Tell me why or why not spirit airlines

[qv09vvp]

Southwest not releasing holiday travel now till late June has me searching for alternatives. Spirit has an amazing number of flights for when I'm looking in December.

Thoughts? First hand experiences?

 

[Ben E N]

Why - Its cheap. And I've actually enjoyed my trips using them. No frills, but I didn't expect any.
Why not - If something goes wrong, you're stuck.

 

[tnolan]

I have told this story before, but I believe in advice, so I will tell it again. The first time a friend went to Disney with me, she had Spirit as her airline. A half hour before we were to leave on the last day, she got a text that said her flight had been cancelled. No suggestions for alternate flights or anything, just that her flight had been cancelled. She was very upset while I hastily (luckily) managed to find her a seat on a Delta flight going home. As mentioned by Ben E N, if something goes wrong you are stuck, literally. Never never again with that airline. And when you add in all the *extra charges* for a seat, etc, they turn out not to be as cheap as you first thought. Choose another airline for your own sake.

 

[DomesticPrincess]

If you go in expecting any sort of service you are going to have a bad time. That's pretty much it.

I have flown most of the budget airlines at some point. I've never had a budget airline cancel a flight on me, but I have had a flight delayed. Worst delay I ever had was Delta and the worst CS experience I've had was with AA when they canceled a flight and wanted to refuse me a refund, neither of which are discount airlines. All the upper management at my work got caught when Delta canceled a flight due to lack of available equipment recently and received no help rescheduling. As far as I am aware airlines don't help you reschedule it is on you to make arrangements. I've always been told it is best to get in line at a booking kiosk at the airport, but go ahead and rebook online using the app on your phone. In the end I had to get my credit card's dispute involved with the AA cancellation and it took several days before I received my credit back.

For me the worst part of budget flights is not getting a carry on included because I'm sure not paying for one. It isn't even so much the space issue as it is the convenience of having a wheeled bag that sits nicely. I'm getting older and carrying a heavy bag is more of an issue for me than it used to be.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

if there is an issue with the aircraft you might not get on the next flight for days. I just saw this happen at Spring break. A flight going to Las Vegas was canceled and they were telling people the next flight they could get them on would be in 3 days! Its no wonder they had 3 police officers standing behind the counter when this happened. People were so mad.

 

[Darcy03231]

We flew them once and never again. Flight itself was fine. Seats were small and uncomfortable. You pay extra for everything, so the initial low fare price ended up being just about the same as what we would have paid for any other carrier once you added all the fees in.

A co-worker flies them all the time as she has a condo in Florida she visits regularly. She's had flights canceled and has been stuck for a couple of days before they can get her home. For her it's not an issue as she has a place to stay, clothes, etc. Flight cancellations don't happen all the time, but enough that we joke about it. By contrast, we flew American recently and missed our connection in Miami due to weather. They just booked us on the next flight and we were home 14 hours later than we were originally scheduled for.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

I have not actually flown Spirit, but every time I price them I totally abandon the idea for one of two reasons. One, the flights are never direct for my vacation plans and any discount is so minimal, it's not worth wasting another 6 or so hours just getting to my destination. Two, I vacation for 10 to 14 days and cannot travel with only a carry on. Adding on the price of one checked bag per traveler always brings the cost up to or exceeds the cost of Southwest.

 

[qv09vvp]

if there is an issue with the aircraft you might not get on the next flight for days. I just saw this happen at Spring break. A flight going to Las Vegas was canceled and they were telling people the next flight they could get them on would be in 3 days! Its no wonder they had 3 police officers standing behind the counter when this happened. People were so mad.

So your saying fly to Disney on a reputable airline but book the return flight with Spirit?

 

[beccasmom]

My cousin flew Spirit from Pittsburgh to Orlando (WDW) last summer. Her departure was delayed more then 3 hours (no weather issues in either city - perhaps mechanical?) and her flight home scheduled for noon left Orlando at 11 p.m. (flight crew issue). And she said the planes were “filthy”.

And I had a discussion with a friend last evening who flew Spirit from Philly to Myrtle Beach two weeks ago. The price was right, but he said he’ll never use them again and will go back to Southwest. He didn’t like being charged for everything, although I pointed out that he should have known that going in; I believe someone else in their group made the travel arrangements.

We’ve never used them and haven’t been tempted; we stick with Southwest or American. I know we’re fortunate to have a choice. If we didn’t we’d consider using another airport.

 

[jeff_h]

We've taken 2 trips RIC-MCO and both legs on each trip were right on schedule and zero issues- and I'll be booking with them again for 2 more upcoming trips.

 

[Jimsig]

if there is an issue with the aircraft you might not get on the next flight for days. I just saw this happen at Spring break. A flight going to Las Vegas was canceled and they were telling people the next flight they could get them on would be in 3 days! Its no wonder they had 3 police officers standing behind the counter when this happened. People were so mad.

I have posted this numerous time but I feel it always needs repeating. Friend of the families had his return flight cancelled from MCO to BOS. They told him earliest they could get him home was in 7 days. Of course they told him he was welcome to come back everyday and try for a standby seat. He ended up renting a car and driving back with someone else as others airlines walk up prices were outrageous.

Spirit also does not have any interline agreements to put there passengers on other airlines when there are issues. I once was flying on Continental and they out me on a Delta flight at no cost to me to get me home as they had an issue. Now SW and JB don't have interline agreements either but they also have a lot more flights so when there is an issue it's not usually that big of a deal.

