Spirit Airlines experiences?...should I avoid?

[mommycrawford]

Hi all!...I have barely flown in the past 18 years, and have stuck to Jetblue, but the prices are really high right now . Low fares are great but if it equals poor experience, I just want to know.

TIA!

 

[davper]

Flew once and never will again.

Needed chiropractic work after the flight. The seats are narrow versions of bus seats. They dont need to be so narrow as the aisle is almost 50% larger than other airlines.

Personal item size is strictly enforced. If your bag doesn't easily fit in their sizer, you must check the bag. At the time it cost $25.

 

[mommycrawford]

Flew once and never will again.

Needed chiropractic work after the flight. The seats are narrow versions of bus seats. They dont need to be so narrow as the aisle is almost 50% larger than other airlines.

Personal item size is strictly enforced. If your bag doesn't easily fit in their sizer, you must check the bag. At the time it cost $25.

Wow!...So sorry to hear. Thank you for the heads up!

 

[jbehr12]

Hi all!...I have barely flown in the past 18 years, and have stuck to Jetblue, but the prices are really high right now . Low fares are great but if it equals poor experience, I just want to know.

TIA!

I’ve never taken spirit but I fly frontier regularly and they are very comparable. It’s truly not bad if you know what to expect. Seats are smaller, there’s charges for everything to make up the low fares, and customer service doesnt have the best track record, but they are safe and will get you from point A to point B.

Frontier has a bundle you can add for larger preferred seats, one checked bag and one carry on, priority seating, etc. If they offer that I would take it because it makes the trip much more enjoyable and will still end up being slightly cheaper than legacy carriers. Also I’ve noticed Spirit and Frontier have majority straight through flights and those are much more preferable (to me at least).

They are very clear with baggage sizes so yes they are strict, but if you prepare yourself it’s no big deal.

Overall it’s not bad if you go in knowing what to expect. The only downside is the reliability, they are known for delays. If you book an early flight and give yourself enough time for the inevitable then it should work out fine. They have a small fleet so if anything goes wrong it’s hard for them to reroute or bring in another plane.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Frontier has a bundle you can add for larger preferred seats, one checked bag and one carry on, priority seating, etc.

Same with Spirit.

 

[toolmanjan]

We (all adults) fly to orlando 4-5 times a year Atlantic City to Orlando. Yes the seats are small but it's only a 2.5 hour flight. We choose the exit row when available for an additional fee (about $25) or a wide seat if available and my budget allows. We always have just a carry-on. The big convenience for us is the AC airport easy drop off and pickup. Parking is close to the terminal. Security rarely has a long line.

 

[Pooh2]

Stick with Jetblue...

 

[lyshia04]

I just flew spirit. It was fine. I mean my flight was less than 2 hrs more than that and I would reconsider. Personal item was not enforced on any of my flights with them. It’s ok for a bargain flight. I’ve flown frontier also similar.

 

[Takeme2WDW]

We flew on Spirit from Baltimore to Tampa (2.5 hr. flight). The seats have very little leg room and very little padding. I am 5'6" and I was OK but my 6'5" husband had to pay extra for the "big seat" as there was no way he would fit in an economy seat. We also paid for a checked bag. But, even with the added fees, the flight was still $100+ cheaper than flying on Southwest.

 

[mommycrawford]

Thank you everybody, for sharing your experiences!!!!

 

[Jimsig]

As I always post when someone asks about Spirit:

When things go right it's fine, but when things go wrong they can really go wrong.

Friend of ours was in MCO for his return trip, due to a snowstorm his flight got cancelled, but he didn't know until he was at MCO. Spirit told him the earliest flight they could guarantee getting him home in was in 7 days. But of course he could come back everyday and try standby and they would try and get him on. He rented a car with someone else and drove home as last min fares on other airlines were too expensive.

Spirit does not have an interline agreement with another airlines so they will not get you home on another airline when things go wrong. For the record SW and JB do not have interline agreements either, but they both have the benefit of flying a lot more aircraft and routes so when things go wrong they have greater flexibility to rebook,

 

[_19disnA]

^^ I agree will never fly Spirit airlines. In the city where we used to live, Spirit was frequently a story on the evening news when irate passengers weren't able to return home due some aircraft mechanical problem. They have so few planes and infrequent flights from some cities that you can be stranded for days waiting for the next flight..........ummmmm no thanks !!!!

