Spirit Airlines Says: "Don't Fly With Us"

[MiaSRN62]

Lewisc : Intelligent people will add the cost to check a bag (two if necessary) to Spirit's fare. Book Spirit if it makes sense. Book a different airline if it makes sense.

Stubborn people will only look at SWs website. AFAIK it's the only airline that still lets you check 2 bags without paying.

Many people could read this and the use of the two bolded words and become somewhat offended by your simplification of the choices. You might want to reword your post ???

SW...for ME....and call me "stubborn" if you like, but will 90% of the time be the first place I go to book air travel. Not only are they normally the cheapest for me.....but also no ridiculous carry on fees and TERRIFIC booking/cancelling/rescheduling policies. There is A LOT to be said for SWA's customer service and friendly and efficient service. I would even pay a bit more for SWA over Spirit because I like the company. And this all makes sense to me. I "heart" SWA !!!

So I'll leave A LOT more open reservations for all you "intelligent" folks with Spirit


Maria ---> a stubborn (albeit very happy SWA customer)

 

[dacky041208]

Many people could read this and the use of the two bolded words and become somewhat offended by your simplification of the choices. You might want to reword your post ???

SW...for ME....and call me "stubborn" if you like, but will 90% of the time be the first place I go to book air travel. Not only are they normally the cheapest for me.....but also no ridiculous carry on fees and TERRIFIC booking/cancelling/rescheduling policies. There is A LOT to be said for SWA's customer service and friendly and efficient service. I would even pay a bit more for SWA over Spirit because I like the company. And this all makes sense to me. I "heart" SWA !!!

So I'll leave A LOT more open reservations for all you "intelligent" folks with Spirit


Maria ---> a stubborn (albeit very happy SWA customer)

All he's saying is pay attention and shop around. I too look at SW first, but I will look at other airlines as well and when I search Airtran, I know to add the fees we will incur to make it a fair comparison. But just assuming SW will be cheaper since they include 2 free bags isn't going to help anyone (I know you aren't saying you do that, but it seems like some do).

 

[MiaSRN62]

dacky041208: All he's saying is pay attention and shop around. I too look at SW first, but I will look at other airlines as well and when I search Airtran, I know to add the fees we will incur to make it a fair comparison.

And all I'm saying is there is something to be said for airlines that might have more expensive fees. SWA has great customer service, very customer-friendly policies and no "trumped up" unnecessary fees disguised as a solution to a non-existant crisis. Hardly makes me "not intelligent" for choosing SWA over Spirit. I know what Lewisc is saying.....just not crazy about how he did it. And you know, for some people, it's the principle of the thing. Some will stand firm just to make a statement about such trumped up fees at Spirit. It's all about how a company presents it's costs and policies sometimes.


Maria

 

[dacky041208]

And all I'm saying is there is something to be said for airlines that might have more expensive fees. SWA has great customer service, very customer-friendly policies and no "trumped up" unnecessary fees disguised as a solution to a non-existant crisis. Hardly makes me "not intelligent" for choosing SWA over Spirit. I know what Lewisc is saying.....just not crazy about how he did it. And you know, for some people, it's the principle of the thing. Some will stand firm just to make a statement about such trumped up fees at Spirit. It's all about how a company presents it's costs and policies sometimes.


Maria

Maria

You might want to reread what lewisc actually wrote, he wasn't pushing people one way or another.

Intelligent people will add the cost to check a bag (two if necessary) to Spirit's fare. Book Spirit if it makes sense. Book a different airline if it makes sense.

 

[Allison]

This thread really isn't about Southwest fares, it's about Spirit being mean-spirited with their fares. And if people are willing to just bow down and pay those fees (really they are just revenue enhancers and don't the CEO fool you by using terms like "unbundling") then that gives carte blanche to the other airlines to rip their customers off.

Mean-spirited. I honestly don't understand that. It's a business decision. Why is doing something to enhance revenue a mean-spirited thing? It's not a personal attack against consumers. Spirit made a business decision to charge for their service in a certain way. You as a consumer now will make a decision on which airline to use.

I don't see how it's any different than any other business changing their pricing. I as an informed consumer make an informed choice of who I want to buy from and what I want to buy.

 

[Lewisc]

I'm not going to change my wording. An intelligent person will add in the fees for any "extras" then compare fares. An intelligent person won't automatically book the lowest fare. There are other factors to consider. Change fees. Likelihood of schedule changes. How long might it take for the next flight if a flight is cancelled due to weather.

My point is an intelligent person adds in the fees then makes a decision.

A stubborn person refuses to consider Spirit "out of spite". I think the new fee makes a lot of sense. Why charge for checked bags but then lose revenue and be subjected to safety and efficiency issues.

