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Flight cancellations? Trying to decide between Spirit & a mainstream airline

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by julia, Sep 6, 2021.

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  1. Renaldow

    Renaldow VIP Whale

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    At Portland it's usually 2-3 a day, depending on the day, maybe more on the weekend. I would imagine Seattle is about the same, but since I don't fly from there I don't look up flights from there.
     
  2. The Rumor

    The Rumor VIP Whale

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    That is a better frequency than they have to some of their other destinations, where they may only have 4 flights a week
     
  3. Renaldow

    Renaldow VIP Whale

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    Frontier has a similar number of flights, I think they may have one or two more. They run like bus service. Almost every major airline here also has multiple daily flights to Vegas or up and down the west coast from SoCal to Vancouver, BC. So with a major kerfuffle like Spirit and American had in August, I'm not worried about being trapped or stuck. Worse comes to worse, it's 800 miles. I've driven it a couple of times before, I can drive it again lol.
     
  4. mdm4sfest

    mdm4sfest VIP Whale

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    Outside their numerous problems a few weeks ago, I cant tell you the last time Spirit had major cancelations. I usually fly them/Spirit based on many of the reasons you mentioned. From Cleveland to Vegas, Spirit/Frontier is the cheapest, has the best times, and offer non-stop compared to SW which all have layovers at 6x the roundtrip price.
     
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  5. The Rumor

    The Rumor VIP Whale

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    Yeah, although that's a decision that generally isn't available for someone flying from somewhere like Chicago, where it's a 30+ hour drive.
     
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  6. Renaldow

    Renaldow VIP Whale

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    No, it's not. But the OP is from the NW like me, not Chicago. Flights work differently on this side of the Rockies, I think. It seems most everything here hits Vegas or SLC then one of the 3-4 major west coast airports that fly across the Pacific.
     
  7. Chrisbeans

    Chrisbeans High-Roller

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    I’ve never flown with Spirit, though the “low cost” always intrigues me. I have to fly with at least a carry-on so when I price it out, the savings is usually minimal compared to Alaska or SW (I’m in PNW).

    I prefer the service of Alaska Airlines and have never had an issue with a flight to Vegas. I’ve used SW to Vegas and have had to deal with delays of more than an hour more than a few times - most recently in August where the departure was delayed by about 3 hours.
     
  8. Catboiler

    Catboiler Low-Roller

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    My husband, MIL, and I got screwed by Spirit in March. Our flight was around 2p on a Sunday. At 8p on Saturday, I got a text that our flight was cancelled. Called customer service, they didn't know why. Tweeted, they didn't know why. My pessimism, at first, made me think we were bumped for higher paying people and I vowed never to fly Spirit again. We had booked the flight for about $56/roundtrip/each. After discussing it with my MIL, she graciously offered to pay for SW last minute, which was over $600 each. SW & the budget carriers are the only ones that fly nonstop between IND and LAS, which is why those are usually our choice. The Southwest flight left about an hour after hour original Spirit flight, so we didn't lose much time.

    It turned out the Spirit flight was cancelled because of a plane mechanical issue. So, not 100% their fault and it did make me feel about 10% better about the situation. Spirit emailed me several food vouchers totaling over $200. So we ate well at the airport. Fun thing - you can add them to your starbucks app like a gift card!

    We're flying Spirit again in a few weeks. I was hesitant at first but there was a significant fare difference. It's not that I'm cheap or frugal, I just hate wasting money. And to me, if the same flight on Spirit is $28/leg and Southwest is $139/leg, I'm buying the the Spirit. I dont care about extra leg room or free snacks & Coke. We do often do 2 one-way flights. That just usually depends on time. That's what we're doing next month - Spirit there and Southwest home. I guess here's hoping Spirit doesn't have any issues again.
     
    Birthday Vegas
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  9. 462Hookies

    462Hookies Low-Roller

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    I had a spirit flight booked 10/19 out of Philadelphia to Vegas wheels up at 630am, got an email the other night that they changed the flight to leave the same day but at 1130PM, so blow the entire first night in Vegas. They had no other direct flights that day so I cancelled the flight and rebooked with jetblue, last time I try to save a few bucks!
     
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  10. julia

    julia VIP Whale

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    One point I hadn’t considered until a comment here was the return. I have a can’t-miss work event the day after I get back. A late cancellation would be really bad.

    After checking the schedules, it’s either Delta or Alaska that should work best this time. I guess I could go crazy and bring a roll-aboard bag!
     
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  11. vegasvstr

    vegasvstr VIP Whale

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    In that case I wouldn't book the last flight out. Also like mentioned above look to see if those airlines have later flights if yours is canceled.
    (Or other airlines they have interline agreements with)
     
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  12. rourou

    rourou subterranean roller

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    Check @ffejry trip report, he was supposed to fly home today on Spirit and his flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues…but after they had already boarded and pushed back from the gate…
     
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  13. tatterdema

    tatterdema VIP Whale

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    My partner and I had a race last year. He took Spirit, I took Alaska. Both were set to leave at the same time, coming home to SEA from Vegas. He got home on time, I was 5 hours late. For a flight from SEA-LAS, I would not hesitate to take Spirit. Now if it was to Hawaii, or some other far flung destination, I would be wary. Southwest is having some serious issues with flights being cancelled. I have not had a single Spirit trip late or disrupted, out of about a dozen. Alaska has been terrible lately, with 3 of my last 4 flights significantly delayed.
     
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  14. The Rumor

    The Rumor VIP Whale

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    This happens on every airline if you fly them enough. When they pop any number of maintenance alerts, they have to resolve them before take off.

    I have had a mainline flight abort mid takeoff within the last 3 years. Amazingly, we didn't deplane, and actually ended up taking that gear on our flight
     
  15. TriggerMN

    TriggerMN The Norwegian Hammer

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    *Says Spirit is a top 5 airline for on time performance
    *Immediately follows with graph listing Spirit at #6
    :kill:
     
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  16. Legion

    Legion High-Roller

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    Most here understand the graph and my top 5 statement deal with domestic carries.. For some like yourself I could of been clearer.. I’ll try to do better
     
  17. DsqrdDGD909

    DsqrdDGD909 Low-Roller

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    Mjames you are a genius!
     
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  18. mjames1229

    mjames1229 # of visits includes only trips w/ hotel stays

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    If I could only get my wife to agree :)
     
    USBC Nationals are back in Vegas
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  19. julia

    julia VIP Whale

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    I ended up with a Delta booking, solely because the departure times worked better for my schedule. I think Spirit has reduced their flights from SeaTac; there were few options. Didn't love paying the extra $100, but it's a cost of travel these days I guess. I'll probably still just bring my little 30L backpack....I think I rival @ffejry for being an ultralight packer.

    In other news, now I have hotel & flight booked, I can start to get excited about this upcoming trip.
     
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  20. Hyperfocal

    Hyperfocal VIP Whale

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    I've flown Spirit to Las Vegas several times out of both Milwaukee and Chicago, and the flights have always been on time. Last flight on Southwest, the return was delayed about 5 hours. As my Spirit flight was boarding in early July, a dispirited guy from San Diego had had his Southwest red eye flight cancelled and he was stuck in the airport until 6 am.

    Now, Spirit's seats are like something in a subway and they are sticklers for bag sizes and fees, but if you know their rules, it's a bus in the sky that will get you where you need to go on the cheap.
     
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