Even taking into account all the extra charges, their prices are way lower than the bigger airlines.
On-line reviews seem to fall into one of two camps: “Worst thing ever” or “Best thing ever.” Not much in between.
The most common complaints about Spirit are missed connections due to late planes and lost luggage, but I’m looking at a non-stop flight. Other complaints are surly staff and uncomfortable and/or dirty planes.
Anyone have any anecdotes to share?
I’m going to go with worst thing ever. They nickle and dime you on absolutely everything. The planes are dirty, cramped, and the flights are at the most inconvenient times possible. I don’t remember surly staff; that may be just because I didn’t have much sleep before either flight. It was a worse experience than taking Greyhound for a similar duration. Of course, Greyhound is about 8 times slower…
I’d spend the money and use Southwest. Or whichever other comparable airline. Or, if money is really tight, take Spirit, but realize they will try to charge you for everything. I want to say I remember them charging for carry on bags, but I don’t remember if it was for the first or second carry on bag. I think it was that you could take a laptop or purse on free, but an actual carryon suitcase, they charged for.
Seems appropriate for Spirit - - YouTube
If it’s a short flight, you may be able to deal with the inconvenience(s) in exchange for the savings.
That said, I took a one hour flight to Las Vegas a couple years ago and absolutely hated it. The staff wavered between extremely disorganized and downright rude and the flight itself was beyond uncomfortable. I will never fly Spirit again if I can avoid it (and that’s coming from an avowed cheapskate!)
I fly Spirit between Chicago and Minneapolis numerous times each year. I have very little sympathy for most of the complaints I hear. Spirit charges for luggage, snacks/drinks, etc. This is all spelled out clear as day! If you expect the same experience as you get on a full-service carrier, you’ll be disappointed. Why people expect that from Spirit Airlines and then complain about it, I don’t understand.
Love Spirit. Fly probably on Spirit at least once a month. That being said, it’s not for everyone.
Pros
Cheap. I regularly buy RT tickets to Chicago for $50 or less. Going to Vegas over Christmas, $110 RT. Been to Phoenix for less than $50 RT, Denver about $35. All of these are direct from MSP, good times of the day.
Use their miles, use their credit card. Twelve people from the company are going to a nice Caribbean island in February and we paid $26 and 15k miles RT for each one. No other airline even comes close to that. None.
Newer planes-I think Spirit has the youngest planes out there. I was just on a DASH prop plane last month for USairways, and I think I saw a coffee cup used by Lindburgh on the seat.
Cons
Limited flights- There are some routes that there are only one flight per day. You miss it, you’re shit out of luck. Some routes are ugly as far as time slots.
No cooperation with other airlines-If your plane has any issues, you are waiting until Spirit figures it out. You will not be put on a Delta or American or any other carriers.
TSA Pre-check. Spirit does not have TSA Pre-check, so if the security lines are long, again, shit out of luck
Seat configuration. Par for the industry, they all suck in cattle class.
Bags-If you like to pack everything and the kitchen sink, this is not the airline for you. Not only do they have a bag policy, they ENFORCE it. You will pay $100 at the gate if you think that you are a special snowflake and can slide it by as a carry on. I know if you check bags at the ticket counter or order them online, it’s much cheaper. The only time we have bags is when my husband brings his golf bag with, and I want to say it’s $25.
I bring a backpack at best, a regular sized one, never have had a problem, ever. Very similar to this, if not exactly.
Bags are a big issue for a lot of people. I am a very light traveler, so I have no sympathy at all, just leave your crap at home. I am so tired of having to wait for people to try to stuff their obviously oversized bags into the overhead compartment, plus their oversized purse, plus their laptop case, etc, etc. on other airlines. Spirit doesn’t allow that. You can have checked bags, and I think they’re reasonably priced.
If you want free pop, cookies, peanuts, not going to find it on Spirit. But I can buy a ton of peanuts down in Puerto Rico in February with the money I’m saving.
Now…if I had a quirky mind, I might think that Spirit is a large psychological experiment to determine exactly what limit airline passengers are willing to put up with for X amount of money.
I missed my flight from Boston to Costa Rica on another airline earlier this year and Spirit saved my ass because he had an connection to make when I got to Costa Rica. I literally bought a one-way ticket three hours before my flight left to go to another country and it wasn’t even that expensive. I was skeptical about Spirit and probably would not have taken them otherwise before that but the plane, crew and flight itself were perfectly fine. They even gave me a free upgrade to extra legroom because I am taller than average and was having a bad day. Me and my luggage made it comfortably and on time. I am about to buy another set of tickets and may choose them on purpose this time.
