SPIRIT AIRLINES   Help us be a better company by bringing your issue to our attention

I am the Customer Relations Manager of Spirit Airlines. I've been with the company for 2 years and 4 months, and managing the CR team for the last year and a half. Recently, I have been tasked with turning our customer perception around - which is why I am appealing to you here. As I read the posts here, I find that this is the first time that I or my staff see the complaint. Prior to posting something negative about our company, I challenge you to reach out to our customer relations group or myself (E-mail: Heather.Harvey@spiritair.com). You may also reach our consumer relations via our website, http://Spiritair.com by selecting the 'Help' tab at the top right corner of the home screen. In the search box please type contact us and select the 'question/comment' tab. We are committed to correcting our mistakes. Your complaints and compliments spur many conversations with upper management. Heather Harvey - Manager, Corporate Consumer Relations, Spirit Airlines

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 3 July 2009 by P Santiago

Customer Rating : 5/5

Can't beat the price. Family of 4 flew from Fort Lauderdale to Detroit for $268. Can't beat that. We only paid for 1 bag so add $38 to that. The kids had there wheeled backpacks as carry-ons. We've flown to San Juan on various occasions also. Probably used Spirit around 12 times and never had had a problem. I have another flight booked for September and I received an email stating that the flight had been cancelled at the specific time and they rescheduled me for another inconvenient flight time of 6am! But when I called customer service (in India I believe) they were nice and changed my flight to another day at a more convenient time with no charge! And they answered the phone right away no waiting on hold.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 4 June 2009 : by P Stenbjorn

Customer Rating : 3/5

Informed consumers with appropriately set expectations may appreciate Spirit Air. I just returned from a trip between Washington, DC and San Juan, PR (via Ft Lauderdale, of course) and the fare was the best available even accounting for the extra $19 each way for the one checked bag. Check-in in San Juan was an exercise in nostalgia, if one grows nostalgic for the days of exceedingly long lines waiting for seat assignments as there was no automated process available. Leg room (I am well over six feet tall) was terrible even by modern standards and fees for every item sold in-flight were an irritation. However, staff was all professional, some bordering on polite; planes were clean and well maintained. We landed in a thunderstorm in Ft. Lauderdale on the return flight and the landing was smooth and flawless. So, if you are willing to accept what Spirit offers (no frills flights, at no frills prices) it is a safe alternative to conventional carriers. If convenience, in-flight service and leg room are at a premium, you might want to pay a little more for your flights.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 29 May 2009 : by S Moore

Customer Rating : 1/5

The savings that they proclaim is eaten up with the charges for seating and baggage charges. Not to mention the unprofessional staff, flight delays, overbooked flights and no leg room in the seats.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 20 May 2009 : by R Taipala

d width="129"> Customer Rating : 2/5

I have made several trips to Myrtle Beach from Detroit in the past two years and see the same pattern. The flight out is good. The return trip is always delayed by several hours. Each time there is some excuse about our plane being delayed from New York, maintenance needed for plane, need refueling, etc. The fares are low, but don't expect them to be on time.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 1 May 2009 : by Michael Gargas

Customer Rating : 4/5

My family and I flew Spirit Air from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale. I was going to book a flight on American to Miami but the fare was significantly lower on Spirit, even with the luggage and seating charges, and we were actually staying in Ft. Lauderdale. There was a weather related delay on our departure but the flight was otherwise uneventful. I was fully aware of the charges for snacks and drinks and that was no big deal. Return flight arrived back in Boston early and was also uneventful. Planes were clean and staff was professional. Flew Spirit last year with the family from Boston to Myrtle Beach and also had a pleasant experience and reasonable fares. Only complaint was there was not much leg room and the seats were packed in real tight. I tried to use my laptop but really did not have enough room.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 27 April 2009 : by Alex Keane

