Same way as Walmart - sell crap but sell it cheap. Perfect market segmentation. 
Yikes, we have flights booked with them for the Caribbean in December. Wish us luck…
LUCK!!! 
Bumping thread with our Spirit experience. @oregon101, please send over the winning lottery numbers now.
Kiddo’s feet were cramped on the first leg of flight. There was a plane change on the connecting flight we all took, and it was more comfortable.
Flight was delayed 35 minutes.
One of our kiddos booked returned flight for the wrong date. Hmmm, A change fee and difference in ticket price would be $$. However, upon reaching out to Spirit about this snafu, they changed the flight and incredibly extended a courtesy of waiving the fee. Yea Spirit…Thank You!!!
Checkin line at airport was long and wrapped outside of airport. Then agent came and pulled passengers based on destination. That option made the process more efficient.
My fear of flying is always landing…lol. Spirit’s landing was AWESOME.
We were unable to pay for seats online for return flight. At the airport, the agent got us all together without incurring cost for seats.
Lessons Learned from Seasoned Spirit Flyers.
- Check in earlier than you would (perhaps for our specific location)
- Do not pay for seats in advance*(they usually get your family together)
- Pay for your baggage at time of reservation (prices increase closer to time of departure and a LOT at the airport)
- Adhere to the basics (printing boarding passes at home, 40lbs max check luggage et al)
- Take your own snacks.
Our experience with Spirit was so awful that I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. In September, we booked a flight for our son to fly home from Cleveland to Boston for his October break. He got to the Cleveland airport and learned that his flight was delayed. And delayed. And delayed. He was scheduled to leave in the afternoon. By 11 p.m., they canceled the flight and sent him to a hotel. The next morning, they bused him and his fellow unlucky passengers back to the airport for a noon departure. Another delay. Then another. And finally, another cancellation. We scrambled to get him on a Jet Blue flight (got the last seat that night) for which we paid over $400. After a lot of haggling, Spirit refunded our money for the flight, plus the “extras” like a carry-on bag and choosing a seat.
We learned later that they have no back-up airplanes that can come into service if necessary. So if your plane has a malfunction, you are out of luck. There is no plan B. That, and all the add-ons, do not make Spirit a bargain.
Oh, and before you consider booking on Spirit, read the online reviews from multiple sites. They are consistently rated the worst airline in the US. Wish I’d known before our 30 hour ordeal getting our kid home.
massamomm the only thing spirit is good at is making some very funny ads.in fairness to them they never even attempt to hide they are a 1 star operation. but they make money because so many people want or need to save$$$$ and that they are good for. I would avoid them but obviously when I see their gates at the airport they are packed full of flyers…so I would say they got their business segment down to a science!
It never ceases to amaze me how so many people buy a Yaris and complain that it is not a Limo. No false advertising, Spirit is a niche airline. If they are going where you need to go, they can be much cheaper. If you don’t like the smaller seats, upgrade. Even if you pay for the upgrade, they are usually cheaper than the big carriers. And don’t fool yourself. Other than having more flights, the big airlines are just as likely to lose luggage, cancel flights, etc. Frankly, I have had better luck with Spirit customer service than with American.
As a big man, I prefer that the seats do not recline. Much better to sit up straight than to have someone crank your tray and their head into you making you more uncomfortable overall.
I also think it is funny that people complain about the nickel and dime charges, but will willingly pay for those options up front with a more expensive airline whether they use them or not.
There is a time and place for a company like Spirit. We have 6 people in our family. Any flight will be expensive. Saving 50-100 net after charges saves us 300-600 bucks.
If I am travelling for work, I would choose a bigger airline.
My BIL is still awaiting his luggage from AA. ;
DH is flying through Chicago to Tucson today. He forgot to get his boarding # til a little while ago, so one is B and one is C. Flights are all full. Hope he can get his carry on with him, as the weather is supposed to stink here and in Chicago… He’ll probably get stuck somewhere and I hope he makes it back Thurs for New Year’s Eve plans.
I happily fly Spirit and had a great experience with them this past Christmas. DH and I flew to Florida on Spirit - no delayed flights, no surly customer service reps, no lost luggage, just a smooth on-time cheap flight. Sure, the seats were narrow and didn’t recline, but so what? Each ticket was $150 cheaper than a comparable ticket from Delta. In my world, that $300 in savings is well worth a few hours of a less comfortable seat (and a “free” diet coke).
On the way back, another family member flew the same route as mine on Delta. Where my flight was trouble-free, his was delayed by ten hours for a mechanical problem. Customer service was awful - cranky and unhelpful. No one airline holds a monopoly on good service or pleasant flying experiences.
What I like about Spirit is they’re upfront about their fees and they’re much cheaper than the competitors in my area. I like @Torveaux’s analogy - don’t get mad if the Yaris you bought isn’t a limo. Both the Yaris and the limo will occasionally break down; there’s nothing magical about the limo.
Fingers crossed for him @jym626
scout59
no doubt all the airlines have less than desirable service and issues! the point is spirit does not beat around the bush.
jet blue is not some young awesome start up anymore either.
delta,american,etc… have been less than a joy as long as I can remember.
it is still a great deal if you can get across the country or across the atlantic in 5-6-7 hours and pay almost nothing for that privilege. I would love a private bathroom on the plane and a private room too…but since I can not afford 25000.00(or whatever it costs) each way for a flight from boston to chicago on a charter I will sit in my seat and be happy I paid 350.00 round trip.
I flew Spirit recently and this flight had comfortable seats. I think they bought Frontier’s old seats because Frontier has downgraded from big comfortable leather seats with color tvs to the small tightly packed uncomfortable type that Spirit is known for.
@jym626 your DH isn’t flying Spirit Airlines, is he?
hmm…One of my (and other passengers) issues was how dirty the plane was. The seats had stuffing coming out.
A few of the baggage bins did not lock. Everything was filthy.
I took pictures intending to complain. Did an online search and many of the posts had better pics of the ick.
No, DH was supposed to fly Southwest. Both flights into and out of Chicago were cancelled yesterday. He is home.
DW and I flew Spirit once. I understood the fee structure going in and planned accordingly. We had no problems at all and saved a ton of money compared to the alternatives. We observed that their business model relies on obscene fee income to offset their below market pricing. I’d fly them again.
I would have flown Spirit, but I was going to an event and if the one Spirit flight to my destination were cancelled, I would miss the event. As a result, I bagged the flight and took another airline. The good news is that the flight was so cheap that I was willing to lose the money and go for more certainty that I was going to get where I wanted to be.