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Buying Spirit tickets at the airport (changes)

Buying Spirit tickets at the airport (changes)

Old Aug 8, 2019, 8:45 am
  #31  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Originally Posted by jebr
Same here. There was no fuel surcharge or "regulatory fee" when booking online, but there was when booking at the airport. Those fees did apply to the excise tax, but they weren't applied when booking online. I actually filed a DOT complaint over it because I'm pretty sure that it violates the reason that they're able to charge the Passenger Usage Fee and not pay excise tax on it.
Awesome on the DOT complaint! So what was the result of it? I was going to file one too...

Originally Posted by rsteinmetz70112
All of these charges are a dodge to get around the excise tax. That they are now doing it at the airport although using different charges sure seems like tax evasion to me.
Yes, definitely. What's interesting is the website now states that the Fuel Charge and Regulatory Compliance Charge apply in select instances, and don't apply to select promotional fares. Having said that, if the website doesn't charge those two line items for the same fare class, the airport shouldn't, either - period. And that's not what's happening right now in practice; some fares ARE getting these two extraneous charges added on, which in most cases almost wipes out the savings from the Passenger Usage Charge.
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Old Aug 8, 2019, 9:36 am
  #32  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Minnesota
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Originally Posted by btonkid12345
Awesome on the DOT complaint! So what was the result of it? I was going to file one too...
So far just an acknowledgement that they've received my complaint. I filed it last week, and I think they have 60 days from filing to give a formal response. Since I cancelled the ticket within the 24-hour window, I'm not sure if there'll be any compensation due (or if they'll just give a cursory response and then not change anything) but I decided that I still want it on the record in case more complaints come in and/or they keep doing this.
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Old Aug 8, 2019, 11:06 am
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by jebr
So far just an acknowledgement that they've received my complaint. I filed it last week, and I think they have 60 days from filing to give a formal response. Since I cancelled the ticket within the 24-hour window, I'm not sure if there'll be any compensation due (or if they'll just give a cursory response and then not change anything) but I decided that I still want it on the record in case more complaints come in and/or they keep doing this.
Awesome. Even if it was cancelled within the 24 hour window, a ticket was issued so the fare calculation would be stored still. And, I assume you submitted the breakdown online where it didn't add in the Regulatory Compliance Charge and Fuel Charge.

That would be enough. I had a case like this from a flight I flew last year but I forgot to file. I am so glad you did. Please keep us posted.
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Old Aug 8, 2019, 12:30 pm
  #34  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Originally Posted by btonkid12345
Awesome. Even if it was cancelled within the 24 hour window, a ticket was issued so the fare calculation would be stored still. And, I assume you submitted the breakdown online where it didn't add in the Regulatory Compliance Charge and Fuel Charge.

That would be enough. I had a case like this from a flight I flew last year but I forgot to file. I am so glad you did. Please keep us posted.
Unfortunately the breakdown wasn't perfect, and it only had the "$17.23" charge in the email for my ticket (booked at the airport.) I may be able to find the receipt still which shows it differently, but I did grab the online price and included both (including the PNR for the cancelled reservation.) There may be enough for Spirit to deny any wrongdoing, but there's at least some information there for someone to track down or get a record started, anyways.

I may still book another flight that's a penny online in the future and see what happens. Worst case scenario it doesn't happen next time at the airport. I'm there frequently enough that it's not much hassle to buy a ticket.
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Old Aug 8, 2019, 3:26 pm
  #35  
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I think that just breaking down the fees from online isn't enough to determine if you should buy from airport. There is no way to know what the fuel surcharge will be, or if it will even be added. I have noticed that when I go buy crazy cheap ORD-LAS tickets, they tend to add the ridiculous fees. I assume that is because they think that flight should normally be a moneymaker.
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Old Aug 28, 2019, 8:12 pm
  #36  
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
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I just had a similar experience buying at the airport. They took away the Passenger Usage fees but then tripled the Regulatory Charge and Fuel Charge. I bought a ticket for me, my wife and my under two kid. So regulatory and fuel fees went from being per person per segment.

The breakout was for three tickets (2 tickets plus infant):

Online
Flight: 115
Regulatory Compliance Charge: 13
Fuel Charge: 22
Passenger Usage Charge: 118

At Airport
Flight: 126
Regulatory Compliance Charge: 39
Fuel Charge: 66


So we saved $30 dollars overall, but i was pretty disappointed they they just shifted around the fees. The terms and conditions say that the fuel charge and regulatory compliance charge are per person per segment, however "the fee not apply to certain discount fares"

At least with the passenger usage fee, the T&C tell you how to avoid it. The other fees are very ambiguous as to what they are for and which fares they apply to. Because they have fees that basically offset each other (you are paying them one way or another), It seems very bait-and-switch.

