Spirit says "Lower fares generally available at the airport."
Mar 26, 2015, 10:46 am
#121
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 1,782
Big sale just announced.
$70 RT to most of the places they fly (on limited dates). $35.98 cheaper at the airport....
$70 RT to most of the places they fly (on limited dates). $35.98 cheaper at the airport....
Apr 21, 2015, 7:14 pm
#123
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 1
I have seen this sentence on many pages on Spirit's website:
"Lower fares generally available at the airport" (sometimes followed by: "and are subject to availability")
I see it all over, like in the fine print on sale pages and also at the bottom of the checkout pages. I've googled and can't find anything on this. Could it actually be true that you could show up at the airport (presumably for a flight that appears to have plenty of availability) and get a lower fare at the ticket counter than you would online? Somehow that doesn't seem right, but they put that sentence all over their website.
Has anyone ever tried this?
"Lower fares generally available at the airport" (sometimes followed by: "and are subject to availability")
I see it all over, like in the fine print on sale pages and also at the bottom of the checkout pages. I've googled and can't find anything on this. Could it actually be true that you could show up at the airport (presumably for a flight that appears to have plenty of availability) and get a lower fare at the ticket counter than you would online? Somehow that doesn't seem right, but they put that sentence all over their website.
Has anyone ever tried this?
I saw it ONE TIME and then I tried it. It was 100% true. They're telling you right there. It's plain as day. A flight to Vegas online round trip for $130 cost me $97 at the airport. I did have to pay $9 to park, but I work 8 minutes from the airport. Definitely worth finding out.
Apr 22, 2015, 2:47 pm
#124
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
You save $17.99 each way on a roundtrip by buying at the airport. As for your question about people trying it, that's actually what this whole thread is about, you know. That's why this thread is here.
If the answer had been, "No," you wouldn't have had any thread on which to post your question. Right?
If the answer had been, "No," you wouldn't have had any thread on which to post your question. Right?
May 4, 2015, 9:53 am
#125
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 5
I never would have thought that tickets bought at the airport would be less than online. My wife and I were on a daytrip near Atlantic City, so we stopped in to see what it would cost for Orlando tickets. Their online (base) price $392 for two RT tickets. Ticket counter price $320. I asked the agent if she could assign us Big Seats but was told I had to do that online.
Parking fee was $2 (first 15 minutes free) so it was definitely worthwhile.
Southwest and US Airways base fares were $516 and $638 respectively out of Philadelphia. ACY is 12 miles further away than PHL, but worth it.
We used Spirit for the first time last year when we went to Chicago. I found the seating a bit cramped, and I'm only 5',9". Still not a bad experience for the price paid, other than the millennial in front of me insisting on trying to recline his non-reclining seat.
Fortunately his girlfriend intervened...
Parking fee was $2 (first 15 minutes free) so it was definitely worthwhile.
Southwest and US Airways base fares were $516 and $638 respectively out of Philadelphia. ACY is 12 miles further away than PHL, but worth it.
We used Spirit for the first time last year when we went to Chicago. I found the seating a bit cramped, and I'm only 5',9". Still not a bad experience for the price paid, other than the millennial in front of me insisting on trying to recline his non-reclining seat.
Fortunately his girlfriend intervened...
May 4, 2015, 11:48 am
#126
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: The Windy City via Santiago
Posts: 118
BE WARNED
Yep, worked for me today. Saved $101.64
I live next door to O'Hare, so ran over after picking Ms. Stuffy up from school. Parked for $2.
ORD-LGA RT (3 tickets)
Online Standard Fare total: $593.64
Ticket Counter total: $492.00
Took 17 minutes from getting parking ticket on the way in, to paying parking ticket on the way out. My daughter timed me.
While I was there, I even checked prices on a couple other flights. Agent was super fast.
Mr. Stuffy will be happy to learn about this little tip.
I live next door to O'Hare, so ran over after picking Ms. Stuffy up from school. Parked for $2.
ORD-LGA RT (3 tickets)
Online Standard Fare total: $593.64
Ticket Counter total: $492.00
Took 17 minutes from getting parking ticket on the way in, to paying parking ticket on the way out. My daughter timed me.
While I was there, I even checked prices on a couple other flights. Agent was super fast.
Mr. Stuffy will be happy to learn about this little tip.
Turns out there were major storms in ORD during the return which forced Spirit to cancel boat loads of flights.
And that's how I learned that Spirit does NOT have reciprical agrreements with other carriers.
Our Thur morning flight was cancelled and the next available wasn't until Mon afternoon!! Mr. Stuffy had a very important meeting Monday morning so we ended up buying one-way tickets on another carrier ($743) and flying to DTW, then MKE and our daughter drove up to take us back to ORD. WHAT A NIGHTMARE.
MR. STUFFY refuses to fly Spirit again.
May 4, 2015, 3:16 pm
#127
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
I think my November 3 post already warned people. Here's what I said:
Irregular operations. When it comes to flying Spirit, I'm now absolutely certain, that's the real Achilles Heel. (And, no, they won't put you on another airline's flight -- virtually never.)
How do I know, beyond peradventure, that I'm completely right? Courtesy of the excellent Vinay Bhaskara at Airways News, I know because their CEO said so earlier this year:
"[E]veryone else in the industry, when they have a disruption they cancel the flight, and then they re-accommodate you on another one of their flights 2 hours later. We don’t have that ability. Or they put you on another airline, because they have a preferential, pro-rate exchange deal with that airline that they don’t give to Spirit. United, Delta, American all help each other when their customers are disrupted but they won’t do that with Spirit. They won’t give us that deal. We ask them every week and they keep saying no. So what we do is we sacrifice on-time for high completion. And in certain times, that results in lower on-time than we’d like."
