I didn’t see any recent threads. Has anyone flown Spirit Airlines recently? I need to do a lot of travel over Mothers Day weekend, and the price looks good for one leg but I’m leery.
When my d has looked they are often not that much cheaper. Our experience is they are quick to cancel and often only have one or two other flights so harder to rebook. They also charge for everything including carryons (I think) so factor luggage into flight.
I’d only do it if you can afford not to get to the destination. If it is a spur of the moment trip, just for fun, take the chance. If it is for something important, don’t trust it. An option is to book a Southwest flight for later than the Spirit flight and cancel the SW flight if the Spirit one works out. You’ll then get a credit for the SW flight.
My one and only experience with Spirit was meh. My cross country flight from LAX got canceled after I passed through TSA and was settled at my gate!! It was a red eye too! So I trudged my way back to the counter agent only to wait in a long line with no communication from the airline staff. After about an hour they finally put someone at the counter to rebook flights and issue hotel vouchers. I got on the first flight next day and stayed at a very nice swanky hotel nearby with free food vouchers. I still lost a day of vacation. Cramped seating too. Flight back wasn’t an issue, but that whole experience really soured me on that airline.
https://www.spirit.com/Spirit101-en.html
You get one 18" * 14" * 8" personal item (this is smaller than the usual roller bag dimensions).
Additional carry-on or checked bags cost an extra fee, depending on the flight.
Pre-assigned seats cost an extra fee. Otherwise, random seats assigned at check-in.
Printing a boarding pass at an airport kiosk is $2; printing them at the agent costs $10 (printing them on your own printer is no extra charge).
There are so many fees it can cost more than other airlines. Their on-time record is not the best either. It’s not as if any of the airlines are great ; we stick with Southwest or Jetblue domestically whenever possible.
I go to Las Vegas once or twice a year on Spirit from DFW. (Spirit and American are the only airlines that fly non-stop to Las Vegas.). I have packing down to a science and can get two night’s worth in a small bag so I never pay for bags. I also get random seats so I fly for the cheap price. I am 5’4" and I am not any more cramped on their planes than on others. My flights have seldom been delayed more than 20 minutes. I have had no problem with them at all.
They’ve perfected the art of fee gouging. It seems their business model is to have their fee paying customers subsidize those who are careful and plan ahead.
We would walk before we would book Spirit.
The plane feels unsafe. The interior is filthy.
The money may be cheaper but the experience is disgusting.
I have tight timeframes as I have to move my daughters belongings from dorm to apt, get her to summer program and fly to daughter in law grad school graduation. It sounds like Spirit is a no. I’ve flown Frontier before but never Spirit. I will do frontier again but only for short distances. I made the mistake of flying to California with them, never again.
Thanks everyone for the advice, I love CC!
You couldn’t pay me to fly this airline. I’ve had too many friends whose flights were cancelled…and they couldn’t get where they were going that day… because this airline usually only has one flight per day.
And the extra costs for EVERYTHING? Plan to ship your carryon bag.
Based on our experiences, you have a 50/50 chance of getting somewhere on time. That said, I’m taking them on Tuesday to Minneapolis to look at wedding venues with my daughter.
The flight is $105, but my carry on bag is $70.
We put the mother in law on their flights. 
You can check the on time flight percentages with most flights. We’ve found there are certain legs that aren’t usually a problem and others that tend to be. We will check flight info and decide whether to take the risk. Agree with you on the Frontier flights too. We’ve found a short leg may be ok but the longer one’s no way…like being on concrete hidden in material! Spirit does have better seats, not necessarily more room.
@jcmom716 yes it was like sitting on a metal folding chair for 5 hours!
Hubby actually got on the plane on the tarmac and after waiting for hours they cancelled the flight. There are not many planes around so he ended up missing a business meeting. It was in a southern city most airlines don’t go. If you don’t “have” to be to your destination at any particular time, you don’t mind waiting at the airport or on the plane, you don’t need to bring anything besides a purse with you, then sure.
No kidding about those Frontier seats! We flew Frontier to Phoenix last month and our butts were so sore. A guy across the aisle actually brought his own seat cushion, so we did the same on our return flight. I showed the flight attendant, but she didn’t think it was funny.
@toledo that was a good idea! I flew to San Fran on Frontier and my butt was on fire.
Spirit is a good deal if you’re going for a long weekend and can fit your “stuff” in your carry on and you aren’t particularly caring if your return flight is delayed or cancelled! I’ve used it for get-away weekends before and frankly I haven’t ever been significantly delayed but I know people who have been delayed. Even though I have good friends who pilot or piloted before retirement with American and United, I’m an unabashed Southwest fan and the price can be about the same as Spirit out of the midwest.
I would love to fly Southwest; however, Southwest does not fly out of DFW airport, but out of Love Field in Dallas, which is not convenient for me. I have to drive over an hour to get to DFW and it would be even further to Love, so my choices are Spirit and American. Frankly, I have had better experiences with Spirit than with American.