With Spirit when things go right there are no issues, but when things go wrong they seem to really go wrong.

 

[EACarlson]

So your saying fly to Disney on a reputable airline but book the return flight with Spirit?

I'm actually looking at recommending this to my SIL for our trip in Nov. Cheapest price I can find is Delta there with a layover in ATL and a Spirit non-stop home. Price difference might make it worth it.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I took Spirit back in the day before they started nickel and diming with seat purchases, bag purchases etc. ( Don't they all now ) We did the Big Seats which was worth it at the time for the extra space. We had no issues but I wouldn't fly them again because it something goes wrong you're stuck. Yes, that can happen with any airline to a certain point but in my market, the other airlines have more flights so my odds of getting to/from are better on other carriers.

 

[writerguyfl]

Southwest not releasing holiday travel now till late June has me searching for alternatives. Spirit has an amazing number of flights for when I'm looking in December.

Thoughts? First hand experiences?

This question gets asked often. Here's a recent thread with more opinions on this topic:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/spirit-airlines.3735295/

As far as I am aware airlines don't help you reschedule it is on you to make arrangements.

This statement is completely false. You even acknowledge that fact by writing the following:

I've always been told it is best to get in line at a booking kiosk at the airport, but go ahead and rebook online using the app on your phone.

Those people are there to help rebook passengers who have canceled flights. The app is also a form of help to rebook.

All the upper management at my work got caught when Delta canceled a flight due to lack of available equipment recently and received no help rescheduling. As far as I am aware airlines don't help you reschedule it is on you to make arrangements.

Complete speculation, but I imagine this happened because those people booked through a corporate travel agency. When a flight gets canceled, it's up to the travel agency to deal with the recovery. That's part of the reason why airlines pay commissions to those agencies...it means one less person for the airline to deal with directly in these situations. So, that's probably a complaint against your company's travel agency, not the airline.

 

[Darcy03231]

If you go in expecting any sort of service you are going to have a bad time. That's pretty much it.

I have flown most of the budget airlines at some point. I've never had a budget airline cancel a flight on me, but I have had a flight delayed. Worst delay I ever had was Delta and the worst CS experience I've had was with AA when they canceled a flight and wanted to refuse me a refund, neither of which are discount airlines. All the upper management at my work got caught when Delta canceled a flight due to lack of available equipment recently and received no help rescheduling. As far as I am aware airlines don't help you reschedule it is on you to make arrangements. I've always been told it is best to get in line at a booking kiosk at the airport, but go ahead and rebook online using the app on your phone. In the end I had to get my credit card's dispute involved with the AA cancellation and it took several days before I received my credit back.

For me the worst part of budget flights is not getting a carry on included because I'm sure not paying for one. It isn't even so much the space issue as it is the convenience of having a wheeled bag that sits nicely. I'm getting older and carrying a heavy bag is more of an issue for me than it used to be.

That's not true for American. They were extremely helpful in getting us rebooked when we missed our connecting flight due to weather. We went to the help kiosk and they people there were super nice, friendly and went out of their way to check the best options for us. They also offered us free non-alcoholic drinks and snacks while we waited. I've also used the JetBlue help kiosk for canceled flights and had pretty near the same experience as I did with American - minus the drinks and snacks.

 

[Dis703]

I haven't flown Spirit myself, but my understanding is they work very much the same as Frontier, which is a budget airline that charges for everything a la carte and has limited flights available. My MIL uses them all the time and hasn't had any issues and a friend just used them for Disney last week and was happy with her experience as well.

I read many of the same complaints about Frontier, yet I fly them now about 5-6 times a year, and knock on wood, it's been mostly great experiences so far. Just make sure you know the pricing structure and what you really need when making that comparison and be aware of potentially limited flight times before you make your decision.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

I never have flown with Spirit because of all of the add-on charges. By the time I get everything added in Southwest is almost the same. Also, I prefer non-stop flights. Too easy to miss a connection with flight delays. Cheers!!!!!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

For me the worst part of budget flights is not getting a carry on included because I'm sure not paying for one.

Paying in advance to check your carry-on is less expensive than carrying it on. It's intentional. Fewer carry-ons overhead, the faster the plane can load and depart.

As far as I am aware airlines don't help you reschedule it is on you to make arrangements.

Legacy carriers have interline agreements, so if just a single flight is cancelled (equipment, crew over hours, etc.) they do rebook you - if necessary on a competing airline. Budget airlines like Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant not so much. Rebooking is limited to their own flights.

Two, I vacation for 10 to 14 days and cannot travel with only a carry on.

If you can stream today's Strahan+Sara, about halfway through they were demonstrating how to pack light for a long trip.

 

[Dbktmc]

If you do end up having a problem it is just about impossible to get in touch with anyone at Spirit. I've had problems and so have friends of mine and you just can't find a way to contact anyone at corporate.

That being said, they fly out of my local airport (10 minutes away from my house) and the closest airport after that is about 1 1/2 away from my house. Having a direct flight so close to home convinces me to book them every single time. However, if they ever leave my local airport I would fly on any other airline before using them.

 

[Disneypro1]

Spirit has the lowest paid pilots. IWould drive over flying spirit. Southwest is our goto. Frontier I would also fly. Delta, United. Too. But spirit. No
I’m not saying you won’t get there safe. It’s just the greyhound of air travel. And fees galore. I have a mlitary friend that now flies with Southwest. He also stated with the pay spirit pilots get. You get the bottom feeders. He wouldn’t fly them either.