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Spirit Airlines

Anything other than Southwest = Bad Deal.

Don't do it. They will screw you over in one way or another with:
1) Paying for baggage
2) Paying for carry-on baggage
3) Paying for being "overweight" baggage, even though it is normal by other airline standards
4) Paying for ANYTHING that you would think would NORMALLY be free for any other decent airline/human.

Article says it all: "Last in service, first in profit margin, Spirit paves the way for bare-bones air travel"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...3b5e2c-848d-4988-b5c4-2c1a0a4ee527_story.html
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
Anything other than Southwest = Bad Deal.

Don't do it. They will screw you over in one way or another with:
1) Paying for baggage
2) Paying for carry-on baggage
3) Paying for being "overweight" baggage, even though it is normal by other airline standards
4) Paying for ANYTHING that you would think would NORMALLY be free for any other decent airline/human.

Article says it all: "Last in service, first in profit margin, Spirit paves the way for bare-bones air travel"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...3b5e2c-848d-4988-b5c4-2c1a0a4ee527_story.html
Click to expand...

You pay for the same with Southwest. It just isnt itemized out and optional.

Out of Minneapolis Southwest has been a huge disappointment to me. Their fares are usually as much or more than competing airlines to the destinations I fly.

Spirit is what it is. If you are fine with the fees and no frills service. Then ride it. If you want to pay more for better service then stay away.

There have been times my dad flew from Minneapolis to Fort Myers for 27 bucks round trip. But he also didn't have to bring on luggage due to already having clothes there. And printed his own boarding pass.
 
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Depends on what you want. If you want the cheapest airfare possible and don't care about service and hidden fees then they are probably a good deal. That said:
ES%20graph%202--complaints%20by%20airline.png


Personally I will not fly them even if they are notably cheaper than another carrier. The hassle and all the various fees are and delay risks are not worth it to me. I have seen what happens when flights don't operate correctly and yeah its not fun on any airline but the lines and wait time I have seen for Spirit compared to other airlines 😱

I am also pretty sure they don't work with other airlines if there is a delay or issue so you better hope that next flight isn't full or you'll be on standby for a day or two. United, AA\US and Delta will sometimes work with other airlines to get you to where you need to go. I have never had Southwest do that even though I have been delayed\cancelled on Southwest 10x more often than the legacy carriers combined
 
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I've looked into them recently.
spirit overbooks, charge a la cart, and arrive late a very high % of the time. they also have the smallest leg room.

They're have a really bad customer satisfaction and they don't care. They only care about getting their planes full and not crashing. They're actually promote their high number of complaints in their ads. They have a promo for 8k points if you unleash your hate. http://www.hatethousandmiles.com/

If you know what you're getting into and don't care about getting to your destination on time you will be OK.

You can look at the flight status on their site and if you check for a week or so you'll see that there's always at least one delay between their flying channels. The reason is they leave hardly any time between flights to keep them full and if one gets delayed it messes up the whole day. If a flight gets canceled you might be screwed for a day or two because they might only fly a certain leg every other day or so. With other airlines you can go with another airline or they'll fly same leg much multiple planes.

If you fly with only a book bag that is under their size requirements you don't have to pay for checked luggage. Print off your boarding pass ahead of time or they will charge you. If you buy your ticket from the actual airport you save like $15 each way.

Here's a good guide on flying Spirit but it's definitely a buyer beware type of airline.
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/32uavq/guide_to_flying_everyones_most_hated_airline/
 
Exterous said:
Generalizations are bad advice to give because this isn't true for everyone
Click to expand...

In general, it is very true.

All the main US Carriers (Delta, American Airlines, United) general fares are high. No matter where you go. They tend to be high. All the time. Maybe in a blue moon you will catch something slightly lower. But I hope you aren't bringing bags, because chances are you will make-up for any costs in bag fees. Hope you don't want anything more than a drink onboard your 3hr flight, you will have to pay for it.

Unless Southwest simply doesn't have an airport near you, it is hands down the best option. No question. Not a generalization.

