anyone flown Spirit Air

[skideeppow]

I found a super cheap fare. But I have heard horror stories on this airline.

Anyone have personal experience?

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I've been lucky, but have heard "never again" from a few folks. The common problem seems to be "weather" delays and cancellations that other airlines aren't experiencing. They don't have enough planes/routes to pick up the slack when something goes wrong.

[flyandski365]

Just know what you're getting into - they will nickel and dime the shit out of you.

[Timberridge]

[savemeasammy]

We've had good luck with Spirit. They will nickel and dime you though, so there is that. We've done Boston to Myrtle Beach many times without incident.

[N1CK.]

I used to fly a regular round-trip for $48.49, non stop. If you can travel very light (as in a backpack), bring your own snack/drink I say go for it. Once you start adding baggage, choosing your seat, etc. it's no less expensive than other airlines. Sure their service sucks, but flying 1,000+ miles for $25 I'd expect that.

[Danno]

I will never fly them, heard too many horror stories, and I always need at least a carryon.

[brutah]

they suck, but you can get places very cheaply if you play your cards right. flew to colombia from denver for around $300 a few years back

[nutmegchoi]

I have and it was okay.
Except our non-traditional flight attendant thought she was very funny and everybody else was after to out do her.
There were a lot of (not) funny people in that flight.
1.5hr flight felt pretty long.

[smartyiak]

I've had good luck and cheap flights...just know what you're buying.

For example: at O'hare, Spirit has appx 4 employees, so you need to get to check-in appx 9hrs before departure. But in Atlantic City, you can get there about 20min before take off.

Also, I've never used Spirit other than weekend excursion, so luggage was limited to a backpack. You start checking shit and you might as well fly 1st Class on American!

Note: I'm prone to hyperbole...but you get what I'm sayin!

[ate'em]

they suck, but you can get places very cheaply if you play your cards right. flew to colombia from denver for around $300 a few years back

emphasis on they suck.

flew with them la to colombia. return flight got canceled the morning of. no offer of a next flight, nothing. they gave me back half my fare (i.e. $200) and said good luck. I got to buy a one-way flight home for a lot more than my cheap Spirit flight. No mas.

[WTF is dat]

They are horrible !

The seats are the smallest and most crammed of any aircraft I have ever flown on. Unbelievably small and uncomfortable. I have flown ultra low cost carriers before (Frontier and Ryanair) but these seats are a whole new ballgame. The seats on spirit make frontier look like first class. I could not believe how crammed they were. I am 6’3 so YMMV.

Spirit will randomly cancel flights at the last minute if they haven’t sold enough seats and bump you onto other later flights, or even another day. There is no customer service to contact (not even online) so if your flight is cancelled you are on your own. I have heard nightmare stories. There is no customer service number to call, and if you message them online on Facebook or any other social media they will just tell you “we have no customer service to keep costs low !”

[Micol]

This is important !

If your flight is delayed do not leave the gate area, even if they post a "new" departure time. I left the gate to relax in less busy area of airport in vegas for a 7pm delayed departure to DIA. I came back at the posted time and the flight was gone. No more flights till the next morning. I slept in an airport chair.

ps I would pay the $35 for the "big" seat upfront. It is worth it, I promise. All the other seats will break your back and ass and have your knees jammed against the seat in front of you (except exit row - but still uncomfortable seat) I used to travel with my own 3" thick foam pad just to put down on their seats (and Frontiers) until I figured out how to do it right and pay for the big seat. (ftr ALL frontier seats are uncomfortable - period)


Travel with personal item or back pack make sure to confirm size on their website. If you have to check, buy it online or join their $9.99 club (or whatever its called)

[WTF is dat]

I used to travel with my own 3" thick foam pad just to put down on their seats (and Frontiers) until I figured out how to do it right and pay for the big seat. (ftr ALL frontier seats are uncomfortable -)

Frontier has uncomfortable seats but they are at least roomier than spirit. Frontier on a short flight (ie Denver to Vegas) is great and the flight is short enough that the seats don’t become uncomfortable. Spirit seats are so crammed they become uncomfortable within minutes

[Garth Bimble]

Used to fly them a lot when I lived in Denver and my kid was in Key West. They were super cool in Denver, would let you slide on bag weights/size but on the other end (Ft. Lauderdale) it was a complete shit show. Long lines, rude employees and absolutely no quarter given. By the time you added in all the extra charges (and they charge extra for EVERYTHING) it's not much cheaper than the others minus all the bullshit.

