nsx

Yes. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/talkb...tatistics.html

I expect to be repeating that counting exercise starting next week and possibly finishing in March to give a reasonable count period.

nsx

This thread has been very enlightening for me. Thanks to everyone for the great presentation of reasons pro and con.

I was completely undecided, but now I am leaning very much in favor of a Spirit forum. My reasons:

1. Spirit's business model is very different from that of the typical airline. Fee-happy airlines like Spirit beg for discussion of the pros and cons.

2. Spirit's fare and fee structure lends itself to gaming, and FT is all about gaming every system.

3. The travel experience is very different and it lends itself to griping, something that we do a lot of here.

4. Having a forum may promote more member effort on FAQs and Wikis, since those will become much more prominent and easier to find.

If the current proposal does not pass, I might attempt a proposal later in the year for a combined "Spirit/RyanAir/EasyJet plus other fee-happy airlines" forum.

If this proposal passes, perhaps our Community Director can make a tweak on her own to accommodate Ryanair and EasyJet in the forum.

Either way, I'm pretty sure we'll eventually have a forum for fee-happy airlines here. In the meantime, those who badly want such a forum should get off their rear ends and put in the effort to create a Wiki or other valuable content that will then be begging for a good home. @:-)

gkbiiii

There have been a lot of helpful people here, both Talkboard & Standard Members, Thank You to all!! Reading through the other forum proposals it is interesting to note, that most respondents had a positive view of the airline and its services. Here not so much, more like the direct opposite, with Spirit.

Overall, I am happy about the argument I gave for this forum. It was an unusual strategy, based on unusual events, for a "unique" airline. Looking back, there really was no guidelines here, as this was unchartered water; based on the strange circumstances of events and the controversial nature of Spirit.

Personally, I wish the majority of airlines were going toward the Virgin model, rather than Spirit's. There needs to be a good amount of humor when looking at this airline. I mean who would ever come up with the "Department of Transportation's unintended consequences fee".

Its so strange it has to be real, but who really could dream up this crap in the first place? Oh yes, it must be former US Airways Visionary, Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza: here with his 2010 TV ad about why new carryon fees are a good thing,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omYDG-YuSxI

100countrygoal

I absolutely think there should be a Spirit forum. While it may not draw a lot of posts, at least initially, the posts will still be helpful to those looking at Spirit. For example, the Club Carlson forum is on the lower side of post counts, but its existence has sure helped me out. I don't see the harm of having more forums even if some of them have relatively low thread counts.

Ancien Maestro

A comprehensive analysis.. Sometimes its more than post counts that garners attention.:-:

Ancien Maestro

Yes, Spirit sounds like they have very well thought out marketing program.. almost makes you think.

Perhaps, the unique offerings of Spirit shall push the number of votes enough to pass.

dramzan98

Yes. I agree a forum for Spirit should be created.

buckeyefanflyer

I flew Spirit Airlines 1 time a few weeks ago MCO-FLL and I woundered why there was no forum. They do have a frequent flyer program but I saw it was not listed. I vote for a forum.
I have a question from my flight experience. On Spirit, you have to pay extra if you want to put a bag in the overhead. How do they know whether you paid or not. I noticed people getting on the plane with large bags and no one was checking to verify payment.

Prospero

Interesting and thoughful analysis ^

Just wondering though, the criteria above is not unique to Spirit. In fact it's common across many airlines spread across a variety of global markets. If a new forum is opened up for Spirit, where does this leave Easyjet, Ryanair, FlyBe and the scores of others?

copyace

It's indicated on your boarding pass. Thought it was tricky the first time I flew Spirit too. And this likely would have been answered in a sticky IF WE HAD A FORUM

joshwex90

Like many other airlines did before they got a forum, such as IB, you can always create a sticky in the Other Airlines forum

nsx

I would argue that those airlines should be discussed in the Spirit forum. The TalkBoard might recommend that, or the Community Director could do so. It's just a matter of tweaking the name or subheading of the forum.

joshwex90

But they're not connected at all! That's akin to discussing LH in the AC forum

Prospero

Isn't the current Budget Travel or a child of BT a better home?

Ancien Maestro

Definitely an option to categorize smaller airlines in subforums.. that way they've got their own forum, but not clogging up the front page of the airline forum..

Perhaps, all airlines could be reviewed and determined if a front page forum, or a subcategory forum is warranted..