Tell me about your experiences with Spirit Airlines and their $9 Fare Club?

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

A friend of mine was telling me that she was looking to fly to Florida on Spirit Airlines because they had some new $9 fares. She said it saves her family quite a bit of money when they use them. Let me say that I've really only flown the major carriers and their regional associates before, so using a smaller airline is new to me.

Like everyone else in the world, we are budgeting and planning for a possible trip right now. Therefore, I was wondering if this was a good option for us and what you all thought. It does cost to join their $9 Fare Club, so I'm looking at that expense as a possible "investment" into future trips.

Let's hear it - the good and the bad!

 

[jeanigor]

Although not a member of the $9 fare club, we have flown Spirit in the past. Their base fares are cheaper, usually for us even without the membership. However, they charge for everything. Checked bags. Carry on bags. Soda/water during the flight. They also seem to have an incredibly horrible delayed take off reputation. Out of the last five trips we've flown Spirit, three have had delays of 2, 4, and 7 hours. So yes it can be cheaper. But it may end up costing you something different than money (like time and patience) and may be extremely frustrating if traveling with children.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Thanks, Todd.

Excellent feedback - just the kind of practical info I was looking for. It's interesting the things they are starting to charge for these days. I knew it was only a matter of time before carry-ons were charged.

We were curious on the whole "$9" fare thing and if folks were actually getting reasonable availability on that. If it's only a couple seats on a flight, we might never be able to get that rate anyway.

Thanks again!

 

[Ash&Wes07]

My dad is a member of the $9 club. He is flexible with travel dates, so he is almost always able to snag $9 fares for his vacations. Because of this, he doesn't care about fees for checked bags and such. Even with those fees, he ends up paying under $75 for a round trip flight to FL. He also doesn't care about delays because he's never in a rush to get anywhere (such is the life of a snowbird ).

We considered joining it when we lived near an airport serviced by Spirit. However, it just wasn't practical for family vacations due to those fees and high probability of being delayed. I've flown Spirit probably a dozen times (solo) and I'd say 75% of those flights we had a delay of at least an hour or more.

 

[HockeyMom311]

I fly Delta, but if you fly on a Tues or Wed--its under $200 (I'm out of Detroit). Even coming back a diff. day only increases it $20. this is to Orando, not all destinations. lol no carry on fee & I UPS our baggage down--unless its jsutmy & my son, then I'll pay the checked bag fee, because I'll pack us in one bag & do laundry half way through the trip. but if alll 4 of us go, I'll ship down the 2 suit cases & we only have carry on's. shipping ground is cheap. (I still so laundy--all WDW hotel have laundry facilities)

 

[wdwscout]

I was a loyal Spirit customer for years- until they started changing their flight schedules a dozen times after we bought our tickets. It happened nearly every time, but a couple of times they changed them to make them completed un-doable for our plans. In their defense, they did refund our money (but not our pre-paid luggage fees ). But it was such a hassle.

Then, I gave them "one more chance" last fall and I absolutley HATE (and I do not use that word often) their new planes. They are the most uncomfortable seats I have ever been in. They do not recline and they are packed in like sardines.

On that trip last fall, I noticed that if I had the $9 fare club I would have paid the same for my ticket as I did without it! I got a great fare- like $22 each way from NJ-Orlando. There was a $9 fare, but with the hidden fees, it also came to to the same price as I was paying!

My opinion is not to join their club but just shop their fares and compare against other carriers. In the end- it's not always about the $$, but your comfort, timing, etc.