Spirit Gets Even Worse!!

[cmw5682]

I just saw saw on the news Spirit Air upped their carry on fee and is now charging a whopping $100 per carry on for each part of your flight. This adds $400 to the roundtrip ticket price for people like me who cannot get direct flights. They were already the WORST airline but their prices were so good I'd suck it up and use them anyway. Not anymore!!

[cmw5682]

...and totally off topic, I am tickerless because I am 9 months pregnant and am due in 3 DAYS!! I am SO done!!

[JJShaw]

Copied from:

http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=641052

Spirit Airlines is raising its existing fee to bring a carry-on bag aboard the plane from $45 to $100 -- (each way)... not per leg

Carry-ons are bags that go into the overhead bins. The fee does NOT apply for personal items like your purse or laptop bag, which can fit under the seat.

Now, there are some things that customers can do to save on those baggage fees. You'll ONLY pay the $100 fee if you get to the airport, go straight through security, get to the gate and then realize you haven't paid for your carry-on yet.

So a little planning will save you money.

It'll cost you $50 per bag IF you pay at the ticket counter or airport kiosk, before you go through security.

But the cheapest way to carry on is to pay $35 when you book your ticket online.

Also, unlike most airlines, if you fly Spirit, it's almost always cheaper to check your bag than carry on -- usually about $5 less.

These new fees go into effect November 6th.

Or you could just check a 40lb bag which is currently at 28.00 one way...and will go to 30.00 Nov 6th
This is what we do...and let them lug it around for us...

[Steve S]

Get the max dimension bag and throw everyone's carry on into it.

[Joppa]

Congratulations on the baby!! I heard some other bad press for Spirit tonight as well. They refused to give a Vet a refund for a flight after he was diagnosed with cancer and unable to fly. They would not make an exception to their rules and refund him the $197.

[traveler22]

WORST AIRLINE EVER

[surfnh]

Well you know, not to be the contrarian, I've never flown Spirit, but I wouldn't say it's the worst ever. They just have a different business plan and to be honest, they're very open about that plan and the customers can choose to fly them or not. It's like buying a Chevy and complaining its not a BMW. There are many ways to make a buck, Spirit is profitable, not my cup of tea, but I bet it's ultimately cheaper when one chooses to fly with them.

[traveler22]

Surf- I have flown on Spirit out of AC, so I do have experience with them! I'm not trying to buy a BMW with Chevy money. I have used AA out of JFK, USAir out of Philly and Continental out of Newark and all with better times and service to STT and they don't nickel and dime you after baiting you with a low price. If you have a problem, be prepared to talk to some one in India. Just facts. Give them a try and see if their busines plan works for you before you tell me what I'm expecting. Just a hard working guy driving a Ford pick up expecting to drive like a Ford

[JJShaw]

Surf- I have flown on Spirit out of AC, so I do have experience with them! I'm not trying to buy a BMW with Chevy money. I have used AA out of JFK, USAir out of Philly and Continental out of Newark and all with better times and service to STT and they don't nickel and dime you after baiting you with a low price. If you have a problem, be prepared to talk to some one in India. Just facts. Give them a try and see if their busines plan works for you before you tell me what I'm expecting. Just a hard working guy driving a Ford pick up expecting to drive like a Ford

I just did some checking...since alot of people are so down on Spirit..and if you an Average Joe with no points..no one pass no nothing...just buying a ticket..

AA will cost you 25.00 to check a bag,
USAir...25.00 to check a bag..
Continental..25.00 to check a bag
Spirit..28.00 to check a bag

They may not charge a seat fee...but you are also not required to purchase them from Spirit either..only if you want..you can always get a seat at the gate or when checking in..

I checked to see what return flights are costing for our dates..(not round trip)..because we used air miles to get there and I only paid 10 bucks for our flight down..however for our date of return 06/13/12, I found this:

USAir..the closet date I could find was 10th (3 days early to leave for us) and it was 276.00 (one way)

Continental/United- 1071.00-(one way)

AA. I could find nothing available

Spirit..193.00-(one way)

While they can ALL have delays...and ALL have cancellations..I dont understand why some are some quick to pass judgement on them. I dont know about anyone else...but it seems lately just about ANY where I call I get someone that can barely speak english or at least it is very broken..Its not just Spirit..

