VegasGambler

Deleted

mvoight

What if the only new flgiht they offer is on Spirit?

VegasGambler

I haven't tried it but they do claim that you can book on any airline.

I thought this was a terrible deal until I noticed that you also keep (and can change or refund) your original ticket. They buy you a new walk-up ticket.

EDIT: From their FAQ:

You can choose from any available non-stop or one-stop flight we receive from our airfare search engine. Although Freebird will never purposefully limit search results, the search engine may not provide us with availability for certain airlines and/or unpublished fares.

cmd320

This has become a very interesting idea to me, especially for short flights along the east coast.

Example: Looking at a random date about 2 weeks out one way from MCO-PHL I see that AA is selling F on an A321 for $325 on a 933am flight.

In contrast NK is selling Y on an A320 for $27 on a 940am flight. Let's say I add a carry-on for $37 and buy a 'Big Front Seat' for $45 I then end up with a total for the flight of just over $108, less than a third of the cost of AA F.

On AA in F this will basically be a no service flight (drinks and a snack basket) on NK I could buy drinks and snacks for the entire flight and probably not even spend $50 and the seats are basically the same thing, uncomfortable domestic F style seats.

So to achieve what is essentially the same level of service on NK I would spend a maximum of $160. Yeah, okay I won't get a thousand useless AAdvantage miles out of it, but that's certainly not worth the price difference IMO.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

While probably not the worth the price difference if that MCO/PHL flight cancels you're waiting around for the next available seat on Spirit. With AA you can easily route through a number of hubs if direct flights are full. I would assume only under extreme circumstances within the airline's control would Spirit place displaced paxs onto another airline.

guv1976

Not only will they rebook you on another airline, but a Freebird rep told me that they will also rebook you to or from a different (nearby) airport if you like.

Herb687

Maybe there is some hope left for AA after all. If you would make such an irrational decision as to pay NEARLY TRIPLE in order to insure against a possible flight cancellation when statistically AA's operational performance is WORSE than NK's, the AA business model may yet survive thanks to your willingness to let yourself get fleeced.

Using cmd320's numbers we are talking about $108 vs. $325 on an apples-to-apples basis. There is absolutely no way to justify that premium to fly AA. It is patently irrational. It is so irrational as to border on stupid.

(Note that the truly risk-averse could back up his $108 ticket on NK with a REFUNDABLE backup ticket on an AA flight departing a couple of hours later)

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

From a site (FT) in which people will pay 2-3 times the price of Y for an F ticket instead of MCE. Some people do fly AA (and DL/UA) for other reasons. Like Spirit doesn't fly to Europe.

cmd320

I don't make my bookings around what may or may not happen in IRROPs unless there's a high probability of it or I have very few other options. The reality is that in the low likelihood the flight was severely delayed or cancelled, I would just cancel and rebook on another airline. Or I would just cancel and go home if it weren't that important.

In the last 5 years I can only think of two times where I actually tried to be moved onto a different flight and I only did so because I wasn't confident in the airline's ability to actually get the plane out, both of these instances were on AA. In one case they couldn't move me onto DL (the only other option) because they had severed their interline agreement shortly before.

All that to say, if it happens 1 in 20 times, the savings will more than pay for a last minute F ticket on another flight.

Of course they don't, but specifically looking at <2.5 hour hops up and down the east coast, I can certainly see the value in NK and BFS. Would I fly it on a transcontinental if there was a lie-flat option? Probably not. But compared to AA F to PHL or UA F to IAD, I think it's definitely worth a shot.

Herb687

We are not talking about flying to Europe. We are talking about MCO-PHL (or, in my example, DFW-LAS).

Take it as a given that I am not willing to sit in Y on this flight, thus this discussion is a comparison of NK BFS to AA F. AA F is almost triple the cost of NK BFS on the flights in question. The flight times and products are broadly comparable (with the exception of free beverages on AA). There is no rational reason for a paid F passenger to pay nearly 3X to fly AA compared to NK.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

I'd say the average traveler is not savvy enough to know what to do in the case of irregular operations other than wait for the airline to re-accommodate them. And you and I might have the funds to purchase a walk up ticket ticket apparently more than half of Americans don't have an extra $400 sitting around (or sufficient credit on a cc). When I take an early flight out of MIA and as I'm walking to the AC at 4:30AM there are paxs camped out all over the terminal. Few seem to understand they might have other options than to camp out in the terminal waiting for a GA to given them a BP on an open flight of the GA's choosing.

If I was an occasional leisure flyer (and willing to schlep up to FLL) sure I consider the Big Front Seat. AA's cost of F difference certainly would buy lots of snacks and drinks.

Herb687

Cheaply self-insure by buying a refundable backup ticket ahead of time if refundable fares are reasonable in that particular market.

When VX was in the DAL-LAS market but with limited frequency I wanted to enjoy VX's outstanding first class product but did not want to risk a big delay getting to Vegas. A refundable backup ticket on WN was cheap (actually, free) insurance.

guv1976

Other FTers have reported getting Freebird re-booking protection for $19 for a one-way flight. If that is still what Freebird charges, that strikes me as a reasonable way to insure against IRROPS on budget carriers -- especially in markets not served by Southwest.

cmd320

To some extent I agree, however if someone is out buying F fares then they have the money to buy ticket if need be in a pinch every once in a while. The reality is that people who aren't savvy enough to know what to do in case of IRROPs probably aren't thinking about IRROPs accommodation when booking their ticket.

HiAperture

I can also confirm sitting at the airport on Christmas Eve morning, watching flight delays start popping up all over the board. I was on B6 and their flights and the other major carriers were all marked delayed, many of Spirits, big red CANCELLED right off the bat. Also remember if you are checking a bag on Spirit you are standing in a big long line to bag drop. If it was a leisure trip, hand baggage only, and the price was right for the BFS, sure I would try NK. To make it to a scheduled interview, on a major business route, during winter, yea I would stick with the major carriers and sit in the back.

This thread is a month old though so likely the trip has already happened.