Experiences with spirit air

Backtotheislands · Post by **Backtotheislands** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 3:18 pm

I think I am about to pull the trigger on buying tickets. From DFW Spirit is $200 cheaper than the next closest thing. $337 vs. $537 for a flight with 2 stops. I flew Spirit once and hated it. The layover was too long in FLL, however I got to St. Thomas an hour to hour and a half late. Even with baggage fees we will save $200 easily compared to other airlines, $3-400 for one layover. I have quite a while (October), but flights are cheaper than I've been seeing them and I want to have it booked! Anyway, please share the good, bad, and ugly! I think I recall reading that someone completely lost a day of vacation. Does that happen often? I am also posting this on TripAdvisor. Thanks so much for your input!

ncsusan · Post by **ncsusan** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:09 pm

We flew home on Spirit Airlines last March after 10 days on island. We departed ten minutes late in order for the airline congestion over Miami to ease up a bit. We landed on time but had to wait for a gate. After we left the plane and searched to find our connecting gate, we were told that due to construction we would have to leave the terminal, walk down the sidewalk to the next terminal and go back through security to board our flight, They assured us that we had plenty of time and that the gate had been notified that there were 8 passengers coming from the St. Thomas flight. We ran all of the way to the next terminal and had to wait in a long line at security with only one lane open. Just as we reached the gate they were shutting the door. They told us we would have to go back to the other terminal for them to rebook us on the next flight. Our flight left 5 minutes early.

After walking back to the other terminal and waiting in line for 45 minutes, they told us they could rebook us on the next flight which would be Tuesday night (it was Saturday). They couldn't do anything regarding hotels except give us a discount card for 10% off a room. Unfortunately it was Spring Break and there were no rooms available anywhere!

We eventually found a rental car and decided to drive north until we found a hotel room where we could better search for another way home. We stopped every hour or so to try to find a room but it was like the perfect storm, spring break- no rooms, high school golf tournament- no rooms, Blake Shelton Concert-no rooms and the NCAA Basketball Tournament- no hotels rooms anywhere in Florida. We finally found a hotel room in Georgia and slept for a few hours. In the morning we decided to would just be easier to drive the rest of the way to NC. Unbelievably our luggage made the flight connection so we had to go out of our way to drive to Myrtle Beach to pick it up. We were supposed to arrive home Saturday around 11:00 pm and we got home Sunday at 8:00 pm.

What did Sprint do for us? They refunded us a grand total of $63.20 which didn't even cover the gas for the rental car. Be very careful booking Spirit. If you miss your connection they will not help you. I would use them only if I was flying without a connection. Lesson learned, you get what you pay for.

DonnaM · Post by **DonnaM** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:27 pm

I have never flown Spirit because I have read all terrible things about them. I will say that I have noticed that it doesn't seem to pay to book early on other carriers anymore. United flights out of Newark were pricy back in October but got cheaper by January for Spring flights. I would wait.

loria · Post by **loria** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 9:46 pm

early o -- i flew them once.... and it was over the christmas break-- kids flew on miles with dad, i got the cheap seat on spirit. i am not a fan -- even though the flight was ok-ish.....you just need to be aware of what you are pulling the plug on . if you are cool with that-- then you will be fine!

equineannie · Post by **equineannie** » Fri Mar 18, 2016 9:00 am

If you can get to Ft Lauderdale I suggest changing airlines to Jet Blue. They are absolutely fabulous. The Ft Lauderdale airport is easy to navigate. Jet Blue flies more than one flight a day.

JJShaw · Post by **JJShaw** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 8:24 am

We fly them and have had pretty good luck..only one hiccup..I have no problem booking them...esp if I can save a good chunk..

kklay · Post by **kklay** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 9:52 am

I have only flown them once and it was from Ft. Lauderdale down to STT. I would probably consider for a non-stop, but not if there were connections. Just didn't really care for the small, no legroom seats and all the different charges. I've never found them to be that much cheaper than other airlines. I'm sure there are some great deals to be had, just not comfortable with chancing a missed flight and then also missing days of vacation. Now on the way back home I don't think it would bother me quite so much!

54b · Post by **54b** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:39 pm

Very long story and explanation of why I'm not a Spirit airline fan here from firsthand experience a few years back...

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... vl4DxIrK_o

And I know you posted this question on other forums and got good advice there too. But for others reading on this forum, I'll reiterate that it really does come down to flexibility of travel.

Delays happen on all airlines, but since Spirit is not as big and doesn't have the reciprocity relationships with other airlines, hotels, etc., it's much tougher for them to get you back home as fast and as comfortably as the major carriers. It is not unusual for it take at least an entire day to get to where you're going or home on Spirit.

And that is just not a chance I'm willing to take when every day on STJ is so precious and I can't fly direct from DFW.

That said, no doubt Spirit has the cheapest flights in the business and if you're flexible with dates and are savvy to their little travel quirks, they can be a very good option.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 7:49 am

echo echo echo, me too.

Spirit is our absolute last choice. They are a best effort airline. You make the effort. I'll pay $200 more per head to avoid Spirit. Our preference in order are United, Jet Blue, Delta, American... everybody else, staying home, and Spirit.

Cheers, RickG

RidgeRunner · Post by **RidgeRunner** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 5:33 pm

I guess we can count ourselves in the minority by using Spirit twice. Made all connections each way but agree that it is the last choice. There are 3 of us so if Delta is outrageously high we may try our luck again. Didn't like their Fort Lauderdale wing or their third world like departure room in St. Thomas.

54b · Post by **54b** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 6:08 pm

Ridgerunner...same deal except with AA instead of Delta...from DFW to STT, we could not ever get below $710 and actually considered for a second taking Spirit again since we were coming back on the 3rd of July and had the 4th as a buffer, but ultimately couldn't do it.

It doesn't seem like that long ago that we could get from DFW to STT for like $400. Maybe I've had too many Painkillers since then and am misremembering. Oh well, I'm going to need a lot of Painkillers to help me get over $710 per.

JJShaw · Post by **JJShaw** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 8:31 pm

710...OUCH...I feel for you..I would be tempted to try Maui from DFW...We fly them because we get good deals.. and with us being on the East Coast Im sure it helps..I paid, believe it or not..11.20 for our trip in Sept..that was 1 way..and abt 310 or so to get back..but we used air miles...and we are flexible with our time so if were delayed its not a big deal..We are staying 2 nights on STJ then flying to St Marteen ( still 2nd guessing my decision on that one) but I'm more worried about the return flight back to STT from St Marteen on Liat..I hear they aren't reliable either...and I only have abt 3.5 hrs between that flight and my flight back home..I know I know..crazy to book it that way..but hey..St Marteen is a bonus and no costs to us except to get there.. (we found this out after we bought our tickets to STT)..worse case...I get stuck..right?? lol

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