 

[bibbidibobbidiabcs]

I flew on Spirit for the first time in March to Puerto Rico and had no issues. But a few weeks ago my husband and I were flying home from a trip - we were on Frontier and a friend was on Spirit. Her flight was originally to leave ten minutes after ours (late night - 11pm). She kept getting delay notifications on her phone that day. She called them, but they said the app had the latest information. There was weather somewhere that was causing a delay. At the airport, more delays. While we waited they canceled two flights before hers. They just announced to people sitting/standing at the gate - this flight is canceled. Go get your checked baggage and see about rebooking or refunds at the desk.

Unfortunately, her flight was canceled next. We were already on our flight by that time. She later told us that there were fights that broke out between passengers in line to rebook. It was a nightmare. She said the next flight wasn't for two more days. She could take that or a refund, and bye-bye.

We ended up going to the Frontier desk after we landed and telling them what happened. They were very generous in helping her out. They booked her on the next morning flight for a very reasonable price.

So... long story short - when things go ok, they're ok. When things don't go ok, it makes any "savings" not worth it.

 

[Jimsig]

It's like Spirit prides them self in lousy and non-existent customer service.

 

[Darcy03231]

We flew Spirit once and never again. While the flight itself was fine, the seats were small and uncomfortable and by the time we were nickeled and dimed to death we could have flown on Delta, AA or Southwest for about the same price.

I have a co-worker that has a condo in Daytona Beach and flies them all the time. While most of her flights go fine, canceled flights have happened enough that we joke about it. When a flight is canceled it can take days for her to get there or back home. For her it's not a big deal as she has a car there, a place to stay, clothes, etc.

 

[Klayfish]

I love Spirit Airlines. I fly about 5-8x per year on average. I have flown Spirit many times, probably at least 10-12 round trips by now. Just booked a trip with them from ATL to Minneapolis in July for dirt cheap. Yes, you pay for "everything", but it's not much different then many other airlines. The seats aren't huge, but I found them more than comfortable enough for a 4.5 hour flight from ATL to Las Vegas (I'm not a big guy, so that may have been a factor). The only caveat I have with them has already been mentioned. Since they don't have a ton of routes/flights and don't seem to have an agreement with other airlines, if they cancel, you're in a bit of a pickle. Customer service is fine, never had an issue.

Frankly, I find them light years better than the disaster known as Southwest. Ugh...I dread them every time I have to deal with them. Just flew with them 10 days ago and the flight was late...as usual (got home at 4am, thanks Southwest)...and the attendants tried to make a joke out of it.

 

[bianca]

We fly Spirit almost exclusively. Unlike Southwest, they have direct, 2 hour flights. If you know going into it what to expect, you'll be fine. We've flown with them dozens of times and have never had an issue. In addition, if you're willing to go to the airport to purchase your tickets, you'll save an extra $18 each way of your trip.

 

[thepicklebee]

I have flown Spirit with no issue. I think many problems arise because people don’t really understand how they operate. Yes, they nickel and dime, but you can also find amazing deals, and frankly I like that I don’t have to pay extra for things that I’m not utilizing, and feel it’s fair to have to may more if I am.

 

[wendow]

We're flying Spirit next week for the first time ever. I've flown Frontier plenty and I'm no fan. I know Spirit is similar (and maybe worse) but we are flying from DEN to FLL and SW (our normal and preferred airline) was about 3x as much EACH WAY. I just couldn't stomach the cost, even if paying with points. I'm expecting Spirit to be absolutely terrible in every way. Unfortunately, we have a 4-hr flight so I may be regretting this decision but it was the only way we could make this trip work.

 

[Mmouse1588]

My parents still havent forgiven me for booking spirit. my husband and i fly 2 hr flight with spirit in 2017 no issues. We flew them again with my parents in 2018. They ripped my dads wheel chair and they were so rude. The staff were too busy reviewing their boyfriend troubles and nights out to assist us with any questions and concerns. Any questions we did have recieved a huff of annoyance or an answer we later found out was incorrect. To be honest though id fly them again if the times and price were right but my parents are one and done