I fly for my job most weeks. And the only reason I fly other airlines is because:
1) Southwest doesn't have first class. If I'm flying often it's a damn good perk.
2) I'm not paying for the tickets/fare/fees
I fly Southwest in all my personal trips (unless international, since SW doesn't fly international outside of Mexico).
 
I fly Spirit from time to time. As long as you know how they operate it is often significantly cheaper than the competition. But, as mentioned above, you need to read their pricing and fee structure first.
 
isekii said:
Spirit is only great if you're flying with absolutely nothing but a small backpack.
Click to expand...

If I'm paying for air travel (which is never cheap, only "cheaper" than another), then I damn well better be traveling for AT LEAST 4 nights or so. And there is no way I can fit that much into a back-pack. I can manage a standard carry-on luggage - but not a school backpack.

Well, I mean, maybe...As long as I wear the same jeans and only have 4 shirts, 4 socks, wear the same shoes, and somehow stuff other things in there (toiletries).
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
In general, it is very true.

All the main US Carriers (Delta, American Airlines, United) general fares are high. No matter where you go. They tend to be high. All the time. Maybe in a blue moon you will catch something slightly lower.
Click to expand...

Once in a Blue moon?
NYC to LAX
Southwest: $700 (With connection)
Delta: $514 (Direct flight)

NYC to Dallas
Southwest: $352
AA: $280

DTW to Denver:
Southwest $425
United $400

Seattle to SFO
Southwest $273
United $215
Alaska $215

The idea that Southwest is generally a lower fare is out of date and based on their fuel hedging several years ago and has no place in todays environment

That doesn't even begin to cover if you actually want to go to the Southwest airport. Dallas Love vs DFW, Midway vs O'hare etc. If someone has a connection esp internationally going to a southwest airport might be a terrible choice

Hope you don't want anything more than a drink onboard your 3hr flight, you will have to pay for it.
Click to expand...

Uh - you get the same amount of free liquid and snacks on Southwest that you do on the major domestics. In fact there are still the occasional flight by a legacy that offers a free meal which Southwest does NOT do

Unless Southwest simply doesn't have an airport near you, it is hands down the best option. No question. Not a generalization.
Click to expand...

Except for all those cases above where I quickly and easily found where it wasn't the best case
 
isekii said:
Spirit is only great if you're flying with absolutely nothing but a small backpack.
Click to expand...

Our family flew to Minneapolis last month on Spirit, and even checking one bag for each person saved us a couple hundred dollars over Southwest. Like everything else travel related, I'm sure prices vary greatly depending on origin and destination.
 
Spirit is second only to comcast as worst company in America as noted by consumers. If they can't fill a plane they will cancel the flight at the last minute and leave you to fend for yourself.
 
Squeetard said:
Spirit is second only to comcast as worst company in America as noted by consumers. If they can't fill a plane they will cancel the flight at the last minute and leave you to fend for yourself.
Click to expand...

they did this to my friends the last time we were in vegas. they got to the airport to leave and their flight had been canceled and they had no clue. luckily we had extra room in our hotel so they stayed the night with us until they could catch the next flight out via southwest at like 4am. but spirit only reimbursed them for the price of the flight, they didn't cover any of the extra costs they had to pay for the last minut tickets that were double what they paid for the spirit tickets.

and they wasted probably $60 on cab fairs because of it.
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
Unless Soutwest simply doesn't have an airport near you, it is hands down the best option. No question. Not a generalization.
Click to expand...

I was pricing airfare the other day SFO-LAS and it was $220rt for Southwest and $130rt for Virgin America. Anyone picking Southwest in that circumstance should have their head examined.

Southwest is not automatically always the best choice.
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
In general, it is very true.

All the main US Carriers (Delta, American Airlines, United) general fares are high. No matter where you go. They tend to be high. All the time. Maybe in a blue moon you will catch something slightly lower. But I hope you aren't bringing bags, because chances are you will make-up for any costs in bag fees. Hope you don't want anything more than a drink onboard your 3hr flight, you will have to pay for it.

Unless Southwest simply doesn't have an airport near you, it is hands down the best option. No question. Not a generalization.

