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I'm actually a fan of Spirit, but only fly one route. LAX to CLE. I have it down.
I bought the annual member deal and got the credit card.
I can get it for $120 rt at times. I do pay $100 more total for front row seats. I pay $21 each way more for checked bags. I also have a "CLE KIT" in CLE with my cousin- extra clothes and shoes.
I have a trip coming up in April. With points, I paid $133 with 2 nights at a hotel downtown (I stay only here and am working the points as well).
You have to learn how to use the system.
Staff has always been very friendly. I buy a water before boarding and maybe a snack, but eat before so I do not buy anything on the flight.
If you show up for a flight and have to pay those fees? Ouch!
Never choose a seat, and keep my life insurance current.
Huh? You do realize Spirit (as well as Southwest, Frontier and Allegiant, the other low-costers), for all their crappy service, have never had a hull loss or a passenger fatality due to an accident?
My boss went from FL to NJ with his wife and two kids. Cost a little under $400 for a round trip, direct flight for 4 people! He never mentioned all these extra charges but he's pretty money conscious so he probably would have said something.
Just for the heck of it, I researched this morning roundtrip fares between PHL and LAX on the same weekdays. The lowest was Spirit for $265(now I know better, of course), the next "real airline is American for $307. The "savings" will disappear before the wheels are up.
Or, if you're not checking luggage and don't need a certain seat, you are saving a few bucks. Budget airlines work on an a la carte pricing structure. You don't have to pay for what you aren't going to use. That's very attractive to some people.
Your biggest mistake was paying for a seat to get a specific assigned seat. Just don't. When you turn up at check in - you get assigned a seat... no charge.
If you want to do low cost, do Frontier. Be conscious of what you pack and you will be ok. We had one large checked bag and it was $30 bucks each way. Wife had an under the seat bag which was free.
Wife and I went to ATL for New Years flying from Chicago. We had a connection in Denver with a 7 hr layover. Some people see it as an inconvenience, but we saw it as 2 trips in one. We explored Denver for a few hrs, then hopped right back on the plane for the rest of our trip. Vice Versa on the way back. Seating was ok, but for $245 rt for both of us, during the holiday season, and to get to visit two major cities in one trip, can't beat it.
Until last week, I hadn't even heard of Spirit so when it came on top on Expedia I took notice. Flying round trip to LAX from PHL for $489 for two seemed like a bargain until you start paying attention. Checked bags $40 per passenger ($100 if checked at the gate) so we decided to take just one piece. But then you start hitting the weight limit (40lb). That's 15lb per person if you take out the weight of the luggage itself. Then comes the seats. There are no free seats, which makes you wonder what are the tickets for. Cough up $22 a seat. Once you board you realize you are sitting on basically what amounts to jumps seats, non-reclining and impossibly close. Sitting 6 hours in those seats is positively a health hazard. And here is the kicker. On the return flight, we go through Atlanta. You are charged another luggage fee between Atlanta and Philly. To make a long story short, here s the breakdown of flying a "discount" airline.
Original ticket price(2)- $489
Luggage(PHL-LAX)-$40
Seats(PHL-LAX)-$44
Luggage(LAX-ATL-PHL)-$80
Seats(LAX-ATL)-$110
Seats(ATL-PHL)-$70
Total...............$833
I am not counting the aggravation factor, the horrible web site that crashed multiple times and the nagging feeling of wondering if you are doing things EXACTLy as required. I am sure I could have gotten the same deal with a "real" airline. How they stay in business eludes me.
I just flew Spirit, and had absolutely no problems. I paid about $270 round trip for THREE from Pittsburgh to Tampa. That's $90 per person. And that is with one bag added (stuffed and still under 40 lbs), and three reserved seats towards the middle of the plane. We took the three free carryons and researched the size ahead of time. Both flights arrived early.
I could have done without the reserved seats and been just fine like our friends on the same flight did, which would have brought it down under $200 for THREE, but in that it was my sons first flight I wanted to make sure we were together. The original fare was $42 freaking dollars round trip.
Just read. Nothing shocking.
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