Spirit Airlines???

Currently you can purchase a round trip (non-stop/both ways)ticket on Spirit Airlines out of Dallas for $59.60 total with taxes n all for next week. Of course, they do charge you like $30 for a checked bag or carryon, and will assign you a seat unless you want to pay to select your own seat. Has anyone flown on this airline cause I'm thinking even with the 30 dollar baggage fee that's a round trip ticket for 100 bucks! ...non stop! That's for just over a week stay I think. And they have a $9 Fare Club also, anyone know if that is worth it?

 

Ive flown spirit. Some notes:

The baggage fee is EACH WAY. So just be aware, its 120ish, not 100ish.

$9 fare club only makes sense if you're going to fly spirit very often.

The seat charge is just to pick a seat in advance. You can still adjust your seat when you print your boarding pass.

The airline itself is fine. Complete no frills (no free non-alcoholic beverages or snacks on board, CC only to buy things in cabin), and with slightly less legroom.

Basically its worth it if (with fees) it saves you enough money. Id fly them to save 50 bucks, but maybe not to save 20.

 

Don't do it. That's all I'm going to say about that.

 

I'll never fly Spirit again. They wont even give you water without charging you. If your bag is 1 pound overweight you can expect a $75 charge. If your bag has wheels it'll cost you about $100 to carry on, and another $100 to check on a bag if you dont prepay it. Forget about trying to cancel and reschedule a flight.

 

Thanks for the input. Dallas would be a little bit of a stretch to fly out of for myself (but not totally out of the possibility) but I was curious for future deals. It seemed awfully cheap even with all the add-ons!

And yeah 120ish, not 100...

 

No worries, as you can tell by some of the replies some people get worked up over this (just like they do over resort fees). And if you book Spirit unawares it is easy to have a bad experience.

But if you go into it knowing what you are getting (a no frills discount carrier that will surcharge you on anything) you can get some very worthwhile deals. You can bring your own water/pop on board (or on a short flight might not care). You can account for the bag fees.

But if you just see the airfare and think its a typical carrier that happens to have a great rate, then you are going to get progressively angrier as you pay the carry on or checked bag fee, have to make sure your bag is under 40 lbs, either pay to select seats or worry you might not get to sit together, and then find out you can't get a coffee or water or bag of nuts in the air without taking out a credit card (cashless cabin).

 

Glad to hear you say that. I am probably going to be taking a very short trip in the spring, and unless Delta flights come way down, I'm going to give Spirit a try. I don't care about seat assigment, and plan on only bringing a small backpack that I can fit under my seat.

 

Ifeel the same way DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You will pay a hundered for that backpack.

 

Based on what. This is what their web-site says.

Personal items (e.g. purse, small backpack, briefcase, etc.) must fit underneath the seat, so the dimensions must not exceed 16 x 14 x 12 inches (40 x 35 x 30 cm).

 

The problem with Spirit Airlines isn't so much the fees for every little thing, it is the bad attitudes that it creates. The company is notoriously cheap. In order to provide the low fares, employees are not treated well and generally in a pissed off mood. The low fares may attract less seasoned fliers, families with small children, and other less desireable seat mates, which can make for a very long flight in their cramped seats. The culmination of all these factors can make for a frustating flight which will put you in a bad pissed off mood.

DON"T GO TO VEGAS IN A BAD MOOD!

 

I have flown Spirit twice to Florida from Atlantic City, and for all of those who just say "don't do it" without offering an explanation, you are really not adding much to the discussion. If you bought the ticket without looking at the fine print, just remember that everyone pays for their education.

Pros:
Cheap, direct flight, one small carryon which must fit under the seat.

Cons:
* Charges for luggage, do not walk up to the gate and bum rush the agent with your carryon, you will pay dearly. Pay upfront or pay to be educated.
* Charge for beverage service, even water or soft drinks. Buy drinks at the airport bar, they will be cheaper, at 26,000 feet, you are a single source customer. (unless you smuggle it on in those 3oz bottles you buy at the dollar store)
* Charges to have an agent print out your boarding pass
* plan on being at the gate at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time, or the door could close leaving you to re-schedule and mess up your travel day. This happened to a good friend, he paid to be educated.
* Seat pitch is on the small side, if you are taller than 6'2", you may have discomfort. If you are zaftig, and your chart says you should be 6'8" for your weight, you might not be comfortable.

