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Spirit Airlines (1 Viewer)

Never experienced it myself. From what I understand, they charge you for everything, including carry-ons. 

 
My in-laws fly spirit about 4 times a year to visit us.  My MIL is a deal queen and she has flown for $1 for a trip leg.  Recently I needed to fly last minute and Spirit was about 1/2 the cost of the closest fare.  My first impression was how innovative they were in increasing their per person revenue.  Want more leg room, more $, want to bring luggage, more $, want to have them print your ticket, more $, want a coke, more $, ...

7am flight, no big deal.  Waiting at gate, "Sorry your flight is cancelled, air traffic control issues."  Plenty of other planes were taking off and landing.  Next flight wasn't until 1:30 and had a connection.  Fortunately the flight took off but my connection was delayed.  Did not arrive at my destination until 10pm.

Never again!

 
I take them, because IMO they all stink, so why waste money on a more expensive flight that will stink? 

Know all of the rules before you book and board, they will hit you for anything you don't anticipate ahead of time. Took them round trip twice because the time and price were right. 

My cousin flew with me once and had me dying. Other people waiting to board, and were like, "How is it?" He goes, "They come over the PA and say, 'Welcome to Spirit. You have many choices with your airline carrier, and you've made the worst possible one. Enjoy!"

 
Not once has a flight I've taken with them been on time. Twice they didn't have a flight crew.

Unless you don't have another choice, wouldn't recommend.

 
They charge you for check in or carry on bags (~$35)

If you don't check in ahead of time they charge you to check in at the airport ($10?), however you can print your boarding pass for free.

Randomly assigned seats, but you can pay to pick your seat.

Pay for meals, no soda, no snacks.

If you miss your flight you're SOL. That money is lost and non-applicable to your next purchase.

So as long as you are sure you'll make your flight and check in online ahead of time, even with the baggage fees their prices are very competitive.

For short trips (<2 hours) I have no problem taking Spirit, but I have no problem paying an extra $10-$20 for Southwest just because they are flexible with flight changes/refunds.

 
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I fly it every month from Vegas to Portland to see my daughter.  Been doing it for 4 years.  Only need my backpack so I don't need to pay for bags.  They've been delayed a good percentage,  say 35 percent and I've had one cancelled.  But they are much cheaper than anyone else.  Wouldn't be able to fly as much without  them. 

They charge for everything,  but so does everyone else.  Do you really think bags fly free?  I like the option of not paying for what I don't use.  

 
Took it from Boston to Miami a few years ago when we let one of our "thrifty" buddies book the trip. Most uncomfortable airline I've ever been on. Would rather walk than fly with them again.

 
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You get what you pay for. If price is a big enough factor that you're willing to sacrifice comfort or ANY amenities they're absolutely worth it. If you value the other stuff they're not worth it. 

 
After a great Caribbean island retreat, my friend had booked her return leg to the East Coast from Guatemala City.  Her Guate flight was cancelled so she had to scramble to stay an additional night.  Her rescheduled connecting flight the following day was cancelled, forcing a second nights stay.  Her final flight was delayed.  All in all, a supposed 14 hour, two-connection travel day turned into a 50+ hour,  three day trip to h3ll.

Would strongly advise against Spirit.

I do love their advertising campaign slogans though...

 
Teddy Stickles said:
After a great Caribbean island retreat, my friend had booked her return leg to the East Coast from Guatemala City.  Her Guate flight was cancelled so she had to scramble to stay an additional night.  Her rescheduled connecting flight the following day was cancelled, forcing a second nights stay.  Her final flight was delayed.  All in all, a supposed 14 hour, two-connection travel day turned into a 50+ hour,  three day trip to h3ll.

Would strongly advise against Spirit.

I do love their advertising campaign slogans though...
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Again, I would never take them for anything that requires two stops. OAK to LAX or LAV is as far as I'll go on Spirit.

 
Just imagine a trashed school bus driving down a third world dirt road carrying unshowered people and livestock.  That is better than Spirit.

 
When you add in all the delays and the attitudes and the fact they are simply doing you a favor by even boarding you on to a plane to begin with...Spirit Airlines will get you in the end when you factor in the hidden fees and the quality of the service they provide. 

If you like riding a Greyhound Bus that feels like it just took a football team cross country then you'll feel right at home on Spirit. 

Wife and I took them once and that was enough. Miami to Atlanta I want to say, truly terrible. 

If Spirit could get rid of the seats they could load more folks into the plane, I'm sure they are working on it. 

 
I love spirit airlines.   I fly with them 5-6 times a year.  I find that people who trash Spirit tend to be inexperienced flyers or ignore the fact that they are saving $100 plus each trip.  That being said I mostly fly ft lauderdale to Boston.  That route is a major route for them and they fly it back and forth as a cattle car all day long.  If I was going to X city where you need a connection and they only have one flight there a day I'd be very concerned.

The best thing about spirt airlines is they offer 8-10 first class seats each flight for ~ $40-50 upgrade.  You don't get priority boarding and free drinks with it but you do get a great seat.  In fact I just booked a non stop flights to Bos yesterday for the end of August.  It came out to $260 with the upgrade to "First class".   The same flight with Jet Blue in coach was $306.

i can understand why people don't like them but in all honesty they work for me.

 
I once flew from Clearwater to Asheville, and it was a nightmare.  The plane was like 2 hours late, and there was a guy getting drunk at the bar.  There was an airline employee giving him the stink eye the entire time, just waiting to boot him from the flight.  When we finally board they turn him away.  Then when we are on the flight the count was off on the passengers.  They must have counted everyone 3-4 times, and it was another hour delay sitting on the plane.  The idiots kicked a guy off the flight, and it messed up their count, and they didn't realize it. 