And that says it all, n'est-ce pas?
Irregular operations. When it comes to flying Spirit, I'm now absolutely certain, that's the real Achilles Heel. (And, no, they won't put you on another airline's flight -- virtually never.)
How do I know, beyond peradventure, that I'm completely right? Courtesy of the excellent Vinay Bhaskara at Airways News, I know because their CEO said so earlier this year:
"[E]veryone else in the industry, when they have a disruption they cancel the flight, and then they re-accommodate you on another one of their flights 2 hours later. We don’t have that ability. Or they put you on another airline, because they have a preferential, pro-rate exchange deal with that airline that they don’t give to Spirit. United, Delta, American all help each other when their customers are disrupted but they won’t do that with Spirit. They won’t give us that deal. We ask them every week and they keep saying no. So what we do is we sacrifice on-time for high completion. And in certain times, that results in lower on-time than we’d like."
And that says it all, n'est-ce pas?
May 12, 2015, 5:37 pm
#129
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 1,782
Just got IAH-MGA for $160 RT on the inaugural flight.
Others available right now for late May/early June:
IAH-Toluca for $112.59 RT
IAH-SAL for $142.13 RT
IAH-SAP for $135.00 RT
IAH-SJD for $169.78 RT
IAH-SJO for $169.33 RT
Others available right now for late May/early June:
IAH-Toluca for $112.59 RT
IAH-SAL for $142.13 RT
IAH-SAP for $135.00 RT
IAH-SJD for $169.78 RT
IAH-SJO for $169.33 RT
May 12, 2015, 9:02 pm
#130
Join Date: May 2006
Location: BOS and ...
Programs: UA 2MM, AA 600k, DL 500k, Hyatt GP 1M, HH Gold, Rad. Gold, CP Gold, Miracle Fruit-su Club
Posts: 9,950
1) W/r/t "... We don't have that capability ...," it sounds like they're setting themselves, and a lot of passengers, up for debacles such as JetBlue has run into with their "running thin" business model when a winter storm hits. Only Spirit isn't yet big enough to be consequential/newsworthy.
2) The topic of this thread sounds very much to be the now-ancient m.o. of standby fares. I'll bet that many here aren't old enough to remember them. It was the best deal going in the olden days. Breathtaking at times, especially if you didn't live near the airport, or you were a student trying to get home from college at Thanksgiving or Christmas. But inspirational when you scored. Abandoned when the original "APEX" expanded across air travel, rewarding us for bearing more opportunity cost by going all in early.
In both cases, they're splitting the risk with the passenger. Which means that it's oh-so-cheap as long as it works. And then it's, well, it's all on us if it doesn't.
It seems that Spirit is playing every hand that every LCC has used. Pray they don't play ValuJet's.
2) The topic of this thread sounds very much to be the now-ancient m.o. of standby fares. I'll bet that many here aren't old enough to remember them. It was the best deal going in the olden days. Breathtaking at times, especially if you didn't live near the airport, or you were a student trying to get home from college at Thanksgiving or Christmas. But inspirational when you scored. Abandoned when the original "APEX" expanded across air travel, rewarding us for bearing more opportunity cost by going all in early.
In both cases, they're splitting the risk with the passenger. Which means that it's oh-so-cheap as long as it works. And then it's, well, it's all on us if it doesn't.
It seems that Spirit is playing every hand that every LCC has used. Pray they don't play ValuJet's.
May 13, 2015, 4:21 am
#131
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: Mileage Plus, Aadvantage, Skymiles, Marriott, Priority Club, SPG, Amtrak, Hertz
Posts: 834
I've a question re: "Lower fares generally available at the airport". I've two travel vouchers from a cancelled flight - lots of limitations on redeeming, but I found some dates that would work. The vouchers don't cover the "customer usage fee" so I'm planning on going over to LGA to get the tix.
Where do I actually go to book? Check in counter? Customer service? Never purchased a ticket at the airport before.
Where do I actually go to book? Check in counter? Customer service? Never purchased a ticket at the airport before.
May 13, 2015, 8:30 am
#133
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 1,782
I've a question re: "Lower fares generally available at the airport". I've two travel vouchers from a cancelled flight - lots of limitations on redeeming, but I found some dates that would work. The vouchers don't cover the "customer usage fee" so I'm planning on going over to LGA to get the tix.
Where do I actually go to book? Check in counter? Customer service? Never purchased a ticket at the airport before.
Where do I actually go to book? Check in counter? Customer service? Never purchased a ticket at the airport before.
Jun 20, 2015, 12:26 am
#134
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1
can I purchase checked bags and carry on bags if I purchase at the airport?
Hello All
From the Houston area. If I decide to purchase tickets from IAH for Spirit, do yall know if I can purchase checked bags and carry on bags at the same time? If so, then it would probably be at the standard rate and not the $9 rate, right?
Thanks,
Hat
From the Houston area. If I decide to purchase tickets from IAH for Spirit, do yall know if I can purchase checked bags and carry on bags at the same time? If so, then it would probably be at the standard rate and not the $9 rate, right?
Thanks,
Hat
Jun 20, 2015, 11:04 am
#135
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
Not only can you purchase bag fees when you buy your ticket, but as of a few weeks ago you really have to: if you don't, the price goes up for any later purchase. I'm not sure about how the $9 thing works, however.
I never pay any fees myself, and so I'm just going by what the website says.
I never pay any fees myself, and so I'm just going by what the website says.