spirit airlines, how bad or good is it??

[SailorsWife]

I am looking at booking a trip from San Francisco Bay area to Fort Lauderdale. Spirit Airlines come up with the least expensive ticket by far. BUT I have heard if the flight is canceled you are up the creek with no chance of getting booked on another flight. They don't have "sister' carriers to share with.

Any advice, warnings, or tips. AND I know about the one small carry one rules.

Thanks

 

[alievans719]

I never flew with them, but I've heard they'll upcharge you for everything. So make sure to look at additional costs when you're making a comparison.

 

[WiscMomof2]

Never flown Spirit myself, but FWIW I've heard nothing but negative feedback from multiple different people who have. Tight seating, extra charges, delays/cancellations to name a few issues. Enough to make me leery of ever booking with them, no matter how cheap it is.

 

[Farps]

I have flown Spirit numerous times and as PP stated they do nickel and dime you for everything. We use them, because we fly out of a smaller airport and it is convenient. Just make sure that the flight that you pick is the flight that you want, they will not let you change things around without paying for it. And in one case it was cheaper to just buy another ticket rather than changing the date on the one that I already purchased. Also make sure that your bags are proper size and weight, and that you pay for them in advance, they charge an arm and a leg if you try to pay at gate.

 

[TOBS2010]

You couldn't pay me to ride spirit again personally. I flew them twice---the second time because my in laws paid for it. All flights never departed on time. Grant you any flight can be late---but I have had more bad luck on spirit than any other airline. One of the times they even made us get on the plane and then sit at the gate for 90 minutes so they could meet some kind of boarding guidelines, according to the flight attendant when I asked why they let us board knowing we were delayed.

Second, I more importantly agree with the previous posters. Beware that you might think you are getting a deal with a cheap flight, but once you factor in all of your bags and other fees---they charge you even for a carry-on bag. Your cheap flight, isn't so cheap anymore. The added stress of having to pay for where you want your seats, if you want to sit with your party is also a pain. Delta you pick your seats at booking and Southwest you pick them when you board as least.

Everything has a charge on spirit and I also firmly believe that the seats are much closer together compared to other airlines. I am only 5'3" and I could barely get my knees in front of me. I would not recommend to anyone.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Before booking, make sure you read their web site and understand all the fees you will pay above your basic ticket price. Be warned they have the tightest seat pitch of any US airline, 28 inches. Would you enjoy flying cross country with your knees wedged in the seat in front of you? The seats do not recline. I also believe a lot of their planes have the dreaded uncomfortable slimline seats (not sure how many, maybe they all do?)

 

[sunny_stace]

My mum and I used Spirit a few years ago when we took a mother-daughter trip to Vegas for a long weekend. We flew non-stop from Detroit to Vegas and the flight itself was fine and we left and arrived at our scheduled times. However, they do charge an arm and a leg for baggage. At that time you could buy luggage vouchers online for a lesser price than you paid per bag at the airport and it saved us about $50! Also they didn't offer any complimentary beverages or snacks on board and it cost us about $30 for 2 drinks and a mini can of pringles! Same thing about the height and legroom issue. I am only 5 feet tall and my mum is 4'9 and we had just enough room!

I don't know if it really worked out to be that much cheaper after all of the fees and additional costs but it was fine. We got there and back safely and that's what mattered!

 

[lauradis]

I have flew with them twice once from Cleveland to Atlanta, ga and from Tampa, fl to Cleveland, it was fine, nothing special.

Besides the base price, I paid for one small carry on. about $20 each way and $10 in snacks.

 

[cruisingmom1977]

We fly Spirit all the time from Atlantic City to Ft Lauderdale or Orlando (at least 4 or 5 times a year). For the price, we just can't beat it. That being said...the seat are SMALL and when I say Small, I mean SMALL. They don't recline and on our last flight we were on a "newer" plane where the tray table wasn't even large enough to put my water bottle on. It works for us because we have 2 small children and are able to "borrow" some of their seat area but I would also hate to be stuck next to someone I didn't know. There would definitely be a lot of shoulder/leg touching. I personally am happy yo suck it up because it allows us to travel more often (and our flights are only 2 1/2 hours) but its not for everyone and I'm not sure I would take it cross country. Also worth mentioning is that they only allow 40lbs per suitcase. My suitcase weighs 13lbs empty so I hit 40lbs pretty darn quickly.

 

[tchrrx]

We will be flying Spirit in a couple of days. I've already pre-paid for my bags, and it was about what we pay for any other airline. The only difference is that I won't be taking carry-on luggage this time. We do each have a backpack that we are carrying on. They are at the right size, I think. If they argue that it's too big, I'll take clothes out of it, layer them on me, and squish down the bag. . We've already planned to buy drinks at the airport to carry on, and I always pack snacks, so that's no big deal either. The last several flights I've taken with different airlines have included no snack and a small glass of soda, so this isn't that different. As for smaller seats, that will be annoying, but I'm always uncomfortable anyways, so I doubt it matters. I am actually excited about no reclining seats bc I hate people leaning their seats back into me, and we never lean ours back out of courtesy to others. The only thing that will really annoy me is if we don't make it somewhat close to schedule, but that seems to be fairly common with many airlines too any more.

