Spirit from Atlantic City to MCO - mistake?

[Melissabo]

We are heading to Disney from 11/28-12/4 It is about the same distance from our home to either Philly international or Atlantic City airport. We have heard that it is more convienent to fly out of AC and always wanted to try it. The cheapest flights out of philly for those dates were $878 for 4 of us on Airtran not including bag fees $80 round trip. Spirit had flights for $740 but after bag fees it was almost the same price. Yesterday Spirit's flights dropped so I booked. Even with two checked bags, seat assigment fees and taxes total charges are $690. I thought is was a no brainer to go to a smaller airport and save almost $300.

However, after reading some about Spirit I'm hearing about horrible delays and service from Spirit. I feel I understand all of their fees and considered all of that before booking but I'm concerned about delays. One of the other deciding factors to book Spirit was that they left AC and Orlando earlier and both flights fit with our schedules better.

Can anyone share their experiences? Are delays to be expected? I really hope I don't regret this. I know 4 or 5 people around here that have used them and I haven't heard anything negative about the airline other than for fees.

I know they charge for carryons but we only ever bring small personal bags on the plane anyway which are free.

 

[disneyworldaddict]

We fly Spirit all the time. The biggest complaint I have is that when I have a problem or a question, their customer service is awful. You can't call and speak to anyone in the US. As far as delays and cancellations I've never had much of an issue. A few weather delays, which is to be expected. The advantage to flying out of ACY is that since theres only one airline you don't have air traffic. We always arrive early and usually take the latest flight home. Its important to arrive early and be at the gate early. If a flight is overbooked and you are running late, you could lose your seat. Most of the time the offer a bump to people who are willing to give up their seats, we try to plan to take the bump, they compensate with free airfare.

To be honest, if there was another airline out of ACY, I'd consider it, because of the custoer service issue. The other issues is the way the airline "nickle and dimes" you. I hope you paid for your bags when you booked because they charge higher fees if you pay after, and an even higher one if you pay at the airport. They also charge to print out your boarding pass, so print it out at home. They charge for seats, and the checked bags can only weight 40lbs.

All things considered, its still usually the cheapest. Its a short flight to MCO and the rates are low. You should be okay if you arrive early. And the Samuel Adams bar and restaurant serves decent grilled food, much better than the typical airport fast food.

 

[Melissabo]

Ok thank you, that makes me feel better. I did pay for bags and seats already. We will bring small bags for our personal item as I understand that they are free. Even with all of the fees it was still about $278 cheaper to fly spirit. I just care about being safe and hopefully on time.

From what I read on their website strollers are free to fly?

 

[aubriee]

I don't know anything about Atlantic City, but did fly Spirit this past May out of DFW. I have no big complaints with them and in fact will be flying them again when I go to WDW Sept 1st-8th. One thing I didn't like though is about a month after I booked, I got an email saying my itinerary had changed. My flight down there had been moved back by several hours and the flight back had been moved up. All told, I lost about 8 hours of my vacation due to their time changes. I know time changes can happen with any airline, but I did not like how they handled it. Most airlines will refund your money for a time change that big. When I called to tell them the new times did not work for me, I was basically told that they had only one flight/day in and out of DFW and there was nothing they could do. They told me I could cancel the flight, but they would not refund my money. I kept the flight and it was fine: clean plane, very nice flight crew, on time. I did pay to upgrade to the Big Front Seats and am glad I did. Remember they do not serve free drinks and snacks, so be prepared to pay or carry your own. I took a bag of granola and an empty water bottle which I filled after security and added a flavor pkt to. I noticed most people did the same.

 

[disneyworldaddict]

Yes, you can carry on a decent sized personal item for free, such as a backpack or something of a similar size, that fits underneath the seat. I'm actually able to fit some clothes, my netbook, chargers, my 3oz bag of liquids, a curling iron, hairbrush and a small purse in it. I don't know about strollers, my baby is 22 yrs old lol.

The seats are cramped, but we find them comfortable enough for such a short flight.

Overall, we havent had any actual travel complaints, just customer service complaints. The only delays we've had were weather related, which I fully understand. We've never been rescheduled except during a snowstorm, and even so we flew out the same day, a few hours late

ACY is extremely convenient! Its a 45 min drive from our home, Newark is a little over an hour. The airport is very small, smaller than the parking garage with only a handful of gates. parking is $9 a day in economy, but if the lot is full you must park in the garage which is $12a day. Its easy to get to to and easy to maneuver, which is why it is our first choice.

