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Old Apr 11, 2014, 8:02 am
  #1  
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Spirit Is the Most Complained About U.S. Airline

Hands up if you're surprised!

A new report released by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a consumer advocacy group, shows that not only did the LCC generate the most complaints relative to its size, but also that the number of complaints received has been growing YOY.

Spirit generated about three times more complaints per passenger than any other airline.

The airlines that generated the fewest complaints per 100,000 passengers were Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, AirTran Airways, and JetBlue Airlines.
What other airlines did flyers complain most about? Frontier, UA, and AA.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayi...eport/7583651/
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Old Apr 11, 2014, 9:19 am
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it's also the most profitable.

Originally Posted by FTcadence
Hands up if you're surprised!

A new report released by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a consumer advocacy group, shows that not only did the LCC generate the most complaints relative to its size, but also that the number of complaints received has been growing YOY.



What other airlines did flyers complain most about? Frontier, UA, and AA.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayi...eport/7583651/
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Old Apr 12, 2014, 9:25 pm
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It's growing, which is more than you can say for the legacies.

OTOH, they don't handle things well when there are operational problems, and giving credits that are good for only 60 days is a policy that needs to change.
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Old Apr 12, 2014, 9:29 pm
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Originally Posted by RustyC
It's growing, which is more than you can say for the legacies.

OTOH, they don't handle things well when there are operational problems, and giving credits that are good for only 60 days is a policy that needs to change.
Right... we hate them, but when a ticket is $100+ cheaper for a flight... many take the plunge (in quality) and fly them anyway... even if they charge for toilet paper and air
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 10:34 am
  #5  
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Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza Responds to Story About Airline Complaints

The Aviation Biz Blog at the Dallas News received a letter from Spirit's CEO in response to last week's story about the airline being the most complained about.

Offering our low fares requires doing some things that some people complain about – more seats on our planes with a little less legroom, no Wi-Fi or video screens, and no refunds without insurance; however, these reduce costs which gives our customers the lowest fares in the industry. Judging by the number of customers on our planes and repeat customer rate, most people like this tradeoff.
You can read it in its entirety here: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...mplaints.html/
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 10:53 am
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Originally Posted by FTcadence
The Aviation Biz Blog at the Dallas News received a letter from Spirit's CEO in response to last week's story about the airline being the most complained about.



You can read it in its entirety here: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...mplaints.html/
I think that first reply in the comments of that article hit the nail on the head. Spirit's CEO is glossing over the facts. The complaints about them to the FAA don't have anything to do with all the extra fees, they have to do with all the delays and cancellations, and then Spirit not doing anything for passengers who they leave stranded. Plus it looks like they have the worst record in the industry. I don't know if I agree with that poster about their lack of maintenance in terms of safety standards but based on what I've read about them and the attitude of their CEO I wouldn't be surprised if they cut corners there as well.

The CEO also makes the ridiculous assertion that even though they have the highest complaint rate in the industry (up to 8x as many as the average airline) the overwhelming majority of their passengers must be happy because they don't complain. That is ridiculous. It takes a lot of time and commitment to file a complaint with the FAA. Most people who have a complaint won't file it in the first place. They just write off Spirit as a bad experience in their life. The fact is if you have 8x as many people filing complaints compared to your competitors it means you have at least 8 times as many, if not more, disgruntled passengers.
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 7:35 pm
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Letter to Ben:

Hell has not frozen over, so I sure as heck ain't flying on your airline, no matter how cheap your fares are.
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Old Apr 17, 2014, 9:53 pm
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Originally Posted by FTcadence
The Aviation Biz Blog at the Dallas News received a letter from Spirit's CEO in response to last week's story about the airline being the most complained about.



You can read it in its entirety here: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...mplaints.html/
I support his right to offer the bare bones product that he does. I still don't plan on flying Spirit but more airlines means more competition which is good for consumers
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Old Apr 18, 2014, 7:14 am
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Originally Posted by HatAndJacket
I support his right to offer the bare bones product that he does. I still don't plan on flying Spirit but more airlines means more competition which is good for consumers
I agree but there is always a catch. It ends up lowering the bar. Unfortunately that is what America has become, a steady race to the bottom in terms of quality and service. Meanwhile many foreign competitors, particularly in Asia and the Mideast, move the other way to better and better service and luxury.
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Old Apr 18, 2014, 8:28 am
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Originally Posted by SpartanTraveler
I agree but there is always a catch. It ends up lowering the bar. Unfortunately that is what America has become, a steady race to the bottom in terms of quality and service. Meanwhile many foreign competitors, particularly in Asia and the Mideast, move the other way to better and better service and luxury.
not in every case, though... I feel like DL has become more of an "elite" airline lately... great service, great planes (though many of their non Y seats need some catching up to other airlines, admittedly, but they seem to be working on it), they are catering more to big spenders and low and medium spenders such as myself will take a hit in the FF program, but still get to enjoy our flights... then take B6, who IMHO is the king of coach class flying... free checked bag for everyone, standard seats the size of everyone else's "extra legroom" seats... you are correct that US airlines are in benny cutting mode, but I don't think anyone takes spirit too seriously because it's targeting a different demographic
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Old Apr 18, 2014, 1:05 pm
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Originally Posted by psa727
Letter to Ben:

Hell has not frozen over, so I sure as heck ain't flying on your airline, no matter how cheap your fares are.
+1
I got a Free ticket at one of their promotional events and never used it... and nobody I know wanted it as a give-away.
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Old Apr 18, 2014, 1:51 pm
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Originally Posted by Cofyknsult
+1
I got a Free ticket at one of their promotional events and never used it... and nobody I know wanted it as a give-away.
I'll take it... PM me if it's still good?
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Old Apr 18, 2014, 1:58 pm
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Originally Posted by psa727
Letter to Ben:

Hell has not frozen over, so I sure as heck ain't flying on your airline, no matter how cheap your fares are.
^^
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Old Apr 23, 2014, 9:15 pm
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My worst (horrific, repeated and unconscionable) experiences have been on United, US Airways and Delta in that order. I have never had a bad Spirit experience. So I have reverse luck!
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Old Apr 23, 2014, 10:31 pm
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Originally Posted by HRDiva
My worst (horrific, repeated and unconscionable) experiences have been on United, US Airways and Delta in that order. I have never had a bad Spirit experience. So I have reverse luck!
been flying Spirit and never had problems? u should fly them to Vegas and try some of that luck at the slots
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