Spirit Airlines

[julm26]

Spirit Airlines is coming to Pittsburgh in Feb. 2011. I've been on their website and they have incredible deals. Are they for real? Are they safe? or are they too good to be true? We've been thinking of coming down in March. They only fly into Ft Lauderdale for us, but thats ok.

Can you all give me some thoughts on spirit? Thanks

 

[Lewisc]

Check their fees. Too many Spirit passengers were avoiding checked bag fees by bringing carryon bags. Spirit now charges passengers for carryon bags. The personal item that goes under your seat is still free but you'll pay for a bag that goes in the overhead bin.

 

[antmaril]

FYI - Many of the really incredible low fares on Spirit Airlines are for "$9 Fare Club" members. I believe it costs $39.95 a year for the membership.

 

[PIERCEDRN]

the $9 fare club now costs $59 a year, and spirit charges for some really weird fees. Eg., from atlantic city fees are 37.50 rt which is way higher than other airlines/airports. Still, they have some really good rates despite the fees.
check a full size bag and bring a computer type bag onboard.
bob

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Let's see...

Do you like RUDE?

Do you realize you have to PAY for checked luggage, most carry on and EVERYTHING else they can figure out how to charge?

Do you think that the leg room on your current airline is spacious?

If so then Spirit is for you! They have rude employees, charge for everything and have managed to find a way to wedge even MORE seats on a plane (by taking out the recline feature)

If ANYTHING goes wrong the Spirt response will be "shrug" LOL! Their CEO is on record as saying that the passengers are "wrong" and the employees take thier lead from him.

I wouldn't fly them if they paid me!

 

[Disneyforus]

They "look" like they could have really great deals, right? Well as previous posters have said...
1. their fees seem a little high
2. you have to pay a minimum of $10 extra for the seat you pick, some are more
3. you have to pay for carryons, $15

So....there is an additional $25 each way plus the fees.

I made the mistake of signing up for $9 fare club because they had my dates for $19 and $39....so I am thinking this is great!!

Then I get on to buy them and realize there are all these extra add ons.
My total was going to be around $800-$900 dollars for 7 tickets but...it also was going to make me have to book one extra night at Disney. By the time I realized I could fly delta for $1010 it seemed to make more sense. I got the exact days I wanted and we have flown delta and like them.

So, now I paid for the $9 club and who knows if I will use it.
Lesson learned.

 

[Lewisc]

PP is using old figures. The current price to check your first bag is $28. The current price for a BIN bag is $30, $45 is you wait to pay at the gate.

I fudged, those are the rates for travel beginning November 1. Rates are effective for reservations made on or after 8/26.

Passengers who book a connecting flight have to pay a seat selection fee for each segment.

 

[jalferes]

by all the negative comments it a sure bet they will be out of business before long

 

[WDWisTheBest]

by all the negative comments it a sure bet they will be out of business before long

I don't know if they will be out of business before long. It does take an airline passenger will a lot of patience to fly SPIRIT. There are many costs that seem to be tacked on. In reality, one needs to be really aware of each and every possible add on cost that SPIRIT will try to add to a base fare.

Their safety record does not appear to be a problem. Customer service is.

On another thread this was said, Apirit CEO Ben Baldanza testified before Congress that bags are "not essential" for travel. This was part of his explanation for charging for carry-on baggage, as Congress took Spirit to task for levying hidden fees. Baldanza's actual quote:

"Carrying more than one bag is not necessary for all travelers and we believe it is unfair to charge those customers for extra services they do not use—indeed, it is the basis for Spirit's policy to unbundle services not essential to passenger transport."

If you look at other threads concerning SPIRIT service, I think you will find that most posters are not happy with the customer service.

 

[MAH4546]

Spirit Airlines is coming to Pittsburgh in Feb. 2011. I've been on their website and they have incredible deals. Are they for real? Are they safe? or are they too good to be true? We've been thinking of coming down in March. They only fly into Ft Lauderdale for us, but thats ok.

Can you all give me some thoughts on spirit? Thanks

FYI: Spirit isn't coming to Pittsburgh as in Pittsburgh International Airport, it is coming to Latrobe Municipal Airport, albeit Latrobe's airport is an easy drive from Pittsburgh.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

Spirit has been around for a while, and despite a lot of the gloom and doom comments I have read on this board, I believe they make money so I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon.

I for one am a big fan of Spirit. That said, I am an educated consumer and I make it a point to know what I am getting in to.

Even with the fees they charge, I can still fly Spirit cheaper and easier (from Atlantic City airport) than flying AirTran, Southwest or USAirways from PHL.