Take out a pencil and paper and compare all costs for a ticket on Spirit and the next carrier. If you plan on flying Spirit again or if you have others traveling on your itinerary, think about the $9 fare club, it costs $59 for one year and you will save $10 each way on luggage.

Spirit flies a young fleet of Airbus 319 and 320 planes, they have more on order, they make about one third of revenue from these fees. I probably get two or three emails per week offering discounts and specials. I could have recently flown to Ft. Lauderdale for as little as $50, so with luggage, it would have cost me about $140 round trip from Atlantic City.

I don't fly a lot on business, I don't have elite status for my bags to fly free, I don't get upgrades, I use Priceline and Hotwire a lot to save on hotels, I take public transportation when traveling, I try to live frugally and below my means. If I can save $80 or more on my "all in" costs, I will pick Spirit.

For those who had a first hand bad experience on Spirit and went in eyes wide shut, you paid for your education, point the finger of blame at yourself.

 

This airline discriminates against us tall fat people!!!!

One time on Spirit was enough for me, the space allowed does not suit a tall fat person!!!!! I am 6'4 265lbs----what a miserable 3 hours.

 

I guess I'd like to know if they hassle you to pay for a carryon that will fit under your seat? If i bring a soft sided gym type bag that will easily fit, will they try to charge me?

 

Carry on info:

I think I need to invent luggage that can be hooked up to a vacuum so it shrinks to this size. Must have room on the outside for 3 TSA approved three oz bottles to carry on mouthwash or other form of liquids.

Since my last post, I already received an email from Spirit announcing cheap fares on specific dates in October and November for $9 club members. An example: Denver to LasVegas, $39. Atlantic City to Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, or West Palm, $39.

PS, unlike Ryanair in the UK, I don't believe Spirit has had to make three emergency landings because they did not take on enough reserve fuel. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2206322/Ryanair-ordered-review-fuel-policy-making-THREE-emergency-landings-planes-ran-out.html

 

I fly Spirit. I know the rules and all the fees. I measure my bags to be sure they are the correct size and have had no surprises. I fly from FL to Vegas a couple of times a year. I wait until they have a great sale and book. I pay the extra $85 each way for a big front seat. It is similar to a first class seat, wider, extra leg room and more recline. All you get for the up charge is the big front seat, no food or drink. Between the normal airfare and the charge for the big front seat, I usually pay between $250 to $300 for round trip flight. When I look at the prices of other carriers, I would be paying about the same but sitting in a coach seat for a 5 1/2 hour flight.
I much prefer to sit in comfort and since first class with other airlines is so costly, this seems like a very reasonable alternative. I take the non stop flight and have not had any problems. Most airlines charge for various things, Spirit is just a bit more nit picky. I have flown their coach seat before and for short hauls it is not too bad (I'm under 6 feet tall). I probably would not fly Spirit if I had to sit in coach on the flight to Vegas. It is too long a flight with little to no leg room.

 

Spirit uses 3 types of aircraft 319,320 and 321.
It looks like the 319 and the 321 have typical seat pitch you would find in coach.
The 320 has 28 inches of pitch which is ridiculous.

 

I flew DTW-LGA with only a small backpack that I put under the seat. No hassles, but I knew enough to put my purse etc in there. ONE item of the correct size.

My experience had the plane board by order of carry on bags - those paying first. There were a lot of people being asked to put their bag in the sizer and several pulled aside to pay the extra charge.

Know the rules and adhere or expect to pay.

 

I'm flying Spirit for the 1st next month. With all of the fees, it was less than half of the cost of American.

 

Flew them back in january

ACY/FLL ,An hour and a half mechanical delay,sitting on the plane on the way down,45 min delay ,no pilots, on the way back also sitting on the plane.