Spirit changed flight by 7 hrs in April

[chicagodisneyguy]

Unfortunately during the pandemic airlines have been pretty bad at estimating demand, thus they have been adjusting their schedules big time. Most schedules seem to be "firmed up" around the two month mark. At this point if you are buying a plane ticket more than 60 days to departure, I would expect some type of schedule change(s) before all is said and done.

With the no-fees to redeposit miles I've gotten to the point where I've been buying multiple flights for the same trip. My ORD-MCO-ORD flights in January we paid cash on AA, but also had flights booked with miles on Southwest as a back up. When we boarded the AA flights we just cancelled the SW flights and the miles were back in our account.

 

[Turksmom]

Unfortunately during the pandemic airlines have been pretty bad at estimating demand, thus they have been adjusting their schedules big time. Most schedules seem to be "firmed up" around the two month mark. At this point if you are buying a plane ticket more than 60 days to departure, I would expect some type of schedule change(s) before all is said and done.

With the no-fees to redeposit miles I've gotten to the point where I've been buying multiple flights for the same trip. My ORD-MCO-ORD flights in January we paid cash on AA, but also had flights booked with miles on Southwest as a back up. When we boarded the AA flights we just cancelled the SW flights and the miles were back in our account.

We're probably the people messing up the scheduling! I've double booked too and I know several of DH's co-workers have started doing it too.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We're probably the people messing up the scheduling! I've double booked too and I know several of DH's co-workers have started doing it too.

You are probably right I hate to do it, but the schedule changes have been so substantial that I'm doing it to ensure I get where I need to be. If the changes were an hour or two, most of the time I can deal with that. But I just had an April AA ORD-MSY 6:30pm flight changed to a 10:15am flight. Considering I work until 2pm that just didn't work. I had booked a UA 8pm backup and will be taking that.

 

[mom2mikel]

I'm sorry you are experiencing this unexpected change. We used Spirit in the past and understand they don't have as many flights should something happen to our scheduled flights. That being said, it's still super frustrating when something DOES happen. Several years ago, Spirit left an automated message the night before our flight to say it was cancelled. But we didn't get the message (our fault) and were headed to the airport when we realized it was cancelled. Their customer service ended up putting us on American to get home although we did have a layover (we didn't care - just happy they were able to help). It looks like this is going to work out for you which is a great thing!

 

[Disturbia]

Apparently Spirit and Frontier are merging and cancelled 1 in 5 flights. Double booking using those AA airmiles looks really good right now. I don’t trust they will work out their issues by April

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp-video/mmvo132619333616

 

[debster812]

OP--I don't think Spirit & Frontier's merger announcement today, has much to do with your cancelled flights. I'll echo what others have said, when things don't go right with Spirit, they are VERY challenging. When everything is fine, they are perfectly capable of getting you from Point A to Point B.

 

[Turksmom]

OP--I don't think Spirit & Frontier's merger announcement today, has much to do with your cancelled flights. I'll echo what others have said, when things don't go right with Spirit, they are VERY challenging. When everything is fine, they are perfectly capable of getting you from Point A to Point B.

Right. The merger (assuming it's approved) wouldn't even go through until the second half of this year.

 

[Disturbia]

Frontier cancelled flights

 

[Turksmom]

Frontier cancelled flights

View attachment 645719

But it wasn't because of the merger

 

[_19disnA]

Right. The merger (assuming it's approved) wouldn't even go through until the second half of this year.

Agreed. Mergers need regulatory approvals and aren't instantly implemented the day they are announced. Flights by any airline can be cancelled for a number of reasons. I think most would agree cancelling flights ahead of a major weather event (for example) is proactive and a good thing to do.

 

[Disturbia]

This is an April flight that they (Spirit) cancelled.

Are we really getting that good at weather prediction?

In any case, we were able to move it to 5 pm. Now here’s to hoping that that fight actually flies out in April. We do have an extra day of vacation on each end of the trip just in case.

 

[sam_gordon]

This is an April flight that they (Spirit) cancelled.

Are we really getting that good at weather prediction?

It wasn't cancelled for weather. They made some business decision to cancel it. It's not unusual for ANY airline to make changes to their schedule/route months ahead. The issue is you've booked with an airline who's CEO(?) was quoted as saying "we don't do customer service".

 

[focusondisney]

Am I the only one confused? You were first scheduled on American & cancelled so took the refund & rebooked on Spirit? Who did you pay $3000 to & what cost $1300?? Any airline that has limited flight options is gonna be even more risky now. Like everyone else has said, Every. Single. Airline has cancelled or altered flights for the last 2 years. If you want to travel, you have to accept the need to be flexible. Frankly, a time change is the least objectionable thing that can happen. Sure, no one wants to lose time on vacation. But for me, 5 hours in the park isn’t worth $1300 , let alone $3000. I would have taken the time change & not paid extra for a few park hours. But I’m glad you found another flight that works.

