Spirit airline

[cutiepiefred]

Has anyone ever flown using spirit airlines? I live in Pa and have a cruise booked in November. well they have a good deal 188 round trip from Latrobe to either Miami or fort Lauderdale, its also non stop. I don't understand the baggage for that. so do they charge you for each bag and each carry on? or just for each bag? thanks

[Zach1213]

Spirit is an ULTRA low cost carrier. Ultra. Expect the lowest level of service possible.

 

In regards to baggage - you will pay for checked bag, AND carry-on that doesn't fit under the seat in front of you, each of these fees being about $30 per bag. At least, I believe that's still their rule. I also believe all drinks (alcoholic AND non-alcoholic) are pay-as-you-go...with MAYBE (maybe) water being free.

[Zach1213]

One more thing to keep in mind is comfort on your flight, if that's of importance. The Airbus A320 aircraft have a seat pitch (translates to leg room) of 28", which is several inches less than other A320 operates (such as Delta and United). So, there is a decent chance you'll be quite uncomfortable if you're of any reasonable height. It's also 1/2" to 1" narrowed in each seat.

[ibcnusoon]

How did you get to see the fares for November? On their website, they are only booking up to November 3rd right now.

[FlyerTalker]

I would suspect that there is VERY infrequent service from LBE. Consequently, you have minimal protection if there is any type of cancellation or delay on this route. There are NO other carriers at the airport.

 

If all of that is OK with you, note that Spirit has many ancillary fees, including carryon charges. The bottom line total may be higher than other carriers that operate from PIT.

 

Finally, the flights are to FLL, not to Miami. Spirit does not service MIA.

[6rugrats]

How did you get to see the fares for November? On their website, they are only booking up to November 3rd right now.

This is correct. OP if your cruise is Nov 4, you can't look at the Spirit pricing yet.

 

The Airbus A320 aircraft have a seat pitch (translates to leg room) of 28", which is several inches less than other A320 operates (such as Delta and United). So, there is a decent chance you'll be quite uncomfortable if you're of any reasonable height. It's also 1/2" to 1" narrowed in each seat.

I cannot even imagine a 28" seat pitch, and I'm not tall! I wouldn't even consider this.

 

I would suspect that there is VERY infrequent service from LBE. Consequently, you have minimal protection if there is any type of cancellation or delay on this route. There are NO other carriers at the airport.

Looks like there is only one flight a day, at least as of March 11, 2012, and they don't fly this routing every day. I don't know what the schedule will be like next Nov. Spirit has no agreement with any other airline. This means, if something happens to your flight, you're going to have to wait until there is availability on another Spirit flight, which may be several days later

 

If all of that is OK with you, note that Spirit has many ancillary fees, including carryon charges. The bottom line total may be higher than other carriers that operate from PIT.

 

Finally, the flights are to FLL, not to Miami. Spirit does not service MIA.

Agree, they don't fly to MIA, only FLL.

 

Yes, a carryon bag will cost you $18 if paid in advance, and $20 at the airport. The first checked bag paid in advance will cost you $28 or $30 if paid at the airport. You will also pay to reserve seats in advance. Cost varies from $25 to $10. To sit in the Big Front Seats is an extra $50 per seat. If you don't pay to select a seat, you will be randomly assigned one at the airport.

 

IMO, even Southwest is better than Spirit.

[Zach1213]

This is correct. OP if your cruise is Nov 4, you can't look at the Spirit pricing yet.

 

 

I cannot even imagine a 28" seat pitch, and I'm not tall! I wouldn't even consider this.

 

 

Looks like there is only one flight a day, at least as of March 11, 2012, and they don't fly this routing every day. I don't know what the schedule will be like next Nov. Spirit has no agreement with any other airline. This means, if something happens to your flight, you're going to have to wait until there is availability on another Spirit flight, which may be several days later

 

 

Agree, they don't fly to MIA, only FLL.

 

Yes, a carryon bag will cost you $18 if paid in advance, and $20 at the airport. The first checked bag paid in advance will cost you $28 or $30 if paid at the airport. You will also pay to reserve seats in advance. Cost varies from $25 to $10. To sit in the Big Front Seats is an extra $50 per seat. If you don't pay to select a seat, you will be randomly assigned one at the airport.

 

IMO, even Southwest is better than Spirit.

 

Southwest is light years better. I'm not Southwest lover or hater (I just hate that everyone thinks they're the best), but Southwest is a fine airline...Spirit is not.

[kenish]

One exercise is to start a dummy booking on Spirit in October or early November. Go all the way up to the point where you have to pay and look at the bottom line price with all the prepaid fees that are relevant to your trip. Also be aware of the relevant costs you will pay at the airport or on-board (food, carry-ons, etc).

 

Compare that to the same dates on AA, UA, Southwest, etc. Then make a cost/risk decision based on the caveats provided in this thread. Let us know how the prices compare.

 

Spirit has been known to completely drop service to cities with very short notice. Affected passengers have to buy last-minute, expensive tickets on other airlines. A way to guard against a cancelled or delayed Spirit flight is to prepurchase a fully refundable ticket on another airline. It's a backup that may rescue your entire trip, and if it's not needed you can get a full refund later. Note that if you take another airline you forfeit the entire Spirit ticket since they met their contractual obligation by rebooking you on the next flight with seats.

 

Depending on your cruise itenerary, bring your full passport. If you need to catch up to the cruise the airlines will not fly you there if the destination requires a passport to fly back to the US. The airline cannot assume you're returning to the US by sea.

[pms4104]

You might want to review Spirit's optional fees before making any booking with them: http://www.spirit.com/OptionalFees.aspx

[jean95404]

We used this to fly to Las Vegas. Thought it would be OK for a one hour flight. By the time we paid for the "choosing our own seat" fee, "carry on luggage" fee, one additional fee after another, we could have gone on a regular airline. Probably wouldn't use this airline again unless it was the only line that would work for our scheduling needs.

[Zach1213]

We used this to fly to Las Vegas. Thought it would be OK for a one hour flight. By the time we paid for the "choosing our own seat" fee, "carry on luggage" fee, one additional fee after another, we could have gone on a regular airline. Probably wouldn't use this airline again unless it was the only line that would work for our scheduling needs.

 

That is the single biggest mistake I see travelers make. I even have to yell at some of my coworkers, who travel more than the average person, for doing stuff like that. Always trying to go for the cheapest fare, without taking a few minutes to do the math and see what the ACTUAL price is. For example, I can fly United for $250 r/t, or American for $290 r/t. However, I get free bags on American, so the American flight is suddenly cheaper.

[ibcnusoon]

Don't forget that Spirit Airlines has a 40 lb. weight limit on checked luggage. Most other carriers hae a weight limit of 50 lbs. Go over that 40 lbs. and you'll be paying more than you would if you just checked a 2nd bag.

[kenish]

You might want to review Spirit's optional fees before making any booking with them: http://www.spirit.com/OptionalFees.aspx

 

And, some of the "optional" fees are not...such as the Unintended Consequence... fee, or the Booking fee. I guess "optional" means you have a choice of which level of the mandatory fee you want to pay, or whether you want to opt out of flying Spirit at all !

 

FYI the $9 Club membership auto-renews during the 11th month of membership. They will NOT reverse the charges. A travel ombudsman site received numerous complaints and he reluctantly has to side with Spirit...the terms are clearly stated. The caveat is you must proactively cancel your renewal in the first 10 months of membership if you don't want to renew.