The biggest drawback to me with Low Cost guys like Spirit etc is the lack of backup or rescheduling if the plane goes down for maintenance or cancels for weather or other irregular operations. The mainline carriers have more options to get you to your destination.
That said, I decided long ago that for anything more than one hour, it’s premium economy or better for me.
Cheers
We've flown Spirit a lot in the last 7-8 years and have had fewer issues with their flights than the mainline carriers. In just the last three years we've flown eight different airlines. ALL airlines have flight delays due to weather, crew scheduling and maintenance issues. They are a fact of life when you fly.
I've found that when there is an issue with a plane or a delay Spirit is quicker than any other airline we've flown to bring in another plane. I came close to learning that the hard way 4 years ago. There was an hour delay announced for a flight I was on so to kill time I wandered down the corridor and took my time in the ladies room fussing with my hair, etc. I was intending to stroll the opposite way from the gate but stopped first to ask the other people sitting at my gate if they had announced an update on how long the delay was going to be. They had and I had to hustle to get myself over to the new gate.
Spirit had growing pains in their early years and I give their executives a lot of credit for making it a mission to overcome the issues they had. But there are still a lot of people who still have that negative impression of them from their early years. Because they are based out of Fort Lauderdale they make the news here whenever they announce or do anything so we are probably more aware of what goes on with Spirit than most people would likely be. Spirit has grown large enough that I think they should be considered a mainline carrier by now. Although they do still fit into the low cost category.
I find it surprising when people post stuff like Spirit, Frontier or Allegiant only has one flight and may not have another one for several days. That usually tells me that the person isn't very knowledgeable when it comes to airlines and flights. In smaller cities there won't be a plethora of flight choices period and there will only be one or two airlines that have more than one or two choices for dates and times. More airlines fly in and out of larger cities and offer more choices. I'm a fan of any airline that offers nonstop flights without jacking up the prices for those flights compared to their flights that have stops or layovers. There is no where I want to go bad enough to put up with more than one stop or 3+ hour layovers but some people don't have that option because of where they live or are traveling to.
My husband traveled for work and was often stuck flying the mainline carriers. When I was scheduling his flights I knew to not even suggest any flights connecting in Atlanta unless he had no other option, Chicago was right out and never under any circumstances NYC. I'm sure there would have been West Coast cities on his list too but he wasn't traveling in that part of the country for work trips. On one of his last business trips before he retired last year he flew out on Spirit and back on Southwest because using two different airlines gave him the best flight times. When he got home one of the first things he told me was how disappointed he was in the Southwest plane he was on. He said the seats on that plane were no bigger than the seat he had on Spirit and that his seat on Spirit had actually been more comfortable. From what I've been reading passengers should not expect the same flight experiences that they have had in the past with the mainline carriers.
Just for our family's personal use, not including my husband's business trips, I've booked and paid for
over 100 flights in the last 6 years. And I've flown most of them. Not everyone has the same criteria that I do. I am ALL about the price and having nonstop flights whenever possible. We would not do what we do if I was paying the prices other airlines charge. I fly up to get our granddaughters and bring them down for their vacations with us so that is 4 roundtrip flights at least 3 times a year. Our older granddaughter is now 7.5 and I have been making these trips, flying with her, since she was 18 months old. The younger one is now 2.5. I would not be flying an airline that stranded me at the airport with a toddler or one that I experienced repeated long flight delays! I love our granddaughters and they are excellent travelers but being stranded at the airport or long flight delays falls in the just shoot me now category. I also sometimes go visit our son and his family. I pay for the flights when our son and his family come down here. And my husband and I were flying 3 times a year for vacations too. I never pay to pick the seats as none of us are tall enough to really need the extra leg room. I have never had any airline not seat the girls with me or our son or DIL. I know to pay for any bags when I book the flights and know that on Spirit checked bags are cheaper than carry on bags. My husband and I or the two girls and I can easily share a checked bag and we all have the wheeled under the seat bags that are considered your personal item. I actually prefer taking our own snacks as I try to have more nutritious snacks and we all take an empty water bottle to fill up after we get through security.
Some people aren't good at searching out stuff on the internet or just plain don't want to do any work to figure out anything when it comes to travel plans. Flights, rental cars, or their stays. We have friends who are like that. Some people fly once a year or every couple of years and flying is part of the whole vacation experience for them so they want first class on an airline that offers all the bells and whistles. If they are happy that is their business but I often wonder if they would make the same choice if they knew more or had more experience.
