BFisher244

I just took my first roundtrip on spirit air. It seems like nothing went right for this airline.

Let's start with my initial check-in at LGA. I arrived and saw a nice long line to check in. I got onto it and waited like the rest of the people. 60 minutes later I made it to the part where I had to decide to go left for bag check or right for all transactions. Since I did not print my boarding pass out I decided to go to the right for all transactions. When I made it to the front of this line a very rude spirit staff member told me that this line is for special help only and that I need to go back to the beginning of the line and this time go to the left for bag check. This guy was making an attempt to be professional but in the process you could see his clear lack of caring and complete and utter disdain for all customers. When I told him that I had been waiting for quite a while, and that the sign did denote all transaction, not special assistance he got snooty with me and everyone standing around me. After complaining to him about his lack of doing his job (he could have stood at the fork and directed people) he told me if I stayed on this line I would be charged $10 a person when I check in. I did not have enough time to have to wait another 90 minutes so I decided to stay where I was. When it was my turn to check in the woman at the desk had overheard what happened and was nice enough not to charge. She denoted that guy didn't know what he was talking about. We had to wait for 18 other planes on the runway. Other than that the outbound trip was fine.

The return trip was a much bigger comedy of errors. 1st off the flight initially showed as a half hour delay due to weather. Ok no big deal. This is beyond their control. When it was time to board they said we had 7 minutes to get onboard otherwise we would miss our window. Everyone rushed onboard, the flight attended did a super speed safety speech, and when we got to the runway we were told it would be only a few minute wait. A few minutes later we were told we would be going back to the gate as we missed our window. They allowed everyone to disembark the plane and told us when we needed to be back. Everyone boarded a little earlier than denoted. We began to taxi when we were told that we once again missed our window. This time we had to wait an hour on the plan and no one was let off. Eventually we made it to the runway and took off. Now here is the part that pisses me off the most. about a minute into the takeoff the one male flight attendant made an announcement "ladies and gentlemen we may have to turn around. we will let you know our decision momentarily". Now I am a paranoid flyer. My 1st thought was that something was wrong with the plane. When 5 minutes went by with no announcement I stopped a flight attendant who walked by me. She said that the male flight attendant was just being stupid and that the announcement was a joke. I find this joke to be disgusting and unacceptable. I complained to spirit customer service and they could not care less!!!! They didn't care about the male flight attendant's stupid joke, and they also offered no compensation saying that the whole delay was due to the weather. It was not due to the weather. It was due to poor coordination on Spirit's behalf.

cubachao

i just confused why people still flying this airlines. i am sure we all know spirit is very bad before purchase the tickets. the reason is why you still support their business, they dont treat you like human beings.

BFisher244

I saved hundreds by having my wife and I fly on spirit. In the end it was not worth the money I saved.

I've learned my lesson the hard way. I will never fly them again.

catalinradio

I couldn't agree more, my wife and son just had a horrendous experience last night with a flight from DTW-LGA, totally unprofessional staff, diverted to ACY because of weather???? Buses were to be ready to take them to LGA, NJ State Police present when landed because of so many angry passengers. This airline is a joke!!! Never, ever again will we fly them and I will go out of my way to tell everyone how bad they suck!!

MileageAddict

Everyone hates them yet they are one of the most profitable airlines. Why? because people will put up with just about anything to save $$$.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/worst-...003608796.html

RustyC

Let's not forget that the legacies are making a lot of it possible by behaving cartel-like and reducing seats, cutting benefits, adding fees, etc. The cuts in seats artificially limit supply and drive up fares, which creates a vacuum that gives any airline with ability to expand an opening to grab market share.

For example, Spirit seems to be doing well with its ATL-DFW, even with others also flying the route. A few years ago that would have meant a competitive bloodbath, but now you've got the legacies cutting seats and charging too much, and Spirit filling up at 2x a day even though the best SALE fares rarely dip below $100 RT plus all the junk fees.

The legacies are giving Spirit an opening to expand and grab market share by artificially limiting supply so much.

RustyC

Re: OP. Those are two pretty common issues I see. Check-in can be slowed by all the arguments or misunderstandings over bag fees. One change Spirit made not long ago was to decide not to observe the 50 lb. industry standard and instead make 40 the standard and charge $25 for 40-50. So, if you're on a multi-airline trip, the bag that might have been OK with one airline will be too "heavy" for Spirit. Gotcha!

