Originally Posted by
fairviewroad
Of course, Spirit likes its potential customers to live under the fictitious premise that the scenario you described is the norm. Yes, there are definitely times when it's cheaper to fly Spirit even after all the fees. But the reality is that unless you take great pains to avoid ALL fees then you frequently end up paying the same price.
A simple dummy booking of a LAS-ORD itinerary in August confirms this. Spirit offers $128. Legacies (or SWA to MDW) offer $168. Both prices include taxes but not optional fees. (Spirit makes it hard to figure out which fees will actually apply since you have to register on their website to get a final cost.)
But let's say you simply want to carry on a bag. It will cost you an additional $35 on Spirit, bringing their fare to $163. Of course, if you want to check a bag (it's more expensive on Spirit than on the legacies) the price is now even. (And if you choose SWA in this scenario, you're well ahead of Spirit by this point.)
So yeah, it would be cheaper on Spirit for a quickie weekend trip with a small purse (or whatever men use on Spirit) but for a real-world traveler it's generally no bargain.
Excellent idea. I did a dummy booking to get final costs. Depart LAS to ORD on 08/11 and return on 08/18.
Spirit, with 1 checked bag AND 1 carry-on bag = $407
Depart LAS on 08/11 at 1AM and arrive ORD at 6:26AM
Depart ORD on 08/18 at 3:30PM and arrive LAS at 5:16PM
United, with 1 checked bag (carry-on bag is free) = $413
Depart LAS on 08/11 at 6AM and arrive ORD at 11:30AM
Depart ORD on 08/18 at 5:30PM and arrive ORD at 7:22PM
So, apples to apples, Spirit is $6 cheaper. Now, remove the carry-on bag (since you are checking a bag I am sure you can get by with the smaller personal item) and the cost for Spirit is $347.
This is what I mean. It is silly to complain about the fees for carry-on and seat selection and buying online and so on when the TOTAL is cheaper than the other airlines. I understand the value of Mileage Plus and AAdvantage etc and do not dispute the value of them. I just am commenting on the whining about "fees" charged when the whiner does not take into account the TOTAL cost of the trip.