Anyone fly Spirit Airlines?

[frugaltravel]

I will avoid businesses like Spirit. There business model is much like the "shop supplies" charge when you get your car fixed or the "recycling fee" when you get the oil changed - start out cheap then add away.

 

Charge what you need up front and be done with it. People travel with luggage - its part of moving your a$$ from one place to the next.

 

Now I realize Spirit is not the only airline that does it - it's a low point for the entire indusrty. Someone will correct me if I am wrong but the industry is taxed at a different rate (lower) for "add ons" (aka luggage fees) than on the base airfare - thus the move to charging for all the extras. So thank the government for the state of the industry.

 

Regardless, I don't fit in 28" seat pitch so that rules out Spirit.

 

Happy Travels !

JK

 

You are correct on many points but not all (Spirit has 30" seat pitch at least on most flights according to Seat Guru - still tight!). But yes, most airlines have the ala carte pricing now. I don't think the entire blame is on the federal government. Consumers have shown over and over again that they want "cheap" when it comes to air travel. That is one reason why airlines like Spirit have popped up - they know many consumers don't read the fine print - heck they don't even read the obvious print with this thread being a great example. So most US airlines charge a basic price then add to it for checked luggage, food on board, priority boarding, priority seating, you name it. Yes, these "extras" are not subject to the 7.5% transportation tax, but that is only a part of the story. American Airlines touted their 'more room in coach' years ago. But people shunned it and kept flying the cheapest airline. AA eventually got rid of that idea (though now, years later, they are bringing it back like other airlines and charging extra for the few rows that have it).

 

And actually, for informed consumers who know what they are buying and comparison shop, ala carte pricing might work out best for them. They only buy the items they know that they will use. If everything were included, then everyone pays for the checked luggage that I have and for the snacks that you have, even though another person has neither.

[pbsteve]

So here's what I found, United has a flight at 530am, landing just before 10am in miami, which will work, as they have 3 more flights the same day that land in miami before 3pm in case there's an issue with one. They will charge 30 more total than spirit (with all add-ons). So I booked that flight.

 

Now for the odd part from united. I live Half way between Ohare and Milwaukee, in fact its a 5 minute difference driving (40 min each). I fly ORD (ohare) to MIA (miami) non-stop the morning of the cruise. on the way home, we fly West Palm Beach (PBI) and end our journey at MKE (milwaukee). This is fine for us, as we have family in Florida we will be having lunch with before we fly home. Our return flight has a layover at ORD for 1hr40min, before we switch planes and fly to milwaukee (also fine by us). The strange part is. if we wanted to just go home from ORD, (essentially getting us home more than 2 hours earlier) the flight would cost 150 MORE than getting on another flight and landing in MKE....

What kind of business model is this? we are essentially getting a free flight (at least free miles), moreso, I'm getting a $150 discount to take more miles.

 

Hopefully, we can carry everything on going home, and just get off at ORD, skipping the last leg of the flight all-together, without booking that way. I may make 1 lucky standby flyer happy to get home.

 

 

EDIT: it's American Airlines, not United

[Francinecruisegirl]

I must say that i am a fan of spirit airlines. I live in southern new jersey about 20 minutes from phila international airport and about 50 minutes from atlantic city airport wheere spirit flies. When you board a plane i atlantic city , you are in the air within ten minutes. I had to wait over an hour more than once in phl.

Maybe weve been lucky but after about eight spirit flights, we have neer had a dirty plane aan have always flown on time.

We do check our baggage online and once my wifes wifes siutcase was two pounds over and they didn't charge us.

[tntwolf07]

Spirit is what it is, Cheap, no frills, get on the plane sit down and just wait to get to your destination. I fly Spirit often but i must admit, I would never fly spirt if i was leaving on a cruise the same day. Being From las vegas i have to fly the day before when cruising out of Miami. The price is a lot cheaper, and i always fly the red eye landing in the morning the day before my cruise.

 

So I take the Thursday night flight that leaves at 11pm and arrives Friday morning at 7am (Non-stop too:)). Even if that flight gets canceled or something happens there are still 4 more flights for me to catch witrh plenty of time.

 

I can usually get 2 Non-stop tickets for around $500.

[tex_toby]

I flew Spirit last week for the first time and had a great experience. I flew round trip nonstop both ways from Dallas to Chicago and back for a grand total of $108. That's cheap! I had read the horror stories of Spirit and was quite worried, but all for nothing. Not to mention, the plane was like brand new. Yes, the seats are cramped and I was fully aware of the luggage/carry-on fees. They do let you travel with a personal item for free that fits under the seat in front of you. I flew with a backpack for free. My flight to Chicago left on time and arrived early. My flight home was delayed by an hour, but there was heavy snow in Chicago and were waiting on the pilot to arrive from a flight coming in from Chicago. With the weather, it was understandable. I can't blame the airline for that. Bring your own drink and snacks (or buy some onboard), go with an open mind and appreciate the bargain that it is. I will fly Spirit again and already have future flights booked to LAX later this year.

[waterbug123]

I flew Spirit last week for the first time and had a great experience..... Yes, the seats are cramped and I was fully aware of the luggage/carry-on fees..... Bring your own drink and snacks (or buy some onboard), go with an open mind and appreciate the bargain that it is.

 

Unfortunately, too many people SAY they have an open mind....They THINK they have an open mind....They convince themselves that they DO have an open mind. But it is all posturing, in order to justify (to themselves) going with the bargain basement carrier. In the end, when all the things they said/thought they were ok with come to pass (cramped seats, check-in fees, overweight bag fees, overhead bin fees, drink costs, etc.) it dawns on them that they really don't like that and weren't as open-minded as they thought, and so the complaints begin. :rolleyes:

 

Good for you, though, for seeing Spirit for what it is (and isn't), going with the flow, and enjoying your bargain airfare! :)

[tex_toby]

Unfortunately, too many people SAY they have an open mind....They THINK they have an open mind....They convince themselves that they DO have an open mind. But it is all posturing, in order to justify (to themselves) going with the bargain basement carrier. In the end, when all the things they said/thought they were ok with come to pass (cramped seats, check-in fees, overweight bag fees, overhead bin fees, drink costs, etc.) it dawns on them that they really don't like that and weren't as open-minded as they thought, and so the complaints begin. :rolleyes:

 

Good for you, though, for seeing Spirit for what it is (and isn't), going with the flow, and enjoying your bargain airfare! :)

 

That's a very good point. Some people will just complain about anything.