Spirit Airlines?

[tgbanks3]

A couple members of the family will need to leave a day earlier than the rest due to unforeseen circumstances. Found a very cheap Spirit airlines flight, but I've heard bad things about it, concerning canceled flights, etc. Anyone have much experience with them? Should I pay more for a different airline?

 

[wdwjeffc37]

As with any airline try to book the first flight in the morning. It is less likely to be cancelled or delayed waiting for connections. Flights that originate from that airport have the best chance of not being cancelled. Some airlines have better records than others but they all have their problems. If the saving are significant enough I would probably chance it. Cheers!!!!!

 

[jesse8931]

I've flown them a few times. I always book the earliest flight there and the latest on the way back and no matter what I always book a non stop.

However I have found that unless spirit is a 100 dollars cheaper I will book with Delta.

 

[coletteh]

I am not a fan. I flew Spirit from DTW to DIA and we were very delayed for all flights-- no explanation, no apologies, very "normal" for them. I also think they nickel and dime the heck out of you for seats, bags, etc. and their policy on carry-ons is different from some of the other airlines (I saw numerous people forced to check bags at the gate for $100 because they were too large to be considered a carry-on. Cost to check them at "check-in" was significantly cheaper. This probably could have been avoided by travelers doing research, but it still sucks. I'm referring to the small-type suitcases that were very common after airlines started charging). I don't know if other airlines are now as strict as Spirit, but by the time I paid for all the "extras" it was costly for me. I know that a lot of business travelers like it and I'm sure others have had good experiences, but 2/2 flights delayed for me meant "no." Also, their customer service was atrocious.

 

[tgbanks3]

Well the flights are late enough that they will be able to enjoy our CM ADR with the rest of the family. They could fly another airline and miss the ADR (and cost about $100 more) or fly another airline later in the day, thereby making the ADR (and costing about $300 for the flight).
But I really can't chance a canceled flight so I may just have to bite the bullet and pay more.

 

[SusanneF]

I flew with them once and will NEVER do it again. It was absolutely horrible. I will spare you all the details, but the highlights are we arrived at the airport 2 hrs before our flight to no one at their counter. We were traveling with 3 small kids and literally ended up running from the counter to try to catch our flight. Our luggage was lost and damaged. We arrived with no carseats for our kids...and they were couldn't have cared less about the entire situation. We were told similar stories and about the bad customer service prior to booking but it saved us quite a bit of money, traveling for 5. Never again.

 

[Crystal824]

I haven't flown with them, but I do know several people who fly with them often and like it. For us, the times for Spirit doesn't work with our schedule and with kids we tend to have a lot of bags. It does work for some.

 

[MillauFr]

Do not book Spirit unless you like gambling with your vacation. There is a much higher risk of delay or cancelation with Spirit than with a well run airline like Delta.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

"America's worst airline for customer satisfaction is..."

http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/20/pf/airline-customer-satisfaction-report/

 

[RedAngie]

Even if all goes well with Spirit, their seating is very tight. I'm not tall, but the legroom is very cramped. The seat width is the same as any other airline flying that type of plane, but the lack of legroom seems to make the seat width smaller as well. I can tolerate it for a two hour flight to Florida, but no longer than that.

The so-called nickel and diming is no problem. Everything is clearly spelled out before you buy.