Spirit Airline Warning!

[ebonybee]

Once before on this board, someone posted comments about Spirit airline and FLL airport. Their misfortune occured on Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately for me, I considered her experience to be an anomaly.

 

Well I flew them for the first time on 7 Apr and 15 Apr. Ground service was horrendous both ways...with the most discourteous ground crew I've every experience and I travel about 200 days a year.

 

Long lines with long waits are apparently the norm. In D.C. everyone was taking so long at the counter and then I found out why!! They charge $10.00 per bag if you check more than one bag!! However, you can carry on as many as will fit. Plus their bag weight limit is 40 lbs. It takes a lot of time to collect fees and it seems as if everybody was paying. Unfortunately, my family of four had two bags each so we had to pay $40.00 outbound. On the return trip one bag was 45 lbs. DH was so aggravated since we had stood in line 2 hours in FLL he said the "hell with it just give them the money, I not going to repack my bags in the middle of an airport." Mind you our other bags were underweight. The cost for one bag being 5 lbs over --$25.00 dollars.

 

People on 15 Apr did miss their flight while standing in line. Several did so in fact- a lady to PR, and another family to Detroit. To the best of my knowledge all these people were there well in advance for normal delays and check-in. One guy asked a Spirit employee for assistance so he would not miss his flight to LaGuardia. Her exact words heard by my family of four and surrounding passengers in line were "I don't care." Fortunate for him, the flight to LaGuardia was delayed.

 

The procedures in FLL were ALL domestic passengers check bags outside with international passengers on the inside. When your flight time was near they would come outside, call your flight and you moved to the inside for processing. On the outside, people exiting taxis and buses were just merging with the exisiting line and not going to the back of the line. I brought this to the attention of port security but they did a half hearted attempt to stop the situation.

 

In flight air crew was fine--but I have a choice in airlines, and Spirit will not be my choice in the future.

[reallyitsmema]

How could someone who travels that much each year not know enough to check out an airlines website and confirm their baggage policy? A bunch of the discount carriers are now charging for baggage and even charging for an assigned seat. Why wouldn't you use your frequent flyer miles and fly your airline of choice if you travel that much? My husband flew over 100k miles on United last year plus a bunch on other carriers. We have free flights for our cruise and a free hotel room the night before too.

[ebonybee]

How could someone like me be so really dumb? Because, I work for a huge corperation, where all flight arrangements are made for you and you don't care how much the tickets or excess baggage weight cost!!

 

Please you don't hand take notice of my warning just as I ignored the person who wrote of her experience on Super Bowl Sunday. However, in reviews from my same cruise, I've seen two other people also say "never again on Spirit".

[reallyitsmema]

I wouldn't fly Spirit just as I wouldn't fly Alegiant or Air Tran. Discount carriers offer you a low cost flight and strip away anything that will cost them more money. Jet Blue had been more successful in this market until it proved it didn't have the infrastructure to deal with all the flight delays and cancellations that happen due to winter storms. Anytime you use ANY airline or cruiseline, you need to be aware of their policies.

 

As far as corporate travel, I totally disagree with you. YOU might not care about cost but large corporations absolutely do. I worked in the corporate accounting department of a large corporation for longer than I care to admit. Any and all people were questioned if they put through unnecessary charges.

[CruzCra-Z]

I have to agree... I would avoid Spirit to Ft. Lauderdale at all costs.

we flew Spirit in and out of Ft. Lauderdale a couple of weeks ago and it was a nightmare... not the Airline, so much, but the Spirit set up at Ft Lauderdale... It was mass confusion. Four different Spirit employees told us 4 different things regarding where to check in.... The lines we beyond long... everyone was frustrated... There was no security to stop people from cutting in lines (I think a lot of this was due to no one really knowing where to go) We had purchased our tickets last year so the new luggage rules didn't apply to us.:o

I would maybe fly Spirit again.. I really don't have any complaints regarding the plane or flight but definitely not to Ft. Lauderdale! They need a lot of help reorganizing their set up.

[jules416]

This must be a new problem. My dad lives in Ft. Lauderdale and I fly there at least 2 times a year, always with Spirit. I don't think I have ever had a problem with long lines, but with their new baggage policy, that could have all changed. I just hope this is a "new" issue and when everyone gets used to the new way of doing things, the lines will go back down. I know that if you pay ahead of time on the website, the extra bag only costs $5.

 

I for one cannot afford the prices of the other carriers. I can usually get round trip tickets from Detroit for around $100. You definitely can't beat that!!