Last edited by thewalrushunter; Aug 28, 2019 at 8:13 pm Reason: grammar
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Old Sep 14, 2019, 10:15 pm
  #37  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 43
Figured I'd chime in with my own experience today at BOS.

I was in the city today anyway, so I stopped in to book round-trip BOS to MCO in late October for two people. Online the fare was (and still is) quoted at $201.18 total for the two passengers. Subtract the listed $81.96 Passenger Usage Charge and it *should* have been $119.22 at the counter. However I was charged $133.24. I wasn't going to quibble over $7 per person, but still, the discrepancy raises some questions.

What's interesting is that the fare breakdown is totally different between the paper receipt from the counter, the email receipt and what the website is quoting me.

Paper receipt:
Fares: 0.04 (yes, 1 cent per person per flight)
Travel Fees: 133.20
Taxes: 5.32
Fees: 0.00
Other: -5.32
Total: 133.24


Email receipt post-booking:
Flight price: 70.72
Government's Cut: 62.52
Total: 133.24


Currently quoted online:
Flight price: 139.64
  • Flight: 22.34
  • Passenger Usage Charge: 81.96
  • Regulatory Compliance: 13.02
  • Fuel Charge: 22.32
Government's Cut: 61.54
  • Security Fee: 22.40
  • Segment Fee: 16.80
  • Passenger Facility Fee: 18.00
  • Federal Excise Tax: 4.34
Total Due: 201.18


Odd.

-Rob
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Old Dec 9, 2019, 1:51 pm
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by jebr
So far just an acknowledgement that they've received my complaint. I filed it last week, and I think they have 60 days from filing to give a formal response. Since I cancelled the ticket within the 24-hour window, I'm not sure if there'll be any compensation due (or if they'll just give a cursory response and then not change anything) but I decided that I still want it on the record in case more complaints come in and/or they keep doing this.
Have you heard back?

I'm curious, as this exact same thing happened to me today.
Instead of the flight prices going down $22.99, it ended up going down about $5 after the additional fees.
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Old Dec 11, 2019, 7:20 am
  #39  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Minnesota
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Originally Posted by hur88
Have you heard back?

I'm curious, as this exact same thing happened to me today.
Instead of the flight prices going down $22.99, it ended up going down about $5 after the additional fees.
They said it was a training issue, but wouldn't elaborate further. I'd probably consider filing a DOT complaint if it continues, as they made it sound like it was a one-off issue. More reports could build a case that it's not a one-off issue.
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Old Dec 13, 2019, 12:12 pm
  #40  
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
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Originally Posted by jebr
They said it was a training issue, but wouldn't elaborate further. I'd probably consider filing a DOT complaint if it continues, as they made it sound like it was a one-off issue. More reports could build a case that it's not a one-off issue.
I'm not sure I believe its training related. I bought tickets in Denver in October and the savings vs. the website was $5 per passenger each way. It was still a good deal since these were super cheap $33 tickets so the online percentage discount promo codes would not have applied.

I think what Spirit is doing is waiving the fuel charge when you purchase online but not at the ticket counter. It's a pretty ingenious strategy for them to have their cake and eat it too. If you buy online they charge the passenger usage fee and if you buy at the ticket counter they charge the fuel charge, neither of which is subject to the federal airfare excise tax, and they also don't have to give up the revenue associated with the passenger usage fee if you purchase at the airport.
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Old Apr 16, 2023, 1:36 pm
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by tatterdema
If you go all the way through to the payment page it breaks it down. I bought tickets at the airport Tuesday and saved about $20 each way. I did not see any new fees.
Is there a way to view the breakdown without having to go all the way through to the payment page?
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Old Apr 16, 2023, 8:32 pm
  #42  
 
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Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
Is there a way to view the breakdown without having to go all the way through to the payment page?
No, it's like they don't want to make it easy to see the fare breakdown
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Old Apr 22, 2023, 3:00 am
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
Is there a way to view the breakdown without having to go all the way through to the payment page?
It's definitely annoying. At least the website loads a lot faster than it used to. I think they improved the underlying IT in the last few years.
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