SPIRIT AIR starts the nickel & dime routine

[greydread]

I was just bullshiting around the travel sites yesterday and caught a $99 each way fare to SDQ. $339 with tax from DCA. So I booked. It doesn't take much of an excuse, these days.:wink:

Spirit raised their prices last year around this time and I've been flying AA & Delta for the past year. I guess I wasn't the only one. The C&IS process at FLL is far more civilized and well organized than MIA. This will be a great trip.

[El Capitan]

Sign up for Spirit's $9 Club........I fly them exclusively to the DR and have flown or as little as $142 RT from FLL. Just cashed in three "cancelled flights" for trips I booked and then did not take......got a flight from FLL for $240 (with money already spent)

When ya gonna be there.....I land 3/19 for a week

[greydread]

Sign up for Spirit's $9 Club........I fly them exclusively to the DR and have flown or as little as $142 RT from FLL. Just cashed in three "cancelled flights" for trips I booked and then did not take......got a flight from FLL for $240 (with money already spent)

When ya gonna be there.....I land 3/19 for a week
I'm already in the $9 club but most of the really good deals there are available primarily at the hubs (FLL is a great place to fly Spirit for that reason). I'm booked for the 4th week of April. I'm cutting the D.R. back to 4 trips this year to put Colombia on my itinerary. The new Jetblue route to CTG tipped the scale in favor of going this year, probably in the Fall. My D.R. trips will help me strengthen my language skills until then.

[blacksultan]

I'm already in the $9 club but most of the really good deals there are available primarily at the hubs (FLL is a great place to fly Spirit for that reason). I'm booked for the 4th week of April. I'm cutting the D.R. back to 4 trips this year to put Colombia on my itinerary. The new Jetblue route to CTG tipped the scale in favor of going this year, probably in the Fall. My D.R. trips will help me strengthen my language skills until then.

You will not be disappointed.

[Jimmydr]

There is a resseion coming. I think single people feel it less, I think, so air specials may be on the way.

[PapiQueRico]

I'm already in the $9 club but most of the really good deals there are available primarily at the hubs (FLL is a great place to fly Spirit for that reason). I'm booked for the 4th week of April. I'm cutting the D.R. back to 4 trips this year to put Colombia on my itinerary. The new Jetblue route to CTG tipped the scale in favor of going this year, probably in the Fall. My D.R. trips will help me strengthen my language skills until then.

Be careful. I hear that Colombia is just a whole load of hype! :wink:

[greydread]

Be careful. I hear that Colombia is just a whole load of hype! :wink:
I don't know about that. My N.A. adventures have introduced me to a grip of Colombian putas and they have made a believer out of me. These Chicas pride themselves in their femininity and attentiveness. I haven't had one disappoint me yet.
</IMG>Might as well go to the source.

[Skynyrd]

Anyone hear of any rumors about Spirit going to POP anytime soon ????

[El Chivo]

Hey Skynyrd...did YOU? I fly them to SJO all the time...haven't heard anything about POP

[cainer]

Are they always late when flying to SD? I flew with them and we were late arriving and late departing and they lost my luggage and didnt return it for 2 days. They got to basically be giving a ticket away, for me to ever fly with them again.

[El Capitan]

So I get my weekly specials....this week it's $1.11 to SDQ on multiple dates in JULY.....I fuckin on it like white on rice!

Departure flight ($1.11) leaves at 6am and land in SDQ a little after 8am. Not bad, but considering I got to be at FLL by 4am for the TSA sack check, the 2 hour drive I got now sucks.....

($1.11) Return flight is another story....leaves at 3:15 am from SDQ....no fucking way so I book the 9am...it costs like $129.00...total airfare $130 plus $127 in taxes......$257 RT I'm still ok with it....

THEN the fun begins...seats (oh, you wanted seats with that flight???) I start rolling over the seats....aisle or window $10, middle of the row $5....emergency exit row for a big fucker like me $15 each way (yeah I booked'em $30) $287

I normally fly carry on...SPIRIT still allows 2 bags....one supposedly a "personal bag"...however, now IF they have to gate check it.....$25!