I have never personally encountered any rude Spirit employees and I find that their planes are safe and their flights arrive on time. Do I wish there was more room between the seats? Sure, but I don't mind being a little tighter with all the money I'm saving!

 

[debster812]

Spirit has been around for a while, and despite a lot of the gloom and doom comments I have read on this board, I believe they make money so I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon.

I for one am a big fan of Spirit. That said, I am an educated consumer and I make it a point to know what I am getting in to.

Even with the fees they charge, I can still fly Spirit cheaper and easier (from Atlantic City airport) than flying AirTran, Southwest or USAirways from PHL.

I have never personally encountered any rude Spirit employees and I find that their planes are safe and their flights arrive on time. Do I wish there was more room between the seats? Sure, but I don't mind being a little tighter with all the money I'm saving!

Have you ever experienced any 'irregular operations' while flying Spirit? To me, that's when an airlines' (or any company really) true colors show. How they treat you when everything is NOT sunshine and roses. We've flown Spirit for one trip, had issues on both legs, and were treated pretty abysmally. It's easy to do a good job when things go well, not so much when things like weather delay flight ops up and down the east coast, and a pilot calling in sick cancels a flight.

We had a flight canceled due to a pilot not showing up, and were booked on a flight 8 hours later. The flight was canceled between the time I checked our flight before leaving home, and arriving at the airport (less than an hour). This was for a long weekend getaway, and we effectively lost an entire day. I understand that things happen, but every Spirit employee we encountered could not have cared less.

Coming home, our flight was delayed several times, but there was absolutely NO ONE at the gate to update us, or give us any updates. And there is not a lot to do to kill time at the Myrtle Beach airport.

They would be my last resort to use for a flight.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I flew Spirit recently . . . SW didn't have the date I wanted to fly up yet and with all the charges, Spirit (out of ACY) was a little cheaper than USAir (out of PHL). But, at 6'2 I had my knees jammed up for the whole time I was seated (I stood as much as the FAs would permit). We opted not to select seats and were assigned seats together at check-in . . . if we selected seats, USAir would have been cheaper.

No way I would pay them to allow me to get "possible" deals. I won't say I'll never fly them again, but it is highly unlikely. If SWA goes into ACY, as seems likely given their recent purchase of Air Tran, then that might be an option worth looking at.

 

[CleveRocks]

by all the negative comments it a sure bet they will be out of business before long

I've happily been flying Spirit Airlines since 1995. It just so happened that they flew routes I needed and couldn't find elsewhere. Like in the mid to late 1990s when I lived in Cleveland but liked to vacation in Atlantic City ... they were the ONLY airline that flew between those two cities.

And I've lived in Atlantic City for the past 12 years, and Spirit has been pretty much the only airline flying out of our small airport; there have been other airlines with very limited service here and there, but Spirit is THE ONLY airline that's served ACY during the entire time I've lived here. So yes, I've used Spirit a whole bunch of times, and in my 15 years of experience with them, I have no horror stories, no bad experiences to report. Yes, there have been occasional delays (beyond weather), but if I were to list every airline I've ever had a delay with, my hands would cramp from typing so much.

One of things I love is their fares ... it makes the fees easy to take. For example, next spring I'll be flying round-trip from Atlantic City to Costa Rica for $304 round-trip, and in the summer I'll be paying that exact same fare to fly round-trip between ACY and Lima, Peru. Other airlines out of Philadelphia or Newark are charging MORE than double those fares. So sure, I'll pay an extra $10 here and $25 there, rather than paying an extra $400 on a legacy carrier to get some things "for free."

 

[julm26]

Thanks everyone for the replies...we will be flying with a 6 yo and so I don't think I will need the hassle...we really love SW anyway...though it would be quicker for us to get to the Latrobe airport (where they will be flying out of)

I appreciate all your comments!

 

[disrev]

Just flew Spirit Detroit to Orlando yesterday with a 3YO. We did the research going in. Bought into the $9 fare club. Payed for 3 seats each and checked 2 bags, carried on backpacks (16x14X12 is a decent amount of packing space).

All said and done, it equaled out to $155 round trip per person including buying into the $9 club... best deal I could find for us BY FAR!

Our flight was fine. Nothing amazingly special, but nothing that came close to "ruining" our trip.

Do your research, know what you're paying for. For us, it was the right choice.

 

[jalferes]

That's an amazing rate - I should not have been thinking the way I was - when the time comes I will consider them - thanks for your post !