Is Spirit Air an okay airline?

[elycelynne]

I noticed that they have nonstops from Chicago O'Hare to Ft. Lauderdale, which prior to this were practically nonexistent except for one early morning nonstop on American. How were your experiences with Spirit? Are they generally okay, or am I better off flying Southwest from Midway?

[6rugrats]

Perhaps a quick google search will answer your question? Lots of reviews out there.

 

I would not fly Spirit, but everyone likes different things.

[ab0si]

Perhaps a quick google search will answer your question? Lots of reviews out there.

 

I would not fly Spirit, but everyone likes different things.

 

Ah, so polite. :)

 

I, being from the south side of Chicago, am neither so restrained nor polite.

 

I would take Spirit rather than Greyhound.

I would take Spirit rather than walking.

I would fly cargo rather than fly Spirit.

 

Be careful of the fees for America's answer to Ryan Air. There are fees for everything including buying a ticket. The cheap fare might not be so cheap when you add everything up. Also, if there is a problem, you are strictly on your own.

[Love the beach]

My DD and family flew Spirit in November round trip (NY to Orlando) and were very happy with it. She belongs to their $9.00 fare club and actually got the $9.00 fare. Total cost for the four of them was $253. round trip!

[jerseygirl3]

We live very near Atlantic City and we've been flying Spirit Air since their inception (probably 15 years, at least). We've never had a problem with them. I've had more problems with other carriers.

[jetexpress]

Luggage would be free on Southwest. However, I much more enjoy flying Spirit than I do flying Southwest. Much friendlier flight attendants in my own opinion and no need to worry about checking in early to reserve your spot towards the front of the Southwest "cattle call." The one negative I do have about Spirit is a high likelihood of your flight being overbooked. They are usually able to find volunteers to take a later flight but there is always that chance you could receive an involuntary bump.

 

Both airlines have their pluses and minuses. If it were me I would choose Spirit unless Southwest fares were significantly lower.

[jerseygirl3]

Luggage would be free on Southwest. However, I much more enjoy flying Spirit than I do flying Southwest. Much friendlier flight attendants in my own opinion and no need to worry about checking in early to reserve your spot towards the front of the Southwest "cattle call." The one negative I do have about Spirit is a high likelihood of your flight being overbooked. They are usually able to find volunteers to take a later flight but there is always that chance you could receive an involuntary bump.

 

Both airlines have their pluses and minuses. If it were me I would choose Spirit unless Southwest fares were significantly lower.

 

That's interesting. We've flown Spirit probably close to 100 times over the years, and only once did they ask for volunteers for an overbooked flight. It was from FLL to A.C. We took the bump (DH was happy he got to stay over in Ft. Lauderdale and watch the Superbowl...otherwise we would have been enroute during the game).

 

Jo-Ann

[pms4104]

My concern about Spirit would be their limited lift in and out of ORD. Spirit does not have agreements with any other carriers so, if there's a problem or delay, you wait for the next available seat on Spirit or you pay a walk-up fare on another airline, assuming there are seats available on short notice. Not a pretty way to begin or end a vacation.

[jetexpress]

That's interesting. We've flown Spirit probably close to 100 times over the years, and only once did they ask for volunteers for an overbooked flight. It was from FLL to A.C. We took the bump (DH was happy he got to stay over in Ft. Lauderdale and watch the Superbowl...otherwise we would have been enroute during the game).

 

Jo-Ann

 

 

The only route I have flown with Spirit is DTW-FLL or FLL-DTW probably 10 times now. I used to always fly AirTran for this route but Spirit has various nonstop options so I have been choosing them more and more lately. So far, every time, they have asked for volunteers to give up seats.

 

Just two weeks ago as I was leaving FLL the gate next to me was asking for volunteers to give up seats on a flight to ACY. Only rebooking option they had was flight from PBI to PHL the next day at 2:00pm.

 

Just like camp637 said, your options are limited should you be bumped/miss connection on LCC's. I do not feel Spirit is a great airline but my point was I feel they are better than Southwest.

[kenish]

I've never flown Spirit. They are probably a good value if nothing goes wrong. As soon as you have lost luggage, need a refund, or have a complaint/issue the one and only way to contact them is via email. Their phone line is for reservations only.

 

Spirit has an infamous internal email that became external when their president accidently did a "Reply to all". The gist was "screw the customer and their complaint, they will be back for more as soon as we save them $5". It's widely used in corporate training on customer service and e-mail "don'ts".

[jerseygirl3]

I guess part of my bias toward liking Spirit is because I have been fortunate enough to, on several occasions, fly from Atlantic City to Ft. Myers or Ft. Lauderdale for $9 each way. It's hard to pass on that, especially when we live minutes from the A.C. airport. We always fly down a day or two early for cruises, and we've never had a cancelled flight, so we've never worried about missing the ship.

 

I just booked my parents on a flight from Atlantic City to Boston for $3 each way. No kidding.

[jetwet1]

we have flown with NK a couple of times, but up front in "the big seat" which cost the same as other airlines coach seat. No issues with them other that check in at FLL being a nightmare.

[cardbucfan]

We have only flown Spirit one time and that was from Ft. Lauderdale to Costa Rica and back. We will probably never fly them again because the plane seemed much smaller (tall people with lots of legs and my knees were pressing against the seat back in front of me the entire time) than American. The worst was coming back into the country it took FOREVER to get thru customs. Can't say it was the airlines fault but they didn't help any.