Spirit out of O'Hare -- do they change their schedule often?

[mom2mikel]

We are planning a trip in April 2012. Sprit has some great rates right now. Does anyone know if Spirit changes its schedule a lot or if we have to worry about them changing from non-stop to flight with stops/layovers?

And from what I can see on their site....the additional fees are for carry ons that require overhead bin storage, checked bags and we can pay for pre-selected seats. We are a family of 4 -- if we don't pay to select seats ahead of time do I have to woryr about all 4 of us being split up all over the plane? I would hope that we could at least sit 2 and 2 together or 3 and 1.

Any input would be appreciated!!!

Thanks!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Yes you would have to worry about that. There is NO gurantee that you and your family will be seated together. Spirit employees will not assist you if you aren't seated together (nor should they ask folks who did pay for thier seats to move IMHO)

The 'under the seat' is very strict. If the gate agent does not think your carry on will fit you will be charged.

Personally I would go with SW out of Midway. (Actually I would walk before I ever got on a Spirit plane but..)

A couple of other things to be aware of.

Weight limit on checked luggage is 40 lbs (10 pounds lower then most others0
Seats do NOT recline at all
If you show up at the airport without a boarding pass it's $5 a pass (or $20 for your family of four)

 

[mom2mikel]

Thanks for the info. We ended up getting a great fare on United ($200/pp) so we booked over the weekend. I really like SW but i think they would have been higher than United. Now I don't have to worry about checking in exactly at the 24 hour mark for boarding position --but we are giving up free checked bags (might try to go with carry ons only this trip anyway).

Thanks again -- I'm confident we made the right choice in skipping Spirit!