Well, Spirit has come up with another scheme to jerk around its loyal customers. Effective February 11, checked baggage will be limited to 40 pounds, down from the current 50. If you are overweight you can pay the excess fee or off load items to get it down to 40. Back in August they started charging $20 (& up) if you want to put any carry on in the overhead compartment. If you want to select a seat, it is up to $20 PER FLIGHT SEGMENT. Better to try to wheel and deal at the airport. You can upgrade to the Big Front Seat for $50 PER SEGMENT, so if you have a connecting flight each way, that's $200 big ones. I assume some sort of tax is added to that.
ya..but their ticket prices are usually way less than the mainline carriers (and most of them also charge for bags)...you pay for what u use and if you dont use those things its cheaper ...whats the problem with that?
Fun, Well, most people coming to or going from Cancun have a suitcase at least. I travel regularly and see people having to take stuff out of the big bags to meet the 50 lb weight limit. 40 is going to be that much tougher. Then you can pay "up to" $45 to have something in the overhead compartment. Still it's $20 for $9 Fare Club members who book online. Want an aisle or window seat, or a seat in a row close to the front or an exit row seat. $20 per flight segment. Most Spirit routes to Cancun, for example, connect in Ft. Lauderdale or Detroit, so the connection each way is 4 segments or $80 per person, or $160 for a couple. I would disagree with your comment that "and most of them (major carriers) also charge for bags". Name a few of them. Not Delta, American, US Airways, United, Jet Blue, Southwest to name a few who DO NOT CHARGE for the first checked bag and no one but Spirit charges for a carry on that will not go under the seat. Booking a flight is more complicated if you have airline options and want to compare fares. Too much math for the average person as there is more to it than just the raw numbers. Taxes and some "fees" can also go up for the add ons. And because their fares are so cheap sometimes, it negatively affects their customer service in a couple of ways. There is a lot of hassle with passengers who get surprised at check in who did not pay proper attention to all of the fees when booking and show up with overweight bags or two carryons. The Spirit turnover of employees in Cancun and Orlando is horrendous. Too much negative experience for a job that pays much lower than their larger competitors. In Cancun, Spirit only has one employee. The others are all contract workers who technically work for a Spirit labor contractor. That is my short analysis of "...whats the problem with that?" I used to be a loyal Spirit customer. Now I occasionally fly them on short hauls when I can travel with a backpack only. Living in Cancun that does not include many trips but it does include a 6 day quickie to Orlando in Jan and a 5 day even quicker to NYC in Mar. To each his own amigo.
Gotta side with Fun on this one. While it may seem a bit nitpicky what Spirit is doing is unbundling the pricing structure to reflect the cost of services. Hence, you essentially get what you pay for at an extremely micro level. IF you have no bags, no seating preference, etc. why should you pay more? Ticket prices are lower and if it is cheaper to use a competitor, you are always free to do so. :daveandmo: Snr. Free Market!!!!!!
Its true you have to do a lot of math to figure if you're getting a good deal...I just booked 1 way to Jamaica for March 12 (havent booked return yet, waiting for a sale) on Spirit...it was $157 total for both us, including "big front seat" and 1 piece of luggage that we will share (40 lbs is really pushing it though, will have to bring backpacks too)...so anyway $157 was a great deal being that AA and AirJamaica were charging $300 for the same thing....believe me i had a spreadsheet with all the figures, 3 diff airlines, pros and cons of arrival times, etc...now i get to do the same for the way back! All that said, its worth it if you find a REALLY good deal/sale and if you dont care where you sit, which i do.
Does anyone know if Sprit flies out of Atlantic City NJ to Cancun? I know they are adding on to the airport, but I don't know if this means they will be expanding flights overseas? I am so looking forward to the day when I can fly to the Islands from AC.
Well thanks for this info T.J. Knowing how much I need to bring along when I travel, and having a major challenge to get my suitcase to weigh just under 50 pounds, I doubt I will be able to fly this airline anytime soon... 212eric
actually us air charges for your 1st checked bag, 25$.. i just used them this past june.. air tran charges I believe 20... american didnt charge in 2009, but I tihnk they do now.. but even so, none of them charge your carry on though i believe..
American lets you check the first bag for free and the 2nd bag is $35. Each bag can be up to 50 pounds.
