Spirit airlines?

M

Mom2Four

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 16, 2004
Can anyone share their experiences with this airline? We usually fly Southwest out of Buffalo , however Spirit is considerably cheaper.
 
I've flown Spirit a number of times out of Atlantic City, NJ. it wasn't for my love of the airline as much as it was for my love of that small airport.
Spirit is exactly what it is, a low cost airline, great for the budget minded. But go in prepared, I felt nickel and dimed at booking. Charge for carry on, charge for checked bags, charge to pick your seat, etc. Once we got past all the charges, the flights have always been good. Friendly flight crew, clean planes, smooth flights, and though some will complain of delays, I've never experienced delays with Spirit.
I'd only recommend staying away if you don't have patience for the nickel and dining aspect of booking, which I don't.
 
Spirit is another discount airline like Frontier or Allegiant. You pay for everything separately so know going in what charges you are likely to accrue. I personally like the set up because I don't need a checked or even carry on bag and definitely not for every person. So it helps me save a lot. I haven't done Spirit but I have friends and family who use them and haven't had any issues.
 
Thanks for your replies. I am seeing 50 dollar fares to Orlando and that just seems too good to be true.
 


Does it cost for a square of toilet tissue? I have heard they collect for everything and sounds like a good option for a quick overnight business trip.
 
Keep in md that they do not schedule a lot of flights. So if you get cancelled it could be days before you fly. Take a look at the schedules at youR airport
 
Mom2Four said:
Thanks for your replies. I am seeing 50 dollar fares to Orlando and that just seems too good to be true.
Click to expand...

We've flown for as little as $40RT on another discount airline NJ to FL. It's not too good to be true as long as you know what if any costs will go above and beyond that. When able we fly with no luggage other than a free personal item under the seat. We have paid to pick our seats, but may skip that next time as well. If you aren't doing the extras that $50 may be it. If you need a checked back that may add another $60 per bag (estimating) round trip. But that can still be cheaper than other airlines. You just need to do the math up front. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't and then you can read their stark raving mad reviews afterwards.
 


Seats don't recline and the pitch (space between rows of seats) is cramped, less than most other airlines. It's tolerable for a flight to Florida, but I couldn't handle anything longer than that.

If you normally travel with checked bags and a carry-on, you might find that Southwest is still the cheaper alternative after adding in Spirit's baggage fees.
 
Yes the seats are cramped. I am 5' 2" and have about 2" for my knee's
By the time you pay for seat assignments, carry on, checked bag both ways you could do better on another airline. Plus if your flight gets canceled you could be looking about several days before you get out. I was at the airport waiting for DH to arrive and there was a Spirit flight cancelled on a Friday night. Those folks were being told it would be Monday before they could get to Vegas.
 
Spirit is a relatively low cost, no frills airline, and as others have said, it's fine for a short flight, and as long as you are aware of all the fees, there should be no nasty surprises. When everything goes normally, they are fine. However, if there are any type of irregular ops (weather delays, flight cancellations, flight crews timing out) that's when you can run into issues. Customer service is less than stellar, it can be difficult to reach CS, there are no interline agreements, and there can sometimes be only a flight or two per day, so you could be waiting a LONG time to get re-booked.

We flew Spirit once years ago for a long weekend trip, and there were significant delays on both the inbound and outbound legs of our trip, significantly cutting into our vacation time. I have not flown with them since. Right now the only way I would fly with them, is if we were flying to FL to stay with my parents, so we would not be out any additional money for non refundable hotels, etc.
 
As PP have noted you need to do the math with all the fees before comparing them to other airlines. If you add in the baggage fees and at least one carry-on fee for your family the price starts to go up quickly. We flew them out of AC once and it was fine, however at that time it was the only flight that day so if there was a maintenance or weather issue we would have easily lost a day at WDW. I'd use them again if I were visiting someone or staying for two or three weeks but not for a 6 or 7 day trip to Disney. Good luck !
 
It is not the fees that would bother me it is the risk that you could lose half of your vacation because they cancel your flight. You could literally be stuck for days until they reschedule you.
 
Don't get me started on how awful Spirit is in every way. As stated by many, that cheap fare is a come-on as they nickle and dime you to death. They routinely delay and cancel flights. If your flight is cancelled there might not be another for a couple of days. Last summer my 17 year old daughter was flying to Orlando to meet another family who were going to pick her up at the airport. Ultimately her flight was cancelled and they unilaterally booked her on the next available flight...which wasn't to Orlando but to Ft. Lauderdale. They have no toll free customer service line and when I finally got through to someone to complain about putting an unaccompanied minor on a flight to the wrong city, they basically said oh well. I wrote to the CEO explaining my outrage (I have left many details out here for brevity) and I received no response whatsoever. AVOID Spirit!!!
 
I've been told their customer service is worse that horrible and you are own your own if something goes wrong.

I have a friend who flew Spirit. He said he would never, ever fly them again and tells everyone not to fly them. Good enough for me.
 
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