I flew Spirit to Denver and back at the end of June. Dunno that I would use them again. A bunch of kids and one operational toilet on the flight back was a little rough. I paid the extra seat assignment fee both ways to get an exit row seat just for the leg room.
However, I had to quote this for truth. In Denver I watched this woman roll up to the gate with two very large suitcases and try to carry them on. There’s no fucking way either was going to fit in any overhead bin. No idea what she was thinking other than that she was a special snowflake and they’d accommodate her.
It was very satisfying watching her get put down and end up deciding that she was going to walk all the way back through security to the main luggage check point.
Forgot to add.
If you want to save even more money off of airfare, buy the tickets at the airport. You’ll save about $30 for every roundtrip off of online prices. If you’re buying a lot of tickets, this adds up quickly.
Having (previously) never flown them, I was biased against them, but the fare difference was too big to ignore - and this was for business, so I wasn’t even picking up the tab. DAL-ATL was something like $300 on Delta (this is one-way); Spirit, with the add-ons for bag, assigned seat, and exit row, was about $109 (and I booked about a week in advance and selected all the add-ons online, which is extremely important with Spirit).
The staff was as professional as any other domestic airline, and with the exit row seating, comfortable enough. I would consider them again, but the cost difference would have to be fairly heavy to tilt the scales their way.
I agree with this. I flew to and from Vegas and it was the worst. They charged something like $3.00 just for a plastic cup of ice water. Not amusing when you’re broke and hungover.
We flew Spirit from Latrobe (LBE) to Ft. Lauderdale last week. The ticket prices were fantastic, parking is free at LBE, and the airport is only 40 minutes from our house. We paid extra for more legroom, our bags, and travel insurance but we only paid $321.18 for both of us.
The seats were large and comfortable and the plane was clean, as were the restrooms. Our flight was slightly delayed due to the cascade effect of a problem somewhere up the line…and that’s where the fun began.
We left LBE about 10 minutes late and managed to arrive in Florida early, only to discover that THREE other planes were at our gate. We ended up sitting on the tarmac for 40 minutes before being allowed to deplane. This was annoying for us but nearly critical for the people trying to make the connection to Dallas. Once we finally got off the plane, we were sent to the wrong luggage carousel. Fortunately, the correct one was right beside the one we had been sent to. The one with the big “Latrobe” sign on it.
On the plus side, at least they weren’t aggressively shilling their credit card like last September.
Don’t go to Las Vegas if you are broke and don’t blame the airline if you weren’t that way when you arrived there.
I don’t understand these types of criticisms of Spirit. They aren’t a luxury airline but they don’t claim to be. What they are is an a la carte airline that can be nicer than the major carriers if you pay nominal prices for extra services or you can just pretend you are a broke stowaway. In my limited experience, their coach seats are actually nicer than most of the major carriers.
You complained about them charging $3 for water. I don’t recall that in my case but let us assume it is true. A typical round-trip flight on Spirit is usually less than half the price of the major carriers on the routes that I fly. Let’s say it is $250 versus $500. Do you understand how many bottles of water, seat upgrades, snacks and everything else that $250 difference will pay for if you insist on using it? That option is always available but most people choose to keep all of the money or just split the difference where everyone comes out ahead.
We aren’t talking about the European Ryan Airlines here. Spirit has very nice planes with normal seats but well below normal fares and cash services on demand. Almost everyone saves money even on the coach model. Sure, first class flights on a regular airline will serve you a nice meal with unlimited glasses of mediocre wine. It will also cost you well over $1000 or even much more. Most people like to use their money much more wisely than that,
Your experience with them does not jibe with mine. I’m glad you had such a decent time with them. In my case, the planes were not “very nice with normal seats,” they were dirty with seats that were extremely cramped. To be true, that seems to be the new normal, especially if you fly on something like a CRJ (shudder). OTOH, I don’t remember that kind of misery or filth flying Southwest.