My point is the only thing that's changed is Spirit is going to start to charge for large carryon bags. I suspect most passengers were bringing those bags instead of paying to check a bag. Add the cost to check a bag to Spirit's fare and do whatever comparing you did previous to the change. The room under the seat in front of you is big enough for medicine, cameras, etc.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I'm not going to change my wording. An intelligent person will add in the fees for any "extras" then compare fares. An intelligent person won't automatically book the lowest fare. There are other factors to consider. Change fees. Likelihood of schedule changes. How long might it take for the next flight if a flight is cancelled due to weather.

My point is an intelligent person adds in the fees then makes a decision.

A stubborn person refuses to consider Spirit "out of spite". I think the new fee makes a lot of sense. Why charge for checked bags but then lose revenue and be subjected to safety and efficiency issues.

So be it Lewisc.....I listed MANY other reasons an INTELLIGENT person might stick with SWA over Spirit. You're entitled to your opinion. Some people stand on principle or perfer to be loyal to a company that they feel has treated them well and given good service. And there is A LOT to say for that. I don't consider it stubborn or non-intelligent and I don't think a lot of other people do either.

Maria

 

[MiaSRN62]

You might want to reread what lewisc actually wrote, he wasn't pushing people one way or another.

Thanks dacky...but I re-read it several times before I even posted my first reply. I simply don't agree 100% with what he says. Simple as that.

Maria

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Many people are loyal to certain companies even if that means paying more. Not just airfare but lots of products from laundry detergent to hotels, rental cars, etc.
Heck, I had male coworkers who refused to drink Pepsi b/c some NASCAR driver endorses it.
Whatever works for you.

 

[Lewisc]

Kay--Spirit has a lower cost structure then other airlines. I'd expect people would frequently pay lower fares with Spirit. Picking random citiies and dates isn't really a valid way to compare fares in general. It's certainly a valid way for an individual passenger to compare fares for his trip.

An intelligent person considers more then price. My point is an intelligent person will add in the cost to handle luggage and then do the same analysis they did before Spirit added the new fee. Passengers who were considering Spirit before the new luggage fee schedule merely have to add in luggage costs and do the same comparison they did prior to the change. People who won't fly Spirit for a variety of reasons have no reason to do anything.

A stubborn person is a person who used to consider flying Spirit but now won't consider them because of the new fee.

SW is one of the airlines that imposed revised luggage rules on passengers who already purchased tickets. That was wrong. Spirit is giving notice.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Many people are loyal to certain companies even if that means paying more. Not just airfare but lots of products from laundry detergent to hotels, rental cars, etc.
Heck, I had male coworkers who refused to drink Pepsi b/c some NASCAR driver endorses it.
Whatever works for you.

Exactly...thanks....doesn't make someone stubborn or certainly not unintelligent

Maria

 

[kaytieeldr]

Many people could read this and the use of the two bolded words and become somewhat offended by your simplification of the choices. You might want to reword your post ???

SW...for ME....and call me "stubborn" if you like, but will 90% of the time be the first place I go to book air travel.

Forgetting for a moment there are many people both intelligent and stubborn (i.e. one trait does not preclude the other), while you don't 'know' my DIS name, I know yours from a group in which we both formerly participated; I know you to be intelligent.

It's great that you look at SW first 90% of the time. Based on earlier posts, the other 10% might be your daughter's flights to and from college. Is it possible you're shooting yourself in the foot now, by boycotting Spirit based simply on their decision to charge for carry-on luggage in the overhead bins? Are you sure that now Southwest will always be cheaper for her, or will you have her on SW flights merely as a matter of principle?

===

That's fine that SW isn't the cheapest in your area, and I've said numerous times that they are not always the cheapest. Heck, Spirit is not the cheapest from Chicago to Orlando... Southwest is. It's all over the place, can we agree on that?

Back to the original point, Spirit can take their fees and shove it!!

Really? Really?? As I indicated above, do you really think it's reasonable or sensible to avoid an airline simply because they add a fee which, if properly applied, appears will make boarding and debarking (along with turnaround time) faster, and reduce the chances of any passenger being accidentally hit by carry-on luggage?

• Almost EVERY airline charges for even the first checked bag; JetBlue allows one per passenger and Southwest allows two before charges are applied.
• Spirit isn't doing anything unusual there. They're competitive. In fact, with the new carry-on fees, the checked luggage fees go down. Good.
• I carry on only one bag which fits completely under the seat in front of me. Therefore, the new Spirit fee doesn't affect me, except in a positive way because it reduces what they will charge me for my one checked suitcase. Good.
• Forgetting flight times completely, on the days I want to fly and including any luggage fees, Spirit is STILL $89 cheaper than Southwest - both fares are the lowest possible fares for those dates on those airlines. Good. No, great.

So, in my market - and ignoring for a moment that JetBlue is my airline of choice to the point that if they don't fly somewhere, I don't either - why wouldn't I choose Spirit? On principle? Please. Their new fee isn't changing ANYTHING about the way I fly. Do they charge for seat selection? Fine as well - I still come out ahead. Add a beverage for a fee? Still well ahead of Southwest.

