Spirit or ATA ??

[albertro]

I'm trying to decide between Spirit or ATA for my next visit to Orlando. I used to fly American but their prices have gone up so much that the diference between American and the most expensive between ATA and Spirit is $100. If you multiply that by 3 can take care of what I'm paying for a mini van a whole week.
I have never try any of them but have read mix reviews of the two.

Any advice will be apreciated.

Thanks,

Abertro

 

[inkkognito]

I haven't had any personal experience with Spirit, but we fly ATA from Chicago to Orlando an average of twice a month. The only significant delays we've experienced have been weather related, except for one minor mechanical problem that was fixed within an hour. I love their planes, which are mostly very new, especially the huge 757-300s. They have leather seats with adjustable headrests, and you can buy headphones for $2 for the in-flight entertainment that you can keep for future flights. They have no first class section, and they serve beverages and either peanuts, cookies, or snack mix, depending on the time of day. I love their online check-in and usually manage to get a great exit row using it, although if I do it 24 hours in advance rather than 12 there have been some problems. They have a great frequent flyer program, too...for every 3 roundtrips, you get a free companion ticket, and currently there are no blackout dates. We've earned many freebies and use them for holiday travel. Being in Chicago, I also prefer the convenience of flying out of Midway (Spirit flies out of O'Hare). And in Chicago, Spirit has a very limited number of flights as compared to ATA, so if there was ever a problem, ATA would give me a better chance of getting on another flight.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[sgtdisney]

I have flown ATA a number of times too, like inkkognito, and have never really had a problem with them. They have a newer fleet with some nice 737s and 757s. The are the 10th largest airline in the USA and have a lot of flights, at least here in Chicago. I personally have never flown on Spirit, but if the price is right I would probably consider them. I prefer O'Hare to Midway because we live much closer to O'Hare. I will say that my Brother in Law has flown Spirit 3 times in the last month. One round trip and one last week, he is away on business now. Two flights were delayed of the three where he was stuck for 3+ hours waiting. That can happen with any airline though. But inkkognito is right, ATA has a lot more flights and is better equiped to get you on another flight whereas sometimes Spirit has only one flight per day between some destinations.

 

[albertro]

Thanks for your comments. ATA is the way to go then. I was looking at both companies web pages and ATA Planes are newer than Spirit.

Thanks again for your comments.

Albertro

 

[DemoBri1]

I have never flown on Spirit, but I have heard good things about their service. The delays that SgtDisney mentions are more a product of the location that you're flying out of than the airline itself. O'Hare is the worst for flight delays, and Midway is not too far behind. It's just something that we have to put with here in Chicago.

Personally, I have used ATA a couple of times and had wonderful, smooth, and fast flights down and back. In fact, if it weren't for the lovely weather we had coming back in early December, we would have landed at Midway with a flight time of just under 2 hours from Orlando. Don't ask me how, but they were really hauling the mail that day.

I would have to put a vote in for ATA.

Brian

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by DemoBri1
I have never flown on Spirit, but I have heard good things about their service. The delays that SgtDisney mentions are more a product of the location that you're flying out of than the airline itself. O'Hare is the worst for flight delays, and Midway is not too far behind. It's just something that we have to put with here in Chicago.

This is true in many cases. O'Hare does have it's share of delays. However in my BILs case this month both delays were mechanicals and not airport or weather delays. In fact one of his delays was coming out of FLL to ORD. I am sure it isn't typical of Spirit, my other BIL has flown them a lot with good experiences. However it is true that Spirit has older aircraft and less of them so when they do experience a delay it's repercussions seem to be felt more.

 

[westjones]

Do they count the 'round trip' tickets by person, or by purchase? In September, our family will be flying to Florida for the Disney Cruise, and there are 4 of us. Does that mean the next time we fly we would get a free companion fare? Or would that just count as one for each of us, and we would each have to fly 3 times to get the companion fare?

Thanks!
DJ

 

[inkkognito]

They count it by person. Before participating, you need to sign up with their program. You receive a number that you enter by your name when booking online. It's free to sign up, so even if you are only taking one flight, go ahead and do it. You never know when you might travel again. Hubby just tallied up all our freebies, and we've done 18 roundtrips to Orlando in the past year!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[westjones]

Thanks, Barb!