I can hardly wait to see how much the drinks are (were $5 each)

......... fucking oil market speculators.....taking my mongering money

[BlueDevil]

So I get my weekly specials....this week it's $1.11 to SDQ on multiple dates in JULY.....I fuckin on it like white on rice!

Departure flight ($1.11) leaves at 6am and land in SDQ a little after 8am. Not bad, but considering I got to be at FLL by 4am for the TSA sack check, the 2 hour drive I got now sucks.....

($1.11) Return flight is another story....leaves at 3:15 am from SDQ....no fucking way so I book the 9am...it costs like $129.00...total airfare $130 plus $127 in taxes......$257 RT I'm still ok with it....

THEN the fun begins...seats (oh, you wanted seats with that flight???) I start rolling over the seats....aisle or window $10, middle of the row $5....emergency exit row for a big fucker like me $15 each way (yeah I booked'em $30) $287

I normally fly carry on...SPIRIT still allows 2 bags....one supposedly a "personal bag"...however, now IF they have to gate check it.....$25!

I can hardly wait to see how much the drinks are (were $5 each)

......... fucking oil market speculators.....taking my mongering money

Spirit actually charges extra for every seat???

[Hunter]

I read a post where the line to check in to Spirit Airline sin Ft. Lauderdale is litterally 8 blocks. It takes you 3 hours to check in. And a lot of people miss their flight then are forced to upgrade. sounds like a nightmare...

[Hemp]

i have had friends who all took Spirits...they have told me it was the worst experience of all there airline travels!!!!!!! there cheap, but definitely not user friendly...i guess u get what u pay for!!!

but reading above it seems even spirits will start the old fare hike routine.........by way of the bait and switch.

[Dick Dawson]

Spirit actually charges extra for every seat???

There was a recent report that more and more airlines are charging extra depending on where you sit. (ex. aisle, near/next to an exit)

[El Capitan]

In defense of SPIRIT, I've never waited in a long line for hours. I did show up late once and they moved me through the line and I got to the plane...the last one to board.

I'm usually at FLL 2 hours before my flight, and get checked in...in about 30 minutes....most likely because I've always taken the early flights and not many passengers are in the terminal.

The seat charge thing was NEW to me, but then I could have waited and been assigned a seat upon arrival at the airport..I chose to reserve one....at 6'5"/250, I always sit exit row if I'm not flying Big Front Seat...

For me, SPIRIT has worked fine...and in reality, I got a round trip ticket to a destination 850 miles away for under $300...here's some quick math....1700 miles, my H2 gives me 17mpg if I keep my foot off the gas....so there's 100 gallons of gas...at $4 a gallon.....

I could not have driven to a stateside destination for the price of my flight...still a decent deal! Things are changing though!

[cainer]

I flew using Spirit from detroit to Santo domingo(via fort lauderdale) back in 2005. Departure out of fort lauderdale was 1 hour late departing(had to wait for someone) and on the return, departure was again 2 hours late leaving(again, we waited for someone)

When landing in Santo domingo, i noticed my bag didnt come with us. So did 100 other people. We all had to go into a line to declare our missing bags. 100 of us were served by 2 tellers. 2 hours wasted there.

My bag didnt show up til 2 days later. Good luck using that company. Never again for me.

[greydread]

For some reason Spirit which used to offer the best flights between DCA and SDQ from an economic/ convenient/ timeliness point of view now only offers flights of 10 - 16 hrs. in duration and charges more than AA, Delta or USAir.

I've never had problems with FLL and prefer it to flying through either PHL or MIA which are in 1st and 2nd place for the worst airports to go through USCIS. They must use these airports to train newbies because the level of disorganization cannot be put into words. At FLL the lines may be long at times but they move smoothly.

The multi carrier services are running multi airline specials at a lower cost than the airlines right now and for some reason cheaptickets.com and Orbitz are selling tickets for Spirit, AA and USAirways cheaper than the airlines' own sights. :confused:

[ElPlomero]

In defense of SPIRIT, I've never waited in a long line for hours. I did show up late once and they moved me through the line and I got to the plane...the last one to board.