 

[lugnut33]

Eventhough I'm stubborn and stupid, I really like the idea of the government getting it's fair share of its taxes from those fees. I hope the govt begins to tax all these add-on fees. Matter of fact the big dummy is going to write his congress-person and suggest they do just that. Hopefully that will just get added onto those fees. Roughly 12% of airline revenues (which these fees equal) are going untaxed. World wide the fees are estimated to cost fliers $58 billion.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's great that people - both regular folk and politicians - are suddenly concerned about the government not getting its 'fair' share of the luggage (and other?) fees being collected by airlines. Truly.

It's interesting that it's taken what - almost two years for this outrage to present itself

Simply because the airlines aren't paying excise tax on fees to ship inanimate objects doesn't mean they're not paying taxes. Does anybody know if they charge (and then, obviously, submit to the government) excise taxes on cargo they ship? If not, then there's no valid reason to collect/forward excise tax on luggage, either.

 

[lugnut33]

Are you sure that now Southwest will always be cheaper for her, or will you have her on SW flights merely as a matter of principle?

===

Really? Really?? .

Yes, Really I will not fly them on a matter of principle alone. I actually started flying Southwest due to the same reason. I was so upset with AA (who I had flown with since I was 17 years old, some 22 years ago) that I decided to drive the extra hour to fly with Southwest out of Midway. I like it and havn't flown AA since. They lost me as a customer. I'm sure it makes no difference though, but for me it's principle. Same reason I stay away from WalMart.


Umm, I have never said Southwest will be cheaper all the time. Just like Spirit is not cheaper all the time, or JetBlue for that matter.

 

[lugnut33]

It's great that people - both regular folk and politicians - are suddenly concerned about the government not getting its 'fair' share of the luggage (and other?) fees being collected by airlines. Truly.

It's interesting that it's taken what - almost two years for this outrage to present itself

Keep adding on fees and you'll see the outrage increase.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Eventhough I'm stubborn and stupid

Again, one trait does not automatically indicate the other. Also, the opposite of intelligent is not 'stupid'. There are varying degrees of intelligence; it's not always IQ-based.

 

[eliza61]

Eliza61
Those statements were quoted earlier in this thread.

What's missed in this thread. Spirit is reducing the size of bags which are allowed in the bin:

Current maximum size is 24X16X12 new maximum size is 22X18X10
That should ban bags that only fit lengthwise.

Once the bins are full current rules allow Spirit to charge applicable checked baggage fees for bags that must be gate checked. Some people don't think it's fair to charge the last passengers who board the plane. Present system is broken. JMO but that's more unfair then the new policy. People who are willing to pay use the bins instead of passengers who board first.

I'm surprised more politicians haven't spoken up. Good publicity. No cost. They'll claim "victory" when they get an agreement or regulation which bans pay toilets in airplanes. Airlines are allowed to charge for soda. They're allowed to charge for checked bags. I can't see any reason why they should be allowed to charge for a checked bag but not allowed to charge if a bag is put in the bin.
Any other airline might "bend" to pressure from the public or politicians. I suspect Spirit will remove the bins (probably just nail them shut) rather then back down. They won't continue to let passengers cheat them out paying for luggage by bringing the bags on board. Being able to, rightly, point to safety and boarding issues makes it easier to justify.

Food companies reduce sizes as a way to make price increases less visible. Often a "pound" of coffee is less then a pound and a "gallon" of ice cream is less then a gallon.

Assume almost every passenger brings a bin bag. Boarding is slower and bins may be loaded above capacity. Charging for bin bags is the easiest way to ensure fewer passenger bring bin bags. Would you rather Spirit says the first 60 passengers to board can use the bin? Passengers who pay higher fares can use the bin?

It may be a matter of perception. I know I've written about a dozen or so people (my 2 senators, my congressman and the dept of transp) about the policy. I totally agree with Lugnut that I think it's simply a way of gouging the customer, so I suspect that if enough politicians get a lot of angry calls, you're absolutely right this is a way they can appear effective.

I would rather spirit charge a flat fee for my ticket. period. Sorry I've yet to be held up indefinitely due to some one loading bags over head, not buying that argument and I've had jobs that required me fly twice daily from Philly to Chicago and back.
Must be a rash of delayed and cancelled flights due to over head luggage going around.

 

[lugnut33]

Again, one trait does not automatically indicate the other. Also, the opposite of intelligent is not 'stupid'. There are varying degrees of intelligence; it's not always IQ-based.

I prefer to call myself stupid.

U.S. airlines made more than $2 billion in fees during the third quarter of 2009 up 36 percent from a year earlier. That includes checked baggage fees, reservation change fees, sales of frequent flier award miles to partners, pet fees and standby passenger fees.

So, with all this "unbundling" going on I'm sure that airline fares have decreased 36% from a year earlier?? If not, then who is paying this increase?

 

[lugnut33]

Eliza,

I'm sure nobody will have problems trying to stuff their bags under the seats ahead of them. <sarcasm>

Eventually there will be a fee for that.