And all I expect is for them to get me from point A to point B..We are all free to choose what and where and when we wanna fly..thats a good thing..but for me..If I can get there for less than 400 rnd trip. then I will..Id rather have extra $$$ for the villa..or to use while we are there..

If I were paying a 1000.00 a ticket Id surely be expecting a bit more...and would probably be upset if I didnt get it.. If all the airlines charged that much..we would not visit STJ as often..as I cant justify expensive plane tickets that do just the same as the less expensives ones.. they get you there and get you back get...hopefully with no delays or cancellations..

With all that said..FYI..Its not a personal thing..(I am no affiliated with them in anyway) but if it were United/Continental/Delta or who ever...Id be happy to fly with them as well..if they were the least expensive to fly with..

Simple economics for us..

PS. I drive a Min Van..

[jmass10]

What about just shipping your stuff via fedex?

[surfnh]

Surf- I have flown on Spirit out of AC, so I do have experience with them! I'm not trying to buy a BMW with Chevy money. I have used AA out of JFK, USAir out of Philly and Continental out of Newark and all with better times and service to STT and they don't nickel and dime you after baiting you with a low price. If you have a problem, be prepared to talk to some one in India. Just facts. Give them a try and see if their busines plan works for you before you tell me what I'm expecting. Just a hard working guy driving a Ford pick up expecting to drive like a Ford

Hi traveler.....sorry, maybe I wasn't clear about my points, not questioning your experience. It's pretty evident that the Spirit business plan is to bait the customer with low fares, then nickel and dime them with fees. As JJ points out, they can definitely be cheaper compared to the older airlines, especially for the customer who plans ahead with respect to their luggage. They don't advertise themselves as having great customer service.....its all about price to them, and they're quite open about this fact.

But, this information is widely available on the Internet, so I guess I just don't have a lot of compassion anymore for people who are surprised by this. Many people have written in that they've never had issues with Spirit, and I think part of this is that they have very flexible travel schedules, and they go into this arrangement with their eyes wide open.

For me, I fly almost every week on business with US Air, have been doing this for about 15 years, and very rarely have a problem. I'm always interested when people complain about US Air.....maybe I'm just lucky, but I think it has more to do with experience and understanding when to avoid certain times at airports, which plane types to avoid, stuff like that. Personally I doubt I'll ever fly Spirit in my lifetime, but I guess I don't think Spirit is being sneaky or anything, they're pretty brutally honest....many people just don't like what they hear.

[traveler22]

Surf- if your happy with them, that's all that matters. I prefer the direct out of Philly on USAir but it usually runs the highest fare since USAIR pretty much owns all the gates at PHL. I ve just had better flights with other airlines. The Philly, Newark & JFK flights are direct and arrive early which is better for us. The Spirit flight has a 3hr lay over in FLL and we didn't pay much more last trip $(340pp) I also don't like the picking your seat charge since we have 3 kids to take,again just my opinion.

[surfnh]

Traveler.....you missed my point, I've never flown Spirit, have always flown US Air, mostly through Philly starting in Boston or Manchester, so we agree. The only point I'm making is that Spirit isn't lying about their business plan.....it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone....though it's not for me.

[ncsusan]

We have flown several different airlines to St. John including Spirit. All have charged me for my bags, some have tried to charge me to pick my seat in advance (which I don't do and its always been fine), some flights have been delayed, some have arrived early and the service has been different each and every time. Spirit Air has always been the most cost effective to get there from NC and I know going in that its not going to be first class service but the price is good for what I'm getting. In the end (and as I am currently without St. John travel plans) I would gladly pay the extra $25-$35 per bag if at the end of the day the result is me sipping a cold drink on my favorite island in the world.