Spirit says "Lower fares generally available at the airport."
#212
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 886
Oh, there was no one in line when I walked up, but this was about T-90 mins for the LAS flight. As it was, it was almost 7 by the time I had everything I needed and walked away, so I don't think it would have been the end of the world if I'd had to wait until then to start ticketing, with the time I spent waiting while the TA helped passengers.
#213
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Here and there
Programs: General member, former 1P
Posts: 583
First time Spirit flyer here. Went to the airport in Orlando (MCO) today and bought four one-way tickets MCO-MSP for Christmas Eve. The online price was $88 per person all inclusive, but in person it was $65, for a savings of $23 per person or $92 overall. Flying four people to the Midwest for Christmas for $260 one way is not a bad deal.
I did not think to ask for seat assignments and they were not offered. The Spirit agent could not have been nicer or more efficient - I think we were done in five minutes, despite me booking four tickets and paying cash. She acted like people plunk down 13 $20 bills in front of her every day. It was technically $260.40 and I gave her $261 - she had 60 cents back to me immediately. I expected a help desk call.
I got into line just at the right time - about a dozen families traveling same day queued up behind me. I was in and out in an hour. Airport parking is $2.
Thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread. It gave me the confidence to make the trip to the airport (30 min each way) and try my luck.
I did not think to ask for seat assignments and they were not offered. The Spirit agent could not have been nicer or more efficient - I think we were done in five minutes, despite me booking four tickets and paying cash. She acted like people plunk down 13 $20 bills in front of her every day. It was technically $260.40 and I gave her $261 - she had 60 cents back to me immediately. I expected a help desk call.
I got into line just at the right time - about a dozen families traveling same day queued up behind me. I was in and out in an hour. Airport parking is $2.
Thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread. It gave me the confidence to make the trip to the airport (30 min each way) and try my luck.
#214
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 1,781
First time Spirit flyer here. Went to the airport in Orlando (MCO) today and bought four one-way tickets MCO-MSP for Christmas Eve. The online price was $88 per person all inclusive, but in person it was $65, for a savings of $23 per person or $92 overall. Flying four people to the Midwest for Christmas for $260 one way is not a bad deal.
I did not think to ask for seat assignments and they were not offered. The Spirit agent could not have been nicer or more efficient - I think we were done in five minutes, despite me booking four tickets and paying cash. She acted like people plunk down 13 $20 bills in front of her every day. It was technically $260.40 and I gave her $261 - she had 60 cents back to me immediately. I expected a help desk call.
I got into line just at the right time - about a dozen families traveling same day queued up behind me. I was in and out in an hour. Airport parking is $2.
Thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread. It gave me the confidence to make the trip to the airport (30 min each way) and try my luck.
I did not think to ask for seat assignments and they were not offered. The Spirit agent could not have been nicer or more efficient - I think we were done in five minutes, despite me booking four tickets and paying cash. She acted like people plunk down 13 $20 bills in front of her every day. It was technically $260.40 and I gave her $261 - she had 60 cents back to me immediately. I expected a help desk call.
I got into line just at the right time - about a dozen families traveling same day queued up behind me. I was in and out in an hour. Airport parking is $2.
Thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread. It gave me the confidence to make the trip to the airport (30 min each way) and try my luck.
And getting to the spirit desk at the right time is most of the battle in my mind.
#216
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 579
Flew Spirit for the first time today. I paid a visit to the DFW ticket counter last week while connecting at the airport and must have found them just before a big rush, since almost every desk was staffed yet there was nobody in line. I walked away 5 minutes later with my $16 ticket and a seat assignment
The flight itself was fine, 20 minutes late but the seat was comfortable enough for my relatively compact frame. There were some really goofy people seated around me on the plane, not sure if just luck or if it's standard fare for the ULCCs.
The flight itself was fine, 20 minutes late but the seat was comfortable enough for my relatively compact frame. There were some really goofy people seated around me on the plane, not sure if just luck or if it's standard fare for the ULCCs.