[Micol]

Frontier has uncomfortable seats but they are at least roomier than spirit. Frontier on a short flight (ie Denver to Vegas) is great and the flight is short enough that the seats don’t become uncomfortable. Spirit seats are so crammed they become uncomfortable within minutes

i agree that you can get to vegas on frontier before your ass starts hurting...but not roomier than the front seats on spirit

cheap too
without seat choice , just base prices you can get to vegas on either one roundtrip under $100 sometimes more like $50

[uglymoney]

Frontier sucks. I can drive home from Denver faster than they can load luggage. We sat at the gate for 3 hours waiting for them to load our plane. Finally loaded it just in time for a runway to be closed by a t storm. They told us they were short baggage handlers. Sent us a 50 dollar voucher that expired way before we could use it. Almost 4 hours late we took off.

Another time in DEN I paid for a premium fat seat with luggage allowance and cancel privileges. Friend of mine bought a cheap ticket and they busted his balls about clothes in his ski bag. No non ski gear allowed in ski bag. Tried to charge him for another bag. I told the lady to get stuffed and we put the stuff in one of my checked bags. She was pissed at my work around and tried to figure out how to charge me for hauling his stuff...lolz. She lost the battle but convinced me that her airline really sucks.

They also love to move your flight time a whole day a few days out leaving you stuck buying an expensive ticket on another airline if the new date doesn't work for you which is likely if you have a unflexible job.

I'd rather just pay extra up front and fly United (the other non stop carrier on thst route)...as bad as they are.

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[Groomer Gambler]

I flew Spirit once. It was fine from a very small local airport in western NY to Orlando, FL. I think roundtrip was like $100 nonstop. I would fly again for flights like this <2.5hrs direct. Seemed a little confusing at first but really not too bad. The best move is just to bring the under seat bag. I was actually surprised how much space there is under the seat. My 'personal bag' was a small duffle bag that I thought would be close to the limit but I easily could've fit much more stuff.

*Edit I'm 6'3" with lanky legs, and yes the seats on Spirit are tight, but not much worse than 90% of other airlines I've flown.

[The SnowShow]

If they cut back so much to bring ticket costs down, how much are they cutting back on safety, maintenance, etc?

[Micol]

If they cut back so much to bring ticket costs down, how much are they cutting back on safety, maintenance, etc?

its been a while since i read about it but i think they are hugely profitable, bought a bunch of new airplanes and I doubt are skimping on maintenance...a lot of the other airlines are hugely inefficient (or used to be), operate some highly unprofitable routes, and have unions driving up costs

i think frontier was losing money until they copied the spirit/allegiant/etc model. i read recently they started making big money, my main complaint is that their seats really suck

[nickwm21]

a lot of the other airlines are hugely inefficient

My current project is at a major airport. I work in the vicinity of a lot of the maintenance, baggage, and support operations of Delta, Alaska, Southwest, Canadaair, and United. Some of the stuff I have seen United do... makes me wonder how they are still in business....

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[uglymoney]

Frontier has nice safe planes. No question. Allegiant not so much.

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[Game Over]

its been a while since i read about it but i think they are hugely profitable, bought a bunch of new airplanes and I doubt are skimping on maintenance...a lot of the other airlines are hugely inefficient (or used to be), operate some highly unprofitable routes, and have unions driving up costs

i think frontier was losing money until they copied the spirit/allegiant/etc model. i read recently they started making big money, my main complaint is that their seats really suck

Their stock just shit the bed pretty bad a couple months ago

[oftpiste]

I did it once. Can't remember the story, but I swore I never would again. One of my kids had a nightmare with them too.

[whitekingsalmon]

Great prices... shitty seats.