I'm usually at FLL 2 hours before my flight, and get checked in...in about 30 minutes....most likely because I've always taken the early flights and not many passengers are in the terminal.

The seat charge thing was NEW to me, but then I could have waited and been assigned a seat upon arrival at the airport..I chose to reserve one....at 6'5"/250, I always sit exit row if I'm not flying Big Front Seat...

For me, SPIRIT has worked fine...and in reality, I got a round trip ticket to a destination 850 miles away for under $300...here's some quick math....1700 miles, my H2 gives me 17mpg if I keep my foot off the gas....so there's 100 gallons of gas...at $4 a gallon.....

I could not have driven to a stateside destination for the price of my flight...still a decent deal! Things are changing though!

I'm not sure when you experienced this type of service with them, but a lot of these things are new.

Unless you had these experiences within a one or two month period, they would not be in the same time period as their slash and burn pricing programs and may not be germain to the post.

Past experiences are not always a good indicator of present conditions, especially when a significant event has occured to change the operation style of a company.

This is not a dig, only a statement of fact.

[Beads]

So I get my weekly specials....this week it's $1.11 to SDQ on multiple dates in JULY.....I fuckin on it like white on rice!

Departure flight ($1.11) leaves at 6am and land in SDQ a little after 8am. Not bad, but considering I got to be at FLL by 4am for the TSA sack check, the 2 hour drive I got now sucks.....

($1.11) Return flight is another story....leaves at 3:15 am from SDQ....no fucking way so I book the 9am...it costs like $129.00...total airfare $130 plus $127 in taxes......$257 RT I'm still ok with it....

THEN the fun begins...seats (oh, you wanted seats with that flight???) I start rolling over the seats....aisle or window $10, middle of the row $5....emergency exit row for a big fucker like me $15 each way (yeah I booked'em $30) $287

I normally fly carry on...SPIRIT still allows 2 bags....one supposedly a "personal bag"...however, now IF they have to gate check it.....$25!

I can hardly wait to see how much the drinks are (were $5 each)

......... fucking oil market speculators.....taking my mongering money


Whats that mean about the gate check? Is that for a carry on bag IF they check it costs you $25? Or is that for normal 1st checked luggage each bag is $25?

Thats some funny shit they charge for a seat ! :rofl: No maam im broke can I sit on your lap? :rofl:

[Jimmydr]

Well now I do 2 weeks instead of one so instead of 8 flights, its only going to be 4. So who looses, they do.

[El Capitan]

I took 12 flights last year on Spirit, so my experiences were what they were...and I do think that because I arrive at the airport at 830am for a 1045am flight my dealings were simple....one morning I was the first guy thru TSA!

The deal is, IF they take a carry on at the gate, it's $25 as a checked bag....this is not uncommon. I heard a reporter on CNN say he now travels with ca$h in his pocket for these little events.

[Marco]

In defense of SPIRIT, I've never waited in a long line for hours. I did show up late once and they moved me through the line and I got to the plane...the last one to board.

I'm usually at FLL 2 hours before my flight, and get checked in...in about 30 minutes....most likely because I've always taken the early flights and not many passengers are in the terminal.

Spirit has expanded so much that there is not enough capacity at terminal 4 in FLL to handle the increased number of travelers during busy hours. And it is a slow process for the airport authority to build a new terminal, it will take years and years. I have waited in long lines most of the times I have flown with Spirit and the only way to avoid that is to use El C's strategy to book flights with really early departure times. Expect to wait in line for a long time during busy hours. The line will also probably extend outside the terminal so you will be exposed to the weather, think heat and humidity...

Too bad, because I like Spirit. New Airbus planes, leather seats, and excellent prices if you can plan your trip ahead of time.

[El Capitan]

They have expanded....and to many mongering destinations!

Cartagena, San Jose CR, Panama...just to name a few.....last year they ran a sale dubbed MILF......

Perhaps the CEO is an ISOC member?

[El Capitan]

I swear the marketing guy is a member of the board.....here's the pic used to promote the Offshore Drilling Sale.....he must know where and why I travel! There are some great $9 fares for the end of September.

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/uploaded/10566/1217967394.jpg