[BlueHerons]

How could someone who travels that much each year not know enough to check out an airlines website and confirm their baggage policy? A bunch of the discount carriers are now charging for baggage and even charging for an assigned seat. Why wouldn't you use your frequent flyer miles and fly your airline of choice if you travel that much? My husband flew over 100k miles on United last year plus a bunch on other carriers. We have free flights for our cruise and a free hotel room the night before too.

 

I agree. Plus, Spirit's new policy has been all over the news.

 

I don't like Spirit because it is like being on a bus.

[reallyitsmema]

This must be a new problem. My dad lives in Ft. Lauderdale and I fly there at least 2 times a year, always with Spirit. I don't think I have ever had a problem with long lines, but with their new baggage policy, that could have all changed. I just hope this is a "new" issue and when everyone gets used to the new way of doing things, the lines will go back down. I know that if you pay ahead of time on the website, the extra bag only costs $5.

 

I for one cannot afford the prices of the other carriers. I can usually get round trip tickets from Detroit for around $100. You definitely can't beat that!!

$100 round trip is great! We are using frequent flyer miles on our flights because I couldn't get anything less than $300 round trip for the days and times I want to fly. Lots of FF miles is the only benefit to my husband being out of town so much. My mom flies Alegiant out of Sanford, FL and pays the extra $10 for an assigned seat. She is constantly complaining because they change their flight times after she has booked them months in advance. Once we run out of miles, I will be looking for cheap flights too, hopefully Jet Blue will have its act together and we will give them a shot.

[Cassandra]

Cheap airlines = Get what you pay for. As for the pricing charges for luggage, regardless of how many times you fly a year or whether you or your company foots the bill - its still YOUR responsibility to be top of what's happening with your airline of choice. You can't cry foul against the airline. It's your fault - not theirs.

 

That's the reason why I fly American & never had a problem in the 15+ years I've been flying with them. I read all the emails they send me, I follow-up on their website for regulation updates. :)

[live4vacation]

We are booked on a flight from DTW to FLL on Sunday. We have never flown Spirit as we are new to the Detroit area. The baggage policy was put into effect after we purchased our tickets but according to their website we can bring 1 50lb bag per person with out a charge.

I am wondering if the 40lbs is a new rule??? There is no way I can pack for a 7 day cruise with one checked bag including formal wear, casual clothes and all of our sunscreens and other liquids........:eek:

[reallyitsmema]

We are booked on a flight from DTW to FLL on Sunday. We have never flown Spirit as we are new to the Detroit area. The baggage policy was put into effect after we purchased our tickets but according to their website we can bring 1 50lb bag per person with out a charge.

I am wondering if the 40lbs is a new rule??? There is no way I can pack for a 7 day cruise with one checked bag including formal wear, casual clothes and all of our sunscreens and other liquids........:eek:

I just read their policy even though I am not flying them and you seem to be correct. The only place I can see a 40lb rule is for carryons. What a crazy checked baggage policy though!!! I would make sure you have proof of when the ticket was purchased and I would have their policy in hand, printed from their website. To have to "pre-reserve" a space for a second piece of luggage is nuts!!! It must have something to do with that personal cargo program they are advertising, they are selling their cargo space too. Here is the link to what I read....http://www.spiritair.com/welcome.aspx?pg=policies#CarryOnBag

[live4vacation]

ebonybee,

Thanks for the heads up on Spirit, we will be flying with them on Sunday to FLL. We bought our ticket before the charge for baggage started so do we have to wait in the same line as people paying for baggage??? I can't even believe they are charging for the 2nd bag, that is crazy!!

Our flight out of FLL does not leave until 4pm so I guess we are in for a long wait :(

[psblin99]

In the last 18 months I have flown Spirit 4 times and am about to do the 5th. I for one have not had one problem. I have been on over 3500 planes with all airlines and could tell you a good/bad story about each.

 

As far as the luggage look at it this way. Fuel is going up and weight equals more fuel. If you have a small carry on and I have 2 bags 100lbs+, do you want a higher fare (remember Spirit has some great deals) for everyone or should I pay for the fuel I use?

 

Its vacation, Dont stress so much!

[Jenna1983]

Spirit only just implemented the paying for baggage policy. I find WAY better service from most discount carriers than the crappy "mainstream" airlines. American Airlines is a joke. They have terrible customer service. US Airways can be okay as long as you don't fly out of Philadelphia. If you do, you run a chance of never seeing your luggage again or at least for days.

 

Air Tran has always been fabulous.