 

[TwistGrl101]

I think as long as you have the mindset, "you get what you pay for," you'll be OK. DH will personally never fly Spirit again, but he also won't stay anywhere besides BC. The plane was dirty, seats cramped, no onboard snacks (unless you pay), extra fees for everything, and terrible customer service as a PP mentioned. Also, I believe the weight limit for luggage is 40 lbs on Spirit, compared to 50 lbs on other airlines. We, and a whole bunch of others, were emptying out our suitcases and putting things into plastic bags to carryon because our suitcases were too heavy.
Im not trying to be negative, but you asked for honest opinions. Now if it weren't for DH being so high maintenance, we could have saved a ton of money flying Spirit this summer, and I was all for it. Plus, AC airport is so small and convenient. Even if the flight stinks, it's only for 2 hours until you'll be at the happiest place on Earth!!

 

[tuckerkeys]

OP, rest assured that Spirit out of AC is fine. We use it 3-5x a year. I live @ 45 minutes from ACY and we love the airport.

Did you book the first flight of the day? The ONLY thing I don't like about spirit is that unless you have the first flight of the day, there MAY be a delay. they basically use the planes all day and if there are any delays on another route, then your flight will be delayed. Even the 2nd flight is usually OK, as the plane will be coming from another flight where it was the first flight. It's as the day rolls on that they do have delays....And for whatever reason the LAST flight out of Orlando to ACY is usually cancelled.....That's a 9:30 pm flight. I have MANY friends who were basically stranded due to the flight being cancelled....SO we never take this

 

[stepdisney]

We got great rates (some as low as $9.00) on Spirit airlines. We use to live close by. We loved how easy it was to get in, park, and get out of the airport. The only complaint I have is that they nickel and dime you to death! You pay for everything, even soft drinks. Also, you cannot check your bags at the Disney resorts. I you don't mind any of this, then Spirit will be fine.

 

[deniden]

We live about 5 minutes from ACY. We fly Spirit all the time. We had 1 issue coming back from MCO with a delayed/then cancelled flight, and the issue was moreso with their customer service. For us, their prices and the convenience of the close airport make it a no-brainer to deal with the lousy customer service.

 

[njmom47]

AC airport is great. I think Spirit has a 6am or a late afternoon/evening flight to MCO (4pm? 6pm? Not like I'm checking or anything ). We flew Spirit last time we went to WDW (08) so it was a bit before all these fees. It's a no-frills airline, but for 2 or so hours, it's doable IMO.

 

[Melissabo]

OP, rest assured that Spirit out of AC is fine. We use it 3-5x a year. I live @ 45 minutes from ACY and we love the airport.

Did you book the first flight of the day? The ONLY thing I don't like about spirit is that unless you have the first flight of the day, there MAY be a delay. they basically use the planes all day and if there are any delays on another route, then your flight will be delayed. Even the 2nd flight is usually OK, as the plane will be coming from another flight where it was the first flight. It's as the day rolls on that they do have delays....And for whatever reason the LAST flight out of Orlando to ACY is usually cancelled.....That's a 9:30 pm flight. I have MANY friends who were basically stranded due to the flight being cancelled....SO we never take this

We are the first flight out 7:30 am to Orlando and on the day home we are the first spirit flight out to AC. It's a 10:40 am flight. We like to fly early so I'm hoping this helps avoid delays.

I'm fine with all of the fees and no free snacks or drinks. We'll pack our own since it is a short flight. I am also ok with taking our own bags. We may rent a car anyway, can we still do magic express though?

 

[disneyworldaddict]

We usually fly first flight out on our way down and last flight from MCO to come home. Its never been cancelled and rarely overbooked. Even our last flight when we hurricane Irene was headingup the coast.We flew over it, wasn't even bumby!

Yes you can do Magical Express both ways, you just can't check your bags for your return flight at your resort. We just leave our bags at the bell check, which works well. If we decide to go for a swim we can shower at the resort pool showers and change cause our bags are still there. DME will pick up your bags from Spirit when you arrive, we've done that a few times. Usually we only have one checked bag so we have person pick up the bag while someone else checks in fo DME. That we have our bags when we arrive.

 

[CleveRocks]

We fly Spirit all the time. The biggest complaint I have is that when I have a problem or a question, their customer service is awful. You can't call and speak to anyone in the US. As far as delays and cancellations I've never had much of an issue. A few weather delays, which is to be expected. The advantage to flying out of ACY is that since theres only one airline you don't have air traffic.

Ditto.

I live 15 minutes from ACY and over 1 hour from PHL, so using Spirit at ACY is a no-brainer.

But if there is a problem, I agree that their customer service is worse than bad. You can't call them. The only number you can call is the reservations line, and they can't take ANY customer service service calls, they can only sell stuff. You have no choice but to e-mail customer service, and my experience has been we've had to wait a few days for a response.