 

[Disturbia]

Last year American Airlines flight change for our flight out to Orlando (this was the day before we were to fly out) was dividing us up and putting us on different flights on different days (not a 5 hr change, more like a 24 hr change), we cancelled the flight (they refunded $400-cost of the flight for 4 people, 1 lap child) and booked one way on Spirit last minute fare $1300 (4 people, 1 lap child).

We are booked on Spirit for end of March-April of this year, the flight cost us $3,000 (2 adults 3 kids; American was $4,500 for the same dates and Spirit allows the Joovy caboose ultralight stroller until gate check). Spirit cancelled the flight and automatically booked us on a 1 pm flight. That’s our Epcot day and we have dining reservations and our original flight was 8 pm.

My point was American Airlines was not great either when making sudden changes.

 

[sam_gordon]

Last year American Airlines flight change for our flight out to Orlando (this was the day before we were to fly out) was dividing us up and putting us on different flights on different days (not a 5 hr change, more like a 24 hr change), we cancelled the flight (they refunded $400-cost of the flight for 4 people, 1 lap child) and booked one way on Spirit last minute fare $1300 (4 people, 1 lap child).

$400 for 4 people? Hell no, I'm not giving that up. If that happens in the future, before you contact the airline (and yes, it can happen on ANY airline), YOU look at their schedule for the day and find flights that work for you. Can't find any? Look for nearby airports. You could have looked at Tampa, Daytona, Jacksonville, heck even Ft Lauderdale and/or Miami. Other airporst near you? I'd definitely be willing to drive a couple hours to utilize $100 RT air. You just need to be respectful but insistent.

We are booked on Spirit for end of March-April of this year, the flight cost us $3,000 (2 adults 3 kids; American was $4,500 for the same dates and Spirit allows the Joovy caboose ultralight stroller until gate check). Spirit cancelled the flight and automatically booked us on a 1 pm flight. That’s our Epcot day and we have dining reservations and our original flight was 8 pm.

Spirit (and other ULCC) don't have the options legacy airlines do. As someone said, as long as everything is fine, it's good. But if it goes bad, it can go REALLY bad.
That being said, was your original flight 8p and the rebooked flight 1p the next day? That might be their next flight. Again, the problem w/ULCC.

My point was American Airlines was not great either when making sudden changes.

The problem is the computer (because let's be honest, it's not a human making these changes) can't read your mind on what you're willing to do. That's why it's important for YOU to do the research before you call. Yes, I know, I know, the company should do it for you. But help them help you.

 

[Disturbia]

$400 for 4 people? Hell no, I'm not giving that up. If that happens in the future, before you contact the airline (and yes, it can happen on ANY airline), YOU look at their schedule for the day and find flights that work for you. Can't find any? Look for nearby airports. You could have looked at Tampa, Daytona, Jacksonville, heck even Ft Lauderdale and/or Miami. Other airporst near you? I'd definitely be willing to drive a couple hours to utilize $100 RT air. You just need to be respectful but insistent.

Spirit (and other ULCC) don't have the options legacy airlines do. As someone said, as long as everything is fine, it's good. But if it goes bad, it can go REALLY bad.
That being said, was your original flight 8p and the rebooked flight 1p the next day? That might be their next flight. Again, the problem w/ULCC.


The problem is the computer (because let's be honest, it's not a human making these changes) can't read your mind on what you're willing to do. That's why it's important for YOU to do the research before you call. Yes, I know, I know, the company should do it for you. But help them help you.

Yes and we did check for 5 seats while waiting on hold. Spirit had 5 seats at 5 pm so we took that change. The hold with Spirit was 2 hours but with American last year it was 4+ hours. Believe me we checked but the flights kept disappearing from all the people ahead of us. We booked with trip insurance, so that we can make one chanbe for any reason.

In any case, we learned to call and get on that line right away and always get trip insurance AND sign up for alerts!

 

[sam_gordon]

Yes and we did check for 5 seats while waiting on hold. Spirit had 5 seats at 5 pm so we took that change. The hold with Spirit was 2 hours but with American last year it was 4+ hours. Believe me we checked but the flights kept disappearing from all the people ahead of us. We booked with trip insurance, so that we can make one chanbe for any reason.

In any case, we learned to call and get on that line right away and always get trip insurance AND sign up for alerts!

Just so you also know, DON'T count on alerts from ANY airline. I recommend checking your flights at least once a week until ~6 weeks out, then twice a week, then once a day (starting about a week out).

 

[Lewisc]

The thread title is misleading. The issue has nothing to do with the proposed merger. Thread titles suggest merger already took place. Frontier canceled the flights due to computer issues. Last June Southwest had to cancel and delay hundreds of flights due to a computer glitch.

Unfortuantely these kinds of issues can occur to any airline.

 

[Disturbia]

Just so you also know, DON'T count on alerts from ANY airline. I recommend checking your flights at least once a week until ~6 weeks out, then twice a week, then once a day (starting about a week out).

Maybe touring plans can add this feature.

 

[sam_gordon]

Maybe touring plans can add this feature.

Don't count on ANYONE else. This applies to ALL flights, not just to/from Disney.