I fly for my job most weeks. And the only reason I fly other airlines is because:
1) Southwest doesn't have first class. If I'm flying often it's a damn good perk.
2) I'm not paying for the tickets/fare/fees
I fly Southwest in all my personal trips (unless international, since SW doesn't fly international outside of Mexico).
Click to expand...

southwest flies to many places outside of the country now, especially down in the carribean.
 
Exterous said:
Once in a Blue moon?
NYC to LAX
Southwest: $700 (With connection)
Delta: $514 (Direct flight)

NYC to Dallas
Southwest: $352
AA: $280

DTW to Denver:
Southwest $425
United $400

Seattle to SFO
Southwest $273
United $215
Alaska $215

The idea that Southwest is generally a lower fare is out of date and based on their fuel hedging several years ago and has no place in todays environment

That doesn't even begin to cover if you actually want to go to the Southwest airport. Dallas Love vs DFW, Midway vs O'hare etc. If someone has a connection esp internationally going to a southwest airport might be a terrible choice



Uh - you get the same amount of free liquid and snacks on Southwest that you do on the major domestics. In fact there are still the occasional flight by a legacy that offers a free meal which Southwest does NOT do



Except for all those cases above where I quickly and easily found where it wasn't the best case
Click to expand...

What are you smoking? I have NYC (Laguardia) to LAX open on Southwest for the month of August. It gets as low as $176 per flight ($352 round trip), and averages ~$200 per flight. CLEARLY blowing $514 out of the water.

Also, I meant to say snacks. Most flights took away ALL snacks and only serves paid ones now. Southwest remains with their snacks. Others still serve drinks, took away the snacks.
 
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s0me0nesmind1 said:
Also, I meant to say snacks. Most flights took away ALL snacks and only serves paid ones now. Southwest remains with their snacks. Others still serve drinks, took away the snacks.
Click to expand...

That just isn't true. Delta, for example, always offers a free snack -- peanuts, pretzels, or Biscoff cookies.
 
They are upfront about their approach. Nothing's free, and the bare fare is crazy cheap. Direct flight from here to Myrtle Beach is about $150 round trip. Up until a couple weeks ago, no other airline had direct flights, with next cheaper is almost $500 with a connection adding 2-3 hours onto the travel time. Now we have a second low-cost airline (Allegiant) flying to MYR for almost the same price.

The combo of savings plus shorter travel time and no connection made it a winner for me. Plus the airport Spirit uses has free parking unlike the big metro airport which is around $50/week savings.
 
I've flown Spirit a few times. They're normally the cheapest to fly but add in too many extra costs. But then again, it seems like all airlines are adding in those costs.
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
What are you smoking? I have NYC (Laguardia) to LAX open on Southwest for the month of August. It gets as low as $176 per flight ($352 round trip), and averages ~$200 per flight. CLEARLY blowing $514 out of the water.
Click to expand...

Its called 'pricing varies by dates'. Just because something doesn't fit your incorrect preconceived notions of what flight prices are that doesn't mean I have to be smoking something.

But hey I'll play your game. You say the average flight is ~$200 each way for a flight with a connection (Because Southwest doesn't do direct flights on that route). Looking at ITA Matrix and excluding Spirit the average price for the month of August for a non-southwest airline is $362.32 for a 5 day trip* with many of those flights being nonstop. Thats lower than the $400 RT ticket average you mention for Southwest. The lowest was $332 which was also lower than the Southwest flight of $352 you mention.

*One area Southwest does do well is not increasing the cost of a one way flight so simply pricing out two one ways for AA, Delta, United can cost notably more than the resulting round trip ticket. That said moving the length around didn't seem to change the average that much

Also, I meant to say snacks. Most flights took away ALL snacks and only serves paid ones now. Southwest remains with their snacks. Others still serve drinks, took away the snacks.
Click to expand...

This is so very very (very) wrong. Delta offers free snacks on ALL flights >900 miles or over 2 hours. Alaska does all flights longer than 2.5 hours. AA\US offers snacks on ALL flights. That is not even close to the 'most flights' you claim
 
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