It's hit or miss though.  I flew them 3 other times without a problem.  Just like any airlin I suppose.

 
Build in ~20 bucks per leg for your seat choice and 25 bucks for a bag and then compare price.  Clientele is a step down from other airlines, but boarding is actually a little faster since everyone is too cheap to pay for a bag.

 
The Ref said:
I love spirit airlines.   I fly with them 5-6 times a year.  I find that people who trash Spirit tend to be inexperienced flyers or ignore the fact that they are saving $100 plus each trip.  That being said I mostly fly ft lauderdale to Boston.  That route is a major route for them and they fly it back and forth as a cattle car all day long.  If I was going to X city where you need a connection and they only have one flight there a day I'd be very concerned.

The best thing about spirt airlines is they offer 8-10 first class seats each flight for ~ $40-50 upgrade.  You don't get priority boarding and free drinks with it but you do get a great seat.  In fact I just booked a non stop flights to Bos yesterday for the end of August.  It came out to $260 with the upgrade to "First class".   The same flight with Jet Blue in coach was $306.

i can understand why people don't like them but in all honesty they work for me.
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That's cool and if you are traveling light and can get it all in a carry on and you have your own snacks and can rough it, I bet you do save. We just did not enjoy the experience and I don't see where I save that much with them when I look at Orbitz and the like...I still do well on Orbitz when I fly. 

 
If you're an overweight complainer with a strong sense of self-entitlement (70-80% of Americans), Spirit is probably not for you.

If you can pack light and suck it up for a couple hours like an adult, you can save a ton of money.

 
Craig_MiamiFL said:
Not once has a flight I've taken with them been on time. Twice they didn't have a flight crew.

Unless you don't have another choice, wouldn't recommend.
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This has been my experience as well. I've flown with them on two round trip flights, all four flights were at least two hours late. Both early flights were delay because they didn't have crews, the other two delays were both the fault of Spirit, not the airport or weather.

My wife and I take a handful of weekend trips a year where we can get by with only a backpack which makes Spirit 50% the cost of other airlines, and even if it saves us a few hundred bucks we'll never fly Spirit again. And this is coming from somebody who puts up with Frontier on a regular basis.

 
People have already touched on the nickel and diming, if you can't fly somewhere with no baggage at all, it's not much cheaper.

Flight was delayed multiple times due to "weather in the originating city" (no bad weather at all in the city the plane was coming from), eventually cancelled. Could not get me on another of their flights until 3 days later. Refused to pay the difference, give any voucher, etc. had to fight them for a refund when I found a last minute flight on another airline.

#### them. Will never consider again.

 
have a friend that stilll refuses to use anyone but them, he has flown to TX from AZ 3 times in last 2 years and they lost his bags every time, he is flying Spirit next month when he comes in to save lolololol

 
I'll say this.  It's the least secure and safe I've ever felt in a plane before and I'm a guy who flew on People's Express more than once.  Felt like I was sitting in a used seat somebody bought from Goodwill for $3.  I should have known something was amiss when Priceline eagerly accepted my lowball bid on a one-way flight to Detroit.  I'll pay a little more to not feel like the plane is in the hands of teenagers.

 
Girlfriend flew it once from Vegas to LAX. I flew a different airline that was supposed to leave 1 1/2 hrs after hers. I ended up making it home 2 hours before she did. :lol:   good luck

 
Their planes are still equipped to handle cigarette smokers on long flights across the Atlantic cicra 1970.

Imagine just being teathered to an engine and dragged across the sky

 
I have had horrible luck with Spirit a few times, with one exception: Dallas to Vegas and back. Have done this a few times, and with just a backpack, always had a good flight with no issues. Yeah, the inside of the plane is no Virgin Airlines with their entertainment screens and neon lights, but I'm normally already drunk on my way to Vegas, and drunk/hungover on the way back, so doesn't really matter. Roundtrip under $100. Roundtrip and three nights on the Strip for under $300. Sign me up.

Flying anywhere else in the world: I'll stick with Southwest, AA and Virgin.

 
I've only flown them from LGA to Myrtle, but I'd echo much of what's been said.  We did have one on-time leg, but the other was 1.5 hours late.  Unlike some, it was a new plane and besides for buslike ads for Vegas on the inside of the plane, I didn't think it was any different than Delta/American, etc.  

 
I'll spend a couple extra bucks on flights.

There are places I want the absolute cheapest option.

Planes aren't one of them.

 
The Z Machine said:
You didn't have any bags for a family of 4?
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We stayed in a cabin on an island for 4 days, you don't need much. Everyone had a carry-on backpack for their clothes. I also sent down a box ahead of time via UPS that had fishing gear/food/towels/sleeping bags/cooler/etc. It was waiting for us at the dock when we arrived. It was an awesome little quick-getaway on the cheap.

 
Ministry of Pain said:
Their planes are still equipped to handle cigarette smokers on long flights across the Atlantic cicra 1970.

Imagine just being teathered to an engine and dragged across the sky
Click to expand...
I'm probably going to start to come off as a stock holder soon but as a matter of fact they have the youngest fleet in the United States.

Plenty of reasons not to like the airline but this shouldn't be one of them.

 
After my fist flight with them, I vowed never to return. Customer service is non-existent. If there is a delay or your bags are lost (should you choose to pay), you are #### out of luck.

However, after realizing how much money I had saved, I gave them another try. It was fine. Small seats, and no snacks, but whatever. 

Will definitely fly again.

 
My time is worth more than the money saved.They ranked on the bottom with the worst on-time record for all U.S. based carriers. Screw that.

 
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