure only parked there once.

Most posters agree that Spirit will absolutely pile on as many fees as they can. There is nothing wrong with that, but the buyer should be informed.

Currently, Spirit is showing $29 OW fares, ACY to MCO, for two dates the end of March, and four days in early April, but they end March 11 for $9 Club Members only.

 

[smep013]

Yes, the fees do add up!
Thank you for the responses!

 

[mickey2000]

Yes, the fees do add up!
Thank you for the responses!

Also consider a 40 pound bag is now max weight + $$$$

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

If you fly Spirit... remember what you paid.

They do not care if you enjoy the flight
They do not care that their staff was rude to you
Basically they don't care

And considering the overall state of American airlines to be the "bottom feeder" on service takes some doing... Spirit has managed to win that honor in a runaway IMHO

 

[Tinkerbell58]

Also consider a 40 pound bag is now max weight + $$$$

I fly Spirit quite often and will be purchasing a lighter piece of luggage because of this new weight for checked baggage.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

And don't forget to figure in gas to drive to AC. It's a hike compared to Philly.

Hi neighbor! We are right over the Burlington Bristol Bridge on the NJ side!

 

[CleveRocks]

I've been a happy Spirit passenger since about 1995.

Back then, they had a route from ACY to Cleveland, and it was very inexpensive. I moved from Philly to Cleveland and we missed being near the AC area, so we used to fly from Cleveland to ACY for mini-vacations and to visit nearby family in Philly.

By coincidence, we ended up moving from Cleveland to Atlantic City around the time Spirit stopped flying that route. Since ACY is only about 15 minutes from my house I fly Spirit as often as possible due to the sheer convenience to me.

I have nothing bad to say about Spirit. It have nothing warm and fuzzy to say about it, either. It gets me from A to B and relatively inexpensively. I'm flying from ACY to Costa Rica this spring for $300 round-trip, and when I bought those tickets in the fall the big guys out of PHL were charging nearly triple that amount.

So sure, I have to balance the plain-ness of Spirit with the convenience of an airport in my backyard. If I were driving from Bristol like you are, I'd have to get a REALLY good price to drive all the way to ACY versus PHL.

I can tell you that one nice thing about ACY is that, compared with any major airport, there are almost non-existent lines for security and there is very little walking to do. It's a pleasantly compact airport.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I've been a happy Spirit passenger since about 1995.

Back then, they had a route from ACY to Cleveland, and it was very inexpensive. I moved from Philly to Cleveland and we missed being near the AC area, so we used to fly from Cleveland to ACY for mini-vacations and to visit nearby family in Philly.

By coincidence, we ended up moving from Cleveland to Atlantic City around the time Spirit stopped flying that route. Since ACY is only about 15 minutes from my house I fly Spirit as often as possible due to the sheer convenience to me.

I have nothing bad to say about Spirit. It have nothing warm and fuzzy to say about it, either. It gets me from A to B and relatively inexpensively. I'm flying from ACY to Costa Rica this spring for $300 round-trip, and when I bought those tickets in the fall the big guys out of PHL were charging nearly triple that amount.

So sure, I have to balance the plain-ness of Spirit with the convenience of an airport in my backyard. If I were driving from Bristol like you are, I'd have to get a REALLY good price to drive all the way to ACY versus PHL.

I can tell you that one nice thing about ACY is that, compared with any major airport, there are almost non-existent lines for security and there is very little walking to do. It's a pleasantly compact airport.

I really enjoyed reading your post about ACY and your giving background history about your travels on Spirit.

For the OP this sentence of yours really stands out, "If I were driving from Bristol like you are, I'd have to get a REALLY good price to drive all the way to ACY versus PHL." I wonder if, after all fees are added, could the OP get a better price using Spirit from ACY than SW or AirTran out of PHL.

 

[Brownie54]

I really enjoyed reading your post about ACY and your giving background history about your travels on Spirit.

For the OP this sentence of yours really stands out, "If I were driving from Bristol like you are, I'd have to get a REALLY good price to drive all the way to ACY versus PHL." I wonder if, after all fees are added, could the OP get a better price using Spirit from ACY than SW or AirTran out of PHL.

Unfortunately, you really do have to do the math(fares, baggage fees, gas and toll fees, and time). To make things more difficult one has to continue to monitor the airline fares as they are often changing(up and down).

 

[Brownie54]

If you fly Spirit... remember what you paid.

They do not care if you enjoy the flight
They do not care that their staff was rude to you
Basically they don't care

And considering the overall state of American airlines to be the "bottom feeder" on service takes some doing... Spirit has managed to win that honor in a runaway IMHO

"Basically they don't care". I'd like to know what you base this on. I would think one would have to fly with them several times to know. If that were the case, why would you fly with them more than once or twice.

We have flown Spirit a few times. It gets me where I want to go. Not all that comfortable, but okay for a couple hours flight. If your flying Spirit your trying to save some bucks so you shouldn't expect great service. That said, you do have to be aware of all their fees.

BTW, Atlantic City Airport is small and much easier to park and get through security than Philly.

 

[NJFireman22]

Compaired to Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Newark, Atlantic City Airport is a pleasure to travel to or from. Parking garage is great, there is never a large
line at ticking or TSA. Yes the terminal is small, but in the last few years has improved 100%.
As far as Spirit is concerned, I have never had a bad experance, I looked back, and in over 20 different flights to Fla. not one time can I say they were not professional.
I do believe a few posters on this forum have a hidden agenda, when comes to Spirit Airlines, the "chip" on their shoulder shows it. All you have to do is look back at older postings to see who they are.

 

[poohbearbt]

I have no issues flying Spirit .I dont find them anymore or less friendly than the bigger more $$ airlines. I think airlines all suck in terms of customer service/friendliness anymore.

I absolutely love flying in and out of ACY. Its very small and compact and less hassle than the bigger airports. For some reason the security line take a lot longer so expect to be there early for your flight. I guess because there are not a lot of security personal and equipment like in the major airports.

 

[Ed J]

I have been flying Spirit out of ACY since they had a gravel parking lot and you boarded the planes via a stairway on the tarmac as the terminal did not have jet ways yet.

I live +/- 25 minutes door to door and 30 minutes door to gate <notice 5 min dif>. Phl 60 mins door to door, 90 mins door to gate. Newark add 10 or 15 for all times.

I'll pay more for Spirit for the convenience of ACY.

I once missed my late AM Spirit flight and took a later early PM flight. From my car to my gate, Spirit counter - change ticket - check bags - go through security - siting at gate --------- 13 minutes. Not going to happen at any of the other airports I fly out of.

Most of the negative comments I read about spirit are not first hand accounts but rather regurgitations of comments made elsewhere. I've never felt that uncaring vibe on any flight I have traveled on with Spirit, in fact my experience has been the exact opposite. I don't care about a soda costing a few bucks, I'm not on a flight for a snack and coke.

I would not drive past PHL to get to ACY, but thats not the case for me. As far as parking safety goes, comparable lots at PHL and EWC are far away and all though I would not say I feel unsafe, I'd say I feel safer at ACY. Self parking is cheaper and way closer at ACY.

Last flight with Spirit was Nov 2010 $1050 for 4 of us tax tags and bags. Best deal I saw out of PHL for our days were 260 a head on Airtran.

 

[buzzmom3]

Very true, Ed! We fly Spirit frequently and I don't see the uncaring attitude either. I think they are pretty up front about the fees as well.