As for the late flights, I've posted about it before and ran into it again on my last flight. Part of their business model is to fly the planes with little turnaround time and basically no margin for error (whether ATC, weather, mechanical, etc.). They're trying to cram in one more flight per day than the legacies. But what very often happens is that something causes a delay, and then that cascades through later flights becausethey don't have cushions built into the schedule to absorb some of it. Go to concourse H in FLL on a Sunday night when there's even slightly bad weather in the area and you have a great chance of seeing a full concourse with people on several gates waiting out delayed flights (the new estimated time is really just an opening bid).

I've always held 'em at arm's length, bottom-fished 'em and used 'em only for trips that wouldn't otherwise have been made at all. Did a 10K award one to Costa Rica recently for 4 days with just a rucksack (reminded me of flying as an air courier in the early 90s). Most people don't have that kind of flexibility, though, and don't fly frequently enough to study all the gotchas and figure out how to avoid the fees.

dagrin

Only fly Spirit when you don't have to be somewhere at any particular time and you will be fine. I realize that this rules out most travelers but its the fact; I only fly them when they have an exclusive route (ORD-ACY, ORD-MYR) and leave myself a huge chunk of time to get to my destination. If I do get there on time, I am surprised and if not I bring enough work with me that it I make the best of it...

maksimfa

State police handles ACY. Your flight was not special.

fti

Most people think like you did - "Save $$$." They don't think of the fine print - all the fees, tight seats, no extra planes in case something goes wrong, etc.

I have only flown Spirit between MSP and ORD and will do so again next month on the same route. With such a short flight I don't mind putting up with the nuances, especially since the flight is dirt cheap.

Often1

Sucker Air.

fti

I must say that Spirit is very up front with all their fees. You can't go through their booking process online without being confronted with page after page of upsells - baggage, seats, insurance, etc. If people can't or don't want to read, you certainly can't blame the airline.

Often1

I didn't and I don't. But, I do say again, Sucker Air. There's one born every minute and when they stop being born, these guys will go out of business. Until then, they'll make the fortune they're making now.

maksimfa

Why is that?

Spirit is perhaps one of the most profitable airlines on a margin basis in the world... and is an example for legacy carriers.

I have plenty of clients who fly Spirit, and everyone knows exactly what you are going to get with them. A La Carte everything.

Look at PHL to LAS. Spirit, round trip, $128. They even forced US to match their fares. lol.

Spirit is an ideal airline for those who are not business travelers with expense accounts, but rather your small business owners, leisure travelers, or those who value frugality.

If I am going out of town for a day or so, and a backpack is enough, why should I pay for for baggage? If I am on a 2 hour flight from ACY to MCO, I am ok if I do not get a soda and a tiny bag of pretzels.

With a legacy airline, you PAY for all those things as they are embedded into the ticket.

I travel to Florida quite bit throughout the year for conferences, and most of the time, there is a significant price difference in fares, if so, I pick spirit, especially if I have to check a bag anyway.

Best part about flying Spirit.... people actually check their damn bags, and no longer having to fight for bin space, people pay for baggage, and their choice of carry on or checked.

Spirit flight with the Big Front Seat... better than any Economy Plus you are going to get.

With the $9 fare club, I am more than happy to give up 2 inches of space for 2 hours, and fly to Florida round trip for under $100.

maksimfa

Just an addendum...

From latest report.

Miramar, Florida (September 9, 2013) - Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE) today reported its preliminary traffic results for August 2013.

Traffic (revenue passenger miles) in August 2013 increased 28.0 percent versus August 2012 on a capacity (available seat miles) increase of 22.1 percent. Load factor for August 2013 was 90.7 percent, an increase of 4.2 points as compared to August 2012. Spirit's preliminary completion factor for August 2013 was 99.4 percent.

"As expected, the strength in demand we experienced in June continued throughout the seasonally strong summer travel period," said Ben Baldanza, Spirit's Chief Executive Officer. "We currently estimate total RASM for the third quarter 2013 will be up year-over-year in the mid-single digit range, driven primarily by higher yields and load factors in July and August, while yield and load factor for September are estimated to be flat to up slightly year-over-year as we head into the shoulder travel season."

Humn... they must be so horrible, close to 30% increase year over year.

Like it or not, Spirit is a budget airline that has massive power. While not for your expense account CEO's, it is for the budget minded families and small business owners.

One more food for thought item.

"With this order announced today, Spirit’s firm orders total: 7 A319s, 98 A320s (including 45 A320 new engine option aircraft) and 30 A321s. The airline currently operates a fleet of some 50 A320 Family aircraft."

Spirit is going to more than double their fleet. I think their experiment is proving itself. I just wish I bought some shares in the IPO.... oops.