#218
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: WN RR, B6 TrueBlue, AA, NK
Posts: 54
Ditto on a similar experience... Was in the Duty free shop at PHL waiting for a flight to London and buying my usual things I would buy for my now ex partner when flying over to visit him, smokes, cosmetics for him, and some liquor. A Spirit passenger to Vegas attempted to buy some booze and was dumbfounded and shocked when asked to produce a passport and boarding pass for an international flight. I suspected she was a Spirit PAX before even seeing this going down.
#219
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 1
I want to buy a flight for a friend from LGA-ORD, but he is nowhere near LGA as he goes to school at Yale. Can I go to ORD and do it for him? What information would they need?
(It sounds like I can but I want to make sure before I go all the way there.)
(It sounds like I can but I want to make sure before I go all the way there.)
#220
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 155
You would need his full name as it appears on his ID and date of birth. Receipt they give you will have confirmation code. The code is all he would need to go online to check in and print his boarding pass.
#221
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
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General question: can one apply an emailed promo code on a ticket purchased at the airport? I'm guessing not, but figured this would be the place to ask.
#222
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Portland, ME
Posts: 344
#223
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 366
At MCO, one of my recent airport purchases of a one-way ticket (booked in end of January) took a good 10 minutes of agent time. Spirit has a new reservation system implemented in a few airports where after a purchase is made, the agent has to use another system to print the receipt. Unlike a basic login to my spirit account where a lot of information auto fills, the agent has to manually type in the information (like my name, etc.) which consumes a lot of time.
I wonder how much agent time would I consume there if I was booking for a family of four?
And, when I wanted to check-in for this flight, I got an error that I couldn't because I was a minor. Agent didn't fill in DOB correctly. I had to call Spirit for another agent to fix this issue so that I can check in online.
In general, I felt that I was taking up a lot of agent time, when most behind me just wanted to check in a bag for a same day flight. At ATL, the agents might be using the old system. However, even there, it still takes a good amount of agent time, especially noticeable when I'm there and people are behind me just wanting to check a bag.
At ACY which is a small station, I had a poor experience where I stand in a line, then I tell the agent that I want to book a new ticket, and I'm redirected to stand in another line with people there. At MCO and ATL, the agents haven't done that to me. ACY also has limited hours to sell tickets (up to 6:30pm I think), even if there are Spirit flights departing after that.
At PHL, Spirit operates at Terminal A away from the other LCCs (that operate in Terminal E) that attract their type of passenger. If I'm heading to PHL to fly Frontier or Southwest, but want to book another ticket on Spirit for a future date, it's a hassle.
Overall, I suspect Spirit offers discounted tickets at the airport to prevent fare matching as much. But wouldn't it make more sense to just email discount codes (e.g. 15OFF)? I'd think it causes more operational problems selling at the airport.
AFAIK, the FlightFlex add-on option is not available for tickets that are purchased at the airport.
I wonder how much agent time would I consume there if I was booking for a family of four?
And, when I wanted to check-in for this flight, I got an error that I couldn't because I was a minor. Agent didn't fill in DOB correctly. I had to call Spirit for another agent to fix this issue so that I can check in online.
In general, I felt that I was taking up a lot of agent time, when most behind me just wanted to check in a bag for a same day flight. At ATL, the agents might be using the old system. However, even there, it still takes a good amount of agent time, especially noticeable when I'm there and people are behind me just wanting to check a bag.
At ACY which is a small station, I had a poor experience where I stand in a line, then I tell the agent that I want to book a new ticket, and I'm redirected to stand in another line with people there. At MCO and ATL, the agents haven't done that to me. ACY also has limited hours to sell tickets (up to 6:30pm I think), even if there are Spirit flights departing after that.
At PHL, Spirit operates at Terminal A away from the other LCCs (that operate in Terminal E) that attract their type of passenger. If I'm heading to PHL to fly Frontier or Southwest, but want to book another ticket on Spirit for a future date, it's a hassle.
Overall, I suspect Spirit offers discounted tickets at the airport to prevent fare matching as much. But wouldn't it make more sense to just email discount codes (e.g. 15OFF)? I'd think it causes more operational problems selling at the airport.
AFAIK, the FlightFlex add-on option is not available for tickets that are purchased at the airport.
#224
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
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#225
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, AmEx, NorthWest WorldPerks, Jelly of the Month. S&H Green Stamps, Subway sub club
Posts: 1,754
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