Spirit- out of their minds?

[crazymomof4]

WTH is up with Spirit? I searched flights out of PHL to MCO for June 6th (Anniversary trip DH and I).
The cheapest flight out of several Spirit has that day is $366! Some of Frontier's flights for the same day are literally 1/4 of that!
Did they bump their heads?
There HAS to be an explanation!!

 

[FCDub]

Fly Frontier then? If anything, this is a blessing in disguise that Spirit won’t be an option for you.

 

[crazymomof4]

Yes! Actually happy to be able to exclude them. Flew them once and wasn't impressed.
Was posting to find out if anyone knows of an explanation for this. Seems really bizarre.

 

[amcnj]

Could it just be they haven’t lowered fares for those flights yet? Some relatives who fly Spirit monitor the flights they are interested in and at some point say the prices drop. Not sure how far out that is or if it happens all the time, as I would imagine a busy time might instead see prices rise as the plane fills.

 

[Dis703]

I find that those discount airlines can have drastic price differences day to day. But they also go higher the more the flight is booked up and then drop for sales periodically closer to the date to fill up the last of the empty seats. So maybe they have just booked up a lot more of that flight than Frontier has at this point? But I'd happily fly Frontier any day of the week so I'd go ahead and book with them personally.

 

[crazymomof4]

I find that those discount airlines can have drastic price differences day to day. But they also go higher the more the flight is booked up and then drop for sales periodically closer to the date to fill up the last of the empty seats. So maybe they have just booked up a lot more of that flight than Frontier has at this point? But I'd happily fly Frontier any day of the week so I'd go ahead and book with them personally.

We flew Frontier once coming home from MCO and had no issues. My brother lives in Charlotte and flies them A LOT and likes them. Really cheap Charlotte to Trenton NJ!
The raising and lowering rates thing is tough for me. I usually book Southwest with my points and then just rebook the price drops. Not being familiar with Frontier's patterns of rate hikes and drops, I'm unsure of when would be the best time to "pull the trigger" and then, once it's done, it's done. If rates drop, I'll feel like "darn! should have waited". LOL its like the playing stock market.
Any tips, Dis703?

 

[easyas123]

I see you are flying out of PHL - not sure where you are at but Frontier is starting to fly out of New Castle, DE again soon. I *think* n/s to MCO is one of the routes. We are smack inbetween BWI &PHL so I'm always looking at both airports as a option, but I can be in New Castle /Christiana Mall thanks to the new 301/Rt1 road outside of Middletown in 40-45 minutes. So nice when we are usually so far from a airport.

I'm going to try them out later this spring/summer as I anticipate needed to fly into Florida again.

 

[crazymomof4]

I see you are flying out of PHL - not sure where you are at but Frontier is starting to fly out of New Castle, DE again soon. I *think* n/s to MCO is one of the routes. We are smack inbetween BWI &PHL so I'm always looking at both airports as a option, but I can be in New Castle /Christiana Mall thanks to the new 301/Rt1 road outside of Middletown in 40-45 minutes. So nice when we are usually so far from a airport.

I'm going to try them out later this spring/summer as I anticipate needed to fly into Florida again.

Thanks! We are closest to PHL but my brother most often flies Frontier into/out of Trenton -a little further drive but a more relaxed part of I-95 to drive on than past center city and the sports complex, so that's a plus! I will watch for the New Castle option!

 

[ClapYourHands]

I’m not an expert, but I’ve noticed Spirit usually has really high prices several months out. It’s like they really aren’t ready for you to book, but if you insist they’ll take your money.

Try doing a search around your dates. Are the other dates that high? Then search a few weeks earlier, and so on.

 

[crazymomof4]

I’m not an expert, but I’ve noticed Spirit usually has really high prices several months out. It’s like they really aren’t ready for you to book, but if you insist they’ll take your money.

I like this theory!!


I am not really looking to fly Spirit, but I thought, "Hey they are usually among the cheapest, so why not give them a look." When I saw the price I thought I had accidentally entered Budapest in the destination box!!

 

[NJ Goofy]

Seems like all the weekends in June list that $366 price but if you fly mid-week its quoted at $141, but I have no idea why the big jump. We booked Spirit out of PHL for May 1st (a Friday) with a return on the 8th. With the whole package (wide seat, checked bag, carry-on, etc.) it was $296.00 round trip. US Air was @ $424.00, and there wasn't many other choices that worked for us time wise.

 

[DebbieB]

I’ve found they start high and drop later.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Most airlines start dropping prices about 10 weeks prior to your departure date. When shopping, I've noticed Spirit is either way in front of the crowd ( like dropping the prices 6 months out ) or a bit behind ( they sometimes release after they see what other airlines are doing ).

The day of the week you are searching can be an indicator too - with most major airlines booking your flights on a Tuesday will show you lower fares ( not the day of travel, the actual day you book the ticket ).

 

[crazymomof4]

Most airlines start dropping prices about 10 weeks prior to your departure date. When shopping, I've noticed Spirit is either way in front of the crowd ( like dropping the prices 6 months out ) or a bit behind ( they sometimes release after they see what other airlines are doing ).

The day of the week you are searching can be an indicator too - with most major airlines booking your flights on a Tuesday will show you lower fares ( not the day of travel, the actual day you book the ticket ).

Thanks! I'm playing the waiting (and watching) game. I have an alarm on my phone to remind me to check every Tue. Frontier's seat fee seems high. The flights I'm looking at, the seat fees *start* at $25 and go up to $72! (at least that's where they were last time I checked)
For me, this is the hardest part of planning a vaca, because I'm such a "lets get all the ducks in a row" type of person. My friend is just the opposite. If she is leaving on a Thur, she still hasn't secured airfare on the Monday of that week!!! and she's packing her suitcase Thur, 2 hours before she has to leave for the airport. We always laugh at how differently we vacation and how things always work out just fine for both of us!