 

[bianca]

We love Spirit! Once you get used to their system, it's easy. You don't have to bring a large suitcase. DH and I have learned to pack light in a small carry-on ...... No charge. You don't have to purchase In-flight snacks. For us, it's only a 2 1/2 hour flight. Honestly, if we can't go 2 1/2 hours without food or water, then we shouldn't be traveling and have bigger problems. Yes, the seats are small. However, after flying to Hawaii on Delta, I can say that Spirit feels no different. They have never been late leaving. As a matter of fact, we have always arrived at our destination early. To each their own, but we are big Spirit fans as they are also the only airline that has all their Orlando flights non-stop.

 

[brittsmum1998]

I love Spirit! It has allowed me to travel just about every month to SC. The prices are very reasonable. I can bring friends and family and nobody balks at the price. In the last 6 visits each and every flight has been on time or early. I have items already in SC so luggage is not a problem for me. I ALWAYS buy my water / soda before I get on the plane.

I have encountered excellent customer service especially flying with my parents in their 70s who are both handicapped. One severely.

 

[Sarah627]

My 5 yo and I flew with spirit last fall. I agree that while the tickets were a good deal, the extra charges for checked bags/choosing seats/pretty much anything else you can think of made it less of a good deal when all was said and done. As far as comfort, I'm 5'3'', but a bit on the heavy side and I considered the seats to be adequate, but by no means roomy. But for a 2.5 hour flight, we were perfectly comfortable. The one piece of advice I have is to skip printing your tickets at home if you want to get through check in quicker. I know this is counter-intuitive, but the line for airport check in was SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than the line for people who did online check in and only needed to check their bags. As with anything with spirit, you will be paying extra for airport check in, but we walked right up to the counter instead of waiting in a winding line. It was totally worth the extra $10.

 

[tasha99]

They stranded my daughter in San Diego on her way home from Cabo San Lucas once. Thank god one of the kids traveling with her was 25 so they could do a 1 way car rental. Never again.

If something like that happened on the way to a vacation, it could end up costing everything! Not worth it. In addition, she thought it just sucked in general.

 

[sallysue66]

We have flown Spirit several times from Myrtle Beach to Ft Lauderdale. My sister has flown with them from MB to Orlando and to NYC a bunch. We have never had a problem. It is a tight fit but that's fine with us on a direct flight under 2 hours at a price that can't be beat even with baggage fees and seat fees when we choose our seats. I usually take snacks and buy water in the airport if we want them.

 

[angierae]

I pretty much always fly Spirit to Orlando because to fly non-stop on Southwest now I have to drive to Flint (I'm in Detroit). I had one flight that got delayed going to WDW in 2012 but other than that they've been cheap and efficient. We usually check two bags and take backpacks as carry on and we do just fine. Even paying for the two checked bags it's way cheaper than anything else available, and to me, it's a 2 hour flight and I don't care if it's bare bones. I just want to get where I'm going.

 

[njmom47]

I fly them frequently. With that being said, I fly out of Atlantic City (airport is 45 mins from my house, they are the only airline there) and I fly to Florida, a 2 1/2 hour trip. I can deal. I ship my stuff (to my mom's) if necessary, but if I need a carry-on or suitcase (suitcase is cheaper than carry-on) I pay for it at least 24 hours in advance. I don't care where I sit.
I would not use them on a flight from California to Florida though.

 

[secretpantssam]

I have flown Spirit and hated it. They seem cheap but they charge all kinds of fees that other airlines don't charge so it usually ends up being cheaper or the same through another company. They also have the absolute worst customer service I have ever experienced. I would not recommend them.

 

[EPHomie]

I've flown Spirit twice, to and from my grandfather's funeral. I'll reiterate what some other people said. They will charge you for everything. It's not a big deal if you know ahead of time, but I noticed a lot of people didn't get that memo and were upset. They have terribly rude customer service. I didn't have problems with them, but I had done everything ahead of time, it seemed everyone who actually had an exchange with the counter was treated like dirt. The seats are TINY. I'm 5'4" and I was uncomfortable. And they normally only run one flight per day, so if you get cancelled or delayed you could be up a creek.

I have a flight coming up in August and I had to choose between a non-stop Spirit and a one stop Southwest for the same price. I'm choosing the Southwest flight because I don't want to deal with potential Spirit issues while traveling alone with a 1 year old.

 

[HHMcG]

We flight Spirit often and I do LOVE them. Their prices can not be beat, even when you add in baggage fees, seat fee (not necessary) and having to bring my own snack, it is still way less then a 'brand name' carrier. We fly Atlantic City to Orlando or Myrtle Beach alot. These, and Fort Lauderdale, are very common destinations for them and it helps to minimize delays and cancellations for them. I do not know how common San Fran is for them. If there is only one flight a day, it limits there flexibility to work around problems. I don't know anything about 'sister' carriers. When we had other airlines (not Spirit) cancel on us we were stuck. (And ended up getting a one way flight out on Spirit)

Yes, the seats are smaller. I don't notice it on our 2 hour flights but cross county might be another story.