[CruzCra-Z]

ebonybee,

Thanks for the heads up on Spirit, we will be flying with them on Sunday to FLL. We bought our ticket before the charge for baggage started so do we have to wait in the same line as people paying for baggage??? I can't even believe they are charging for the 2nd bag, that is crazy!!

Our flight out of FLL does not leave until 4pm so I guess we are in for a long wait :(

 

 

Yes... you'll be waiting and waiting in the same line as everyone else.

[hollaatya35]

Me and my family fly with Air Tran all the time and have never had problems. For the first time last month in Orlando the lines were extremely long when we came off of our cruise and it was over crowded. But, it was duing Spring Break, so we expected that. Yes, we had to wait a little while in the line, but it was worth it. That is why we went to the airport real early. I think all the airlines have a problem. We use american airlines too, they constantly have problems especially out of Ohare. We have flown with Northwest and they have lost our luggage before, so people just from one bad experience, you should not try to turn everyone else against something or someone because of your experience. By the way, I paid only $430.00 rt for 3 people to orlando vs about $1000.00 with other airlines.

[live4vacation]

I am really not worried about Spirit from Detroit to FLL but the flight back. My parents were on the Caribbean Princess in February and they said FLL cannot handle the amount of passengers it receives. I think they said there were 5 cruise ships coming in that day and the airport was complete chaos. They were on AA so I guess it is more the airport rather than airlines.

[alphakitty]

I will agree with your parents on FLL being complete chaos. We recently flew home on a Saturday after a cruise and what a nightmare! The airport was just sooo crowded, too many people in that space. They don't let you go through security until 3 hours before your flight, so if you have a late day flight, good luck! There is no place to sit, no where to go. The lines for some airlines (Air Tran comes to mind) were very, very long. It was better later in the day, but the morning was a nightmare.

 

We paid $5 per bag for public storage and took a bus for $1.00 to Adventura Mall just to kill some time. Now that was an experience in itself. LOL

[live4vacation]

alphakitty,

Sounds like we will be in the same situation, our flight doesn't leave until 4pm. I looked into the airboat tour but no one else has booked it. I'm thinking it may be cancelled if we are the only 2 people signed up.

How do we go about storing our luggage? We are not familiar with the area so wouldn't even know where to go to kill time.

[Sparky2]

alphakitty,

Sounds like we will be in the same situation, our flight doesn't leave until 4pm. I looked into the airboat tour but no one else has booked it. I'm thinking it may be cancelled if we are the only 2 people signed up.

How do we go about storing our luggage? We are not familiar with the area so wouldn't even know where to go to kill time.

 

I don't know the dates of your cruise. However, most people that sign up for the Everglades tour will do so on the ship - not before the cruise. You should have a pretty full bus.

 

We'll be doing the Everglades Tour (thru Carnival) next January. Our flight out is around 5 PM.

[Knucklehead2]

I fly Spirit in 12 days from Atlanta to FLL, I leave ATL around 7:30am and when I leave FLL it's around 9pm. Any thoughts, comments?

[Terestron]

Not matter where i try to find a deal I always end back with American Airlines...they always have the best selection of flights w/best prices and never had too many problems with them...

 

Quite frankly i would be nervous flying the low cost carriers due to the lack of infrastructure....I am not saying AA is the best.. but they have been for me..just my 2 cents...

[psblin99]

I flew Spirit RT Orlando/San Juan last week. After 3700 flights on all airlines, they are all about the same.

[Knucklehead2]

I fly Spirit in 11 days from Atlanta to FLL, I leave ATL around 7:30am and when I leave FLL it's around 9pm after the cruise. Any thoughts, comments? Is this airline still having trouble with taking a long time checking people in at the airport?

[trim2gofast]

We flew Spirit in April to Grand Cayman. Our flight down was fine. On our return flight, they claimed that my husband wasn't in the computer. Now, I booked reservations for 5 of us together. So, how did they lose him and not the rest of us?

 

They got him on a flight from GC to FLL. In FLL, the immigration person threw away our daughter's friends form and we had to run back to immigration to be let out of customs. When we finally got to the desk to make our connection, they couldn't find my husband in the computer. I even had a print out of their confirmations from the computer. Instead of printing a boarding pass and rushing us to the gate, they kept calling in managers who all tried to figure out the problem.

 

Needless to say, we missed our connection. They destroyed one of our new suitcases. No one ever offered an apology and we walked into the door of our home at 4:30 am and had to go to work the next day.

 

Check out everything very very carefully if you are flying on Spirit!!!