… since this discussion? They are offering ridiculously low airfares ($150 roundtrip, Boston to New Orleans) but I am, perhaps understandably, a bit leery.
They stranded my kid over a thousand miles from his destination, for two days, with no remuneration or compassion, so I wouldn’t take the chance.
Has Spirit Airlines gotten any better?
They couldn’t have gotten any worse. I would avoid them at all costs. You get what you pay for.
They are no worse than they were previously. Like any transportation option they have their advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage is low price (assuming you aren’t checking luggage or changing your flight, etc.) and some convenient routes and times. The biggest disadvantages are lack of comfort, lots of add on charges, and in event of a problem you won’t be put on another airline’s flights to get home.
One of my gf’s aunt/uncle absolutely LOVE Spirit. They have a home in Latrobe, PA about three miles from Arnold Palmer Airport, which is a quaint lil airport with free parking and other amenities. They live in Latrobe June-October.
They have a second home in a gated village in Florida where they live November-May. Spirit has flights between their two locations, so it works out amazingly well for them.
I live near Atlantic City International - a small airport with, I think, 8 gates. Spirit is the only scheduled airline. We fly Spirit quite a bit to Florida and South Carolina and other than cramped seating, I have no real complaints. I can park, go to the counter and buy already cheap tickets for even less (usually). If I get lucky (less than 20 minutes), I don’t even have to pay to park.
I’ve heard the best way to judge an airline’s service is by what they do when things go wrong, not by what they do when everything is normal. The legacy airlines all have agreements with each other so that when a flight gets canceled, if they can’t rebook you on one of their flights they can rebook you on another airline. Spirit does not have these agreements with other airlines. And they generally have far fewer flights to their destinations. So if a flight is canceled there may not be another Spirit flight with an open seat for several days.
That all being said, if you’re the gambling type, and know what your worst case scenario could be like, don’t let me stop you…
In fact, I used to travel as cheaply as possible and hang the inconvenience. One time (in the Early Oughts) I used an el cheapo travel site and got a combination airfare/hotel deal (a week in London and a flight from O’Hare for less than a thousand).
BUT they wouldn’t reveal the details until I bought the deal. Well, I spent half a day and overnight flying everywhere… CHI>DET>ATL>NYC>GATWICK. And I had to walk two miles with my luggage on my back because they switched hotels on me… and my room was the size of a London cab… but I didn’t care, I had a blast!
I accept that flying sucks. The rushing, the crowding, the cattle car atmosphere, security theater, are all things I absolutely hate.
As long as I have to endure this shitty situation, I might as well spend as little as possible for the experience. That and 100 mg of THC swallowed while waiting to go through security.
Part of the reason Spirit and the other discount airlines are so inexpensive is that they provide fewer services in the event of flight cancellation or delay. So you’re not buying the same product with Spirit as you are with one of the major carriers. If flights are on time then everything is fine. If flights are delayed or cancelled you can pretty much forget about the trip.