TravelSheryl, Beverly or Anyone- Opinions on Spirit Airlines?

[The Pluto People]

We are trying to arrange flights from Newark to Orlando for the 2nd week of April, 2002. Although we would like to fly Continental, their flight times and prices are not so hot. Spirit has a great, inexpensive flight for that week but we are leary about that airline. Does anyone have any knowledge or opinion about Spirit? Will that airline still be around a year from now? Should we wait to see if the prices for Continental come down - maybe at the end of the summer? Thanks for any and all help anyone can provide us!

 

[travelcoupons]

See also:
http://64.225.125.24/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29920&highlight=Spirit

(Same question)

Will that airline still be around a year from now?
You never know, they are privately owned. Personally, I wouldn't chance it. Remember Pro Air - the government pulled their certificate and they were done.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

personally I would not fly spirit they have been having to many problems and quite a few cancelled flights and too many dissatisfied passengers. they have one of the highest complaint ratios too.

 

[shelbyjosh]

This subject seems to come up once a month or so on this board. The same people have the same negative responses, too. These people also forget that Northworst, I mean Northwest, Delta, United, etc. all have their down side, too. Yes, Spirit has theirs but in the times we have used them (DTW-MCO) we have no complaints. They are the ONLY airline that I have been on that the pilot circulates the cabin and answers any questions. The FAs tell jokes and do magic tricks to keep the kids entertained. No, you don't get a meal, but I am not flying to get fed. We bring our own snacks to supplement what they give us. BTW, ProAir is on their way back!! On July 3rd they are supposed to be finalizing all details and will resume flight operations as of Aug 31. When they do, I will fly them in a hearbeat. In fact, when it comes time to book our tix for March, we will fly them! They were great too. You will get mixed reports on every airline. You have to go with what you feel is best. Good luck and give Spirit a try. P.S. Spirit has been in business going on 11 years...I don't think they are going anywhere, especially down the tubes!

 

[irish]

Here's a thumbs up, Shelbyjosh........And here's another vote for Spirit Airlines.........You're right - this subject comes up every month or so......I shall repeat my previous posts - we've flown Spirit several times from A/C to Orlando with no problems whatsoever.......Just my humble opinion................

 

[mom23guys2]

We've flown Spirit from AC to Tampa and AC to MCO. We've never had a problem. We've been flying Spirit for years. We basically chose them because I liked flying out of AC rather than the hassle of going to Philly. I can say that I haven't found any diiference in service between them and USAir or Continental. Spirit did have a lot of delays about a year and a half ago when they expanded their routes. Many of our friends have ressies for next Easter already. They are relatively new to Newark but have been flying out of Philly and then AC for years.

 

[TerriP]

My boss flies Spirit from Detroit to Orlando about once a month and has NEVER had a problem. My sister flew Spirit from Det to Orlando in Sept of 1998 and had GREAT service. DH and I will be flying Spirit to Orlando this Dec. and we are not worried a bit. Every single airline has certain people who do not like it. Personally, if I never fly Northwest again it will be too soon. But that doesn't mean others won't hop on a Northwest flight and have the best time ever.

If Spirit is offering what you want, I'd take it. As someone else noted, they've been in business eleven years...I wouldn't worry too much about them going out of business.

Happy Planning!!

 

[Lesley]

We've used Spirit several years ago and found them on the recommendation of friends who used them a lot. I never saw anyone dissatisfied with this airline until I started hearing things on these boards.

The main concern seems to be the lack of backup aircraft in the event that the plane you're supposed to be using is not functioning properly....then you're kind of stuck. It is something that I find worrisome....there have been reports of people who have missed most of their vacation because of this.

Will I fly Spirit again? Maybe. I'd prefer to fly out of Allentown, but AC can be convenient for us too- my sil lives near there and can take us to the airport (which is what we did last time...back in 1994) and we have a safe place to leave our car. I think for the right price I might chance it. I do think there is more risk of delays...and possibly excessive ones from the reports I've seen.

 

[MelodyD]

We used Spirit a couple years back from Detroit to Orlando. It was in October and they plane was not full. We checked in and they saw we had two young children. They gave us our own rows, meaning they left the middle seat open. It was great! The kids could check out the window seat and then get back in their own without disturbing anyone. I thought that was very thoughtful of them. They did the same on the return trip We were going to use them this trip but we found a great rate on Delta instead.

Melody
Disneybound in Sept!

 

[The Pluto People]

Wow! Thanks everyone - you have given me a lot to consider! Thanks again for all the replies!

 

[kellymonaghan]

I've used Spirit several times, from both NY LaGuardia and Newark. No problems at all (other than the typical weather delays).

The earlier point about no back up aircraft is well taken.

You have to understand that there is some truth to the saying "you get what you pay for." "Budget" airlines like Spirit do not offer the bells and whistles of the bigger airlines, but that doesn't mean you won't have a bad experience on a major airline.

A good thing to remember: It is low fare airlines like Spirit that keeps fares down on ALL airlines. When the big airlines run a low-fare airline out of business, fares go up.

When MarkAir folded, the fare between Denver and Seattle went up 600% overnight!

So use it or lose it.

 

[kimmar067]

I got a price from Orbitz.com and it includes a NON-STOP
(almost unheard of) flight from MCO to LGA @ 12:44 PM
for $213 in early Nov. Should I book it?

 

[BethC]

We've used Spirit a few times from Detroit to Orlando and haven't had any major problems. Still, it's not my favorite airline. There are very long lines for check-in and they do not pre-assign the seats so you must wait in this line to get your boarding pass. Many times they'll cancel flights that are not full and put you on one several hours away, or worse put you on one the next day, or the day before your scheduled departure! They are pretty good about refunding your money if they pull this on you though.

Now, I'll only fly Spirit when it's on short notice and it's the only one I can get a great price on. Just got a great fare of $65 each way for the end of July. None of the other airlines could even come close to that, so it looks like I'll be flying Spirit again.

Good luck!

 

[DisneyFix]

We used Spirit for the first time last November out of Atlantic City, NJ, and had no complaints other than our departure was delayed for approx. 45 minutes waiting for the flight attendant to arrive. We thought that was pretty rediculous.

However, we found the crew to be very friendly and had no other problems. Actually, we couldn't tell the difference once on the plane from US Air or Delta (regarding quality and service).

Oh, I almost forgot - One thing about Spirit (unless their policy has changed) is that you cannot assign your seats until you check in, so you have to worry the whole time about getting your family seats together. That was a little worrisome since we have 2 small children. However, we had no trouble getting our seats together.

We loved flying out of Atlantic City because it isn't as hectic as Philadelphia, plus they have free parking and it isn't a far walk - very small scale and pleasant.