Spirit Airlines

[Mimi]

My daughter booked flights for her and our grandchildren online with Spirit for November 2008. The fares were reasonable, however after she provided her credit card information, she learned in addition to paying for luggage, they had to pay for seats on the airline! Since these flights are connecting, every seat costs something. The middle seats are $5., window/aisle seats are $10. and seats with Xtra leg room go for $15. Airlines are really getting rediculous!

 

[Cathyb]

what kind of good spirit is that!

 

["Roger"]

Spirit Airlines is the leader in ala carte pricing. What other airlines have been doing lately (charge for first bag, etc.) are small potatoes. The defenders of Spirit claim that, price wise, you still come out ahead, but you sort of are shooting blind as to how much a ticket really cost until you have actually taken the flight.

 

[djs]

Can't one just not pick a seat and have one automatically assigned at check-in for free?

 

[Flo]

We use Spirit a lot but have grown disenchanted with their nickel and dime-ing policy. But yes, if you just show up at the airport, you'll get your seat for free. A disadvantage of this is that if you're traveling with others, you may not be sitting together. And you may be near the bathroom!

 

[Talent312]

Spirit pricing is attractive, even with their add-ons, which are not uncommon among LCC's. However, what turns me off is their non-existent customer service. From the reports I've read, they're good at herding cattle, but if anything goes wrong or you need some special attention, good luck.

 

[zazz]

Ultimately, you can pay a decent fare and get nickel and dimed or you can pay full fare. I am flying US Scare to New Orleans over Labor Day for close to $300 and will still have to pay for drinks, checked baggage and a decent seat if I want it.

But middle seats near the bathroom are free.

 

[IslandAnne]

No Customer Service

I've flown Spirit 3 times but never again! They ruined a brand new large suitcase in April. I followed all their rules; showed it to their agent; had her write a report; I filled out a report and mailed it in; sent in the repair bill and there is no response. I sent the letter and material to the people I was told to send it to plus the President, head of Customer Service, etc. and not one word from anyone. I don't know how they expect to have customers when they have absolutely no customer service. I'll pay a bit more and get the respect and customer service that other airlines offer.:annoyed:

 

[kjsgrammy]

Booked tickets thru Travelocity on a non-stop flight out of Detroit to Orlando on Spirit for daughter, sil, and 2 grandkids for last week in October, 2008. Spirit has changed their flight 4 times so far, once changing non-stop to a 6 hour stop over in Ft. Lauderdale (I think) before heading to Orlando. Daughter complained to Travelocity and they did get them back onto a non-stop flight. Daughter is afraid this won't be last time for changing times/flight and insists she will never use Spirit again - no matter how cheap flight is.

 

[Transit]

I've flown Spirit 3 times but never again! They ruined a brand new large suitcase in April. I followed all their rules; showed it to their agent; had her write a report; I filled out a report and mailed it in; sent in the repair bill and there is no response. I sent the letter and material to the people I was told to send it to plus the President, head of Customer Service, etc. and not one word from anyone. I don't know how they expect to have customers when they have absolutely no customer service. I'll pay a bit more and get the respect and customer service that other airlines offer.:annoyed:

Same thing happened to me .I put in a complaint with the BBB and they didn't respond to that either.I flown 3 times with them recently (supercheap) and you definantly get what you pay for.

 

[Talent312]

... I don't know how they expect to have customers when they have absolutely no customer service. I'll pay a bit more and get the respect and customer service that other airlines offer.:annoyed:

They expect to have customers becuz they know that no matter how they treat past customers, there will always be more to fill their seats, lured by their low advertised prices. Its a good deal for those who have no expectations beyond being treated like a sardine in a can... which is what many travellers are willing to settle for.

 

[Jennie]

My husband used Spirit for a last minute situation about a year ago because they had a significantly lower fare than the competition. This was before any other airline was charging extra for checked luggage, seat selection, non-alcoholic beverages, and snacks. Spirit charged him extra for all of the above. Hubby said he was surprised he didn't have to insert a dollar bill or credit card to use the bathroom :annoyed: .

 

[CMF]

Boy, I'm glad I searched TUG for info on Spirit before booking with them!

Thanks guys and gals!

Charles

 

[Transit]

I still use Spirit because the flights are so low priced when they have sales.The customer service still sucks.Yes ,they nickel and dime you for seats and luggage but if you can get by that stuff you can fly really dirt cheap.

 

[Kelso]

:ignore: but if you buy the Big Seats, then you don't pay extra for your seats. I think the Big Seats are a bargain if you buy early.

 

[hajjah]

I flew Spirit Air for the first time last July to St. Maarten. I had to pay for the luggage, and $12.00 per seat for each connection. Even though the initial price of the ticket was good, by the time I paid for the connections both ways and the luggage, it came to over $75.00. Then, to top it off, there were no jacks on the plane to listen to music. When they say no frills, they truly mean no frills. Not even a soda was available for purchase. I decided that the cheaper fare was not worth it.

 

[frankhi]

I've flown spirit to cancun and aruba and just booked to puerto rico in March. The fare to PR from MCO was 32 ea way non-stop flights at great times of day. I got asile seats next to each other (which is what we want) for $5 so its 37 ea way. The baggage is handled by the airport baggage people not by the airline itself, it is the automated conveyers that damage the baggage, I think. The planes I have been on are clean and relatively roomy.

 

[Twinkstarr]

We flew Spirit last summer Detroit-Myrtle Beach, decided to fly instead of driving since we got a pretty good deal even with the seat charge(which Air Tran does also).

Found customer service to be okay in Detroit, you're one of the 1st flights out at 6am they are still fresh and unsurly.

Gate agents at Myrtle Beach were really nice, felt sorry for them and the flight crew coming back as you had I'm guessing Mom, Grandma and two preschool/toddler "Princess" girls who didn't do the extra to sit together and held up the plane for a good 20 minutes. It was so long the pilot walked back to see what was going on.

Well it was a good enough experience that I booked them for MLK weekend down to Orlando. Got one of the $9 fares, so the total with the seat selection(which always) cost me $596 for 4.

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

What's the "Big Seat" option?
Liz

 

[Bruce W]

Big Front Seat

The first 3 or 4 rows have a 2/2/configuration, rather than 3/3. There is no first class. Gives you more seat and leg room. Pricing varies, depending on destination and time.

We were fortunate last January, had to go to a funeral in Florida ( that was not fortunate), actually got the Big Front Seats for less than the coach seats.

Usually, though, $50 to $100 more, if available. You can see pricing on the Spiritair.com site