What really pissed me off was the carry-on policy, which I thought was damned near deceitfully hidden. I do not check bags normally when I fly. This is because, like flight crew seem to do, I can get everything I need in one rolling suitcase with handle that is a duplicate of what they use. Said suitcase fits effortlessly in an overhead bin, with room for another of said suitcase from my seatmate and plenty of other room besides. For those who don’t travel with luggage, I am puzzled. Do you wear all of the clothes you’ll need for the trip? Do you ship your clothes ahead to your destination? (This is great if your company will pay for it, and what the road warriors I’m familiar with actually do) Do you do as I had to on this Spirit flight, and cram two days worth of stuff in a laptop bag, which went under the seat in front of me? Or do you buy new clothes when you get there?
Anyway, I misunderstood their baggage policy. $25 each way for a bag cuts into that low, low discount price. Which isn’t insanely cheaper than what I’m used to paying. Then again, I buy in advance, use things like kayak.com, and generally try to find the lowest price without weirdness like buying multi-stop tickets and getting out along the way. I don’t need snacks, or water (carry an empty bottle, refill from airport water fountain or bathroom faucet), or blankets or the rest. The airline still sucks despite that.
If your business travel agent forces you to use Spirit…man, your company seems like the epitome of pennywise, pound foolish. They do expect you to actually do work when you arrive, right? Hop right off the redeye, unkink yourself, sponge bath in the airport bathroom and head right out to the client? Hey, if it worked for you, more power to you and I am envious of the conditions you experienced, because they were not mine.
28 inch pitch and no reclining is not “par for the industry.”
If you need to get to your destination on time or want any level of comfort avoid Spirit especially this time of year.
If you travel light, can afford to take an extra day getting to or from, and want the cheapest flight available take spirit.
Personally if you travel a lot spirit is a real drain on patience and I avoid them. They are rude to you when their delays cause you to miss connections. They nickel and dime for everything including rerouting due to thier broken planes.
I have looked into them but the price difference, for me at least, adding in the luggage etc, was never that great enough to induce me to actually book with them.
A bit off topic, but can anyone tell me how much they actually saved by using them?
Thanks.
I should say that only around half of their planes have these extra-crappy seats. The other half of the fleet has perfectly average seats. For now.
Not being argumentative, I’ve just never understood the value of recline. It seems when I try to do it, the seat maybe goes back an inch. This does nothing for me, other than piss off the guy behind me. I have had the passenger in front of me do it and it’s a minor inconvenience.
If I’m trying to cat nap, I put my had down on the tray table, lean against the window, or sprawl/drooll on the stranger next to me.
As to saving money… How about next Wednesday to Saturday, Minneapolis to Phoenix.
Spirit, non stop, roundtrip, $126
(I can get it about $30 bucks cheaper if I buy the ticket in person at the airport, but most people don’t know that, or it’s inconvenient to do. So the $126 is the online advertised price.)
Southwest, non stop $218
Delta $216
United, Frontier about $275
This does not include any extra baggage. Like I said, I travel with a back pack. It you have a lot of luggage, it might make bring the costs closer.
As to flying light. Whether I’m gone for two days, two weeks, or two months, it’s a back pack. I have some “travel clothes” a couple of dresses, 6/7 shirts, 4 shorts/skirts, that can be classy or casual, roll up into a small wrinkle free ball, usually the pair of jeans I’m wearing and a spare, five under wear five socks, maybe an extra bra, swimsuit, small amount of toiletries. May have a sweatshirt and or jacket, depending on where I’m going. Spare set of shoes. If I’m gone for a while, it’s easy to wash clothes, pick up a t-shirt, or if I’m traveling with family, my daughters and I will trade clothes for more options.
This isn’t an expedition to Antarctica, most places planes go to have things called stores and washing machines. It’s easier and cheaper than dragging a couple bags with. That being said, if I’m traveling for work, I can still be pretty casual, I don’t need to pack four suits, and personal trips are even easier.
Last week I flew into Chicago just for the day. I carried nothing but my phone and wallet. That was weird, even for me. I kept wanting to bring a bag, even a small one, but there was no need.
Not everyone travels like I do, I get it. But if you do, Spirit is pretty awesome
I flew Spirit from New Orleans to Dallas. My experience was on par with others. Much cheaper. One has to realize going in that they are a different airline. Everything costs extra. Accept that, and be willing to purchase what you need/expect and you will be OK. Seating is very tight. I would not want to fly on them for more than an hour or at most two, but for short flights-the price difference is worth it. I believe that once a passenger gets used to the Spirit way of doing things, the experience will be fine. If one expects them to operate like United or Delta, then disappointment will ensue. FWIW, the staff at New Orleans and Dallas were very friendly and nice to work with.