Customer Rating : 1/5

BOS to FLL only because of the initially cheap fare. However, after my wife and I checked three bags, one of which was overweight, I owed Spirit another $100! Ridiculous. The check-in was otherwise fine, as it always is at Logan. However, once I got on the plane, I was in for 3 hours of misery. The tacky advertising on the overhead compartments, tray tables, and window covers was ridiculous. After the safety instructions, there was absolutely no service - I couldn't even attract a flight attendant with my call button! Overall with no interaction, it really stank. The flight back to Boston was a whole different story... it didn't exist. Due to the fact that my rental car people at the airport didn't speak English, I got to Spirit's terminal at 2:03 for a 2:55 flight. I self-checked in on a kiosk - but that said that the flight was closed. I consulted an agent, but she was so inept that one of her fellow coworkers whispered in her ear at one point "No! You can't do that! You deleted the wrong person!" In the end she was unable to send me back to Boston or give me a refund, so I went over to T1 for a flight home on jetBlue.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 8 April 2009 : by Rhonda Gustafson

Customer Rating : 4/5

My husband, son, mother and myself flew from Chicago-O'Hare to Myrtle Beach and back on an introductory flight of $19/pp each way. The check in process was great. The plane departed 15 min early each way and the staff were pleasant. I did not pay the extra $ to assign seats ahead of time, but we were all able to be seated together. We only checked 2 bags to keep the cost down. The leg room is tight if you are a tall or big person. For the great prices, I will definitely fly Spirit Air again.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 6 April 2009 : by L Sturm

Customer Rating : 2/5

We flew Spirit round trip from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Laguardia, NY and we will never make that mistake again. We chose Spirit because it had the flight times that were the best for us and not primarily for the price. Their price was close to the other airlines for the same trip when we purchased the tickets on Orbitz. But, when we checked in online to get the boarding passes, we had to pay a fee to check or luggage and - of all nerve - a fee to sit together. So, in the end Spirit cost more than the other airlines. Also, they overcrowd the plane with so many seats, there is no room for your legs if you are taller than 5'10". Also, because the seats are so close, it almost impossible to use a laptop and difficult to read a newspaper. All drinks, food etc. is an additional fee. It is not worth the few dollars you will save to be suckered into surprise fees and be uncomfortable for hours. The only reason for 2 stars is for recognition of the staff that did an admirable job - the plane was clean and well kept.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 17 March 2009 : by M Golden

Customer Rating : 1/5

After being charged $25 to check my bags, I was hoping that meant they would arrive at my destination when I did. Not such luck. After taking a flight from Cancun to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday, which we had to deboard our plane to go through customs and re-check our bags. I'm sure this same flight is done countless times throughout the week, so why there isn't a better system in place or why the timing isn't better, I have no idea. All I know is that we received our bags and went through security as fast as possible, and were still told by a Spirit representatives to drop our bags with her and to "Run. I can't promise the plane will wait, but run". So after running through the airport and making our connection, it was surprising that our bags were not at LGA when we arrived. The mean behind the desk, German, let us know that our bags were guaranteed to arrive the next day before 12:00 noon. Our bags did not arrive to our door until 7:00 p.m. After spending $25 for my bags to come with me, I am beyond frustrated by this whole situation.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 23 February 2009 : by N Nelson

Customer Rating : 3/5

These days when people seem to be happy to just arrive, I found Spirit to be an acceptable, but flawed airline. First of all, they nickel and dime you to death, so that the cheap fare is not so cheap once you pay to check the first bag, pay to reserve a seat on the plane and pay for a glass of water onboard. There are no headphones, movies or tvs. Both times I flew Spirit, the plane had not been cleaned and there were dirt and crumbs on my seat. Even more disgusting, there was NO SOAP in the restrooms. When I advised the stewardess that they had run out of soap in the restrooms, she told me that they had none aboard that flight. Considering there was also minimal food service, I think that this lack of hygiene is disgusting and unsafe. And, on my second flight, they did not review the exits and safety instructions with the passengers, which I am sure is in violation of federal law. The crew was courteous.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 13 February 2009 : by Carol Robinson

Customer Rating : 2/5

Detroit to Las Vegas and back. I have never seen seats so small. My husband is a big man and could not fit into the seat. Luckily he got an aisle seat and the flight attendant allowed him to spill out into the aisle or I do not know what he would have done. We could have purchased assigned seats for $20 each but could not see why we would have to do that. Checking a bag was $25 each and a coke on the plane was $3! Remember this when booking a flight with Spirit Air. For very short fights for a great price and if you are a small to average person then go for it! Otherwise, I would recommend you look elsewhere.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 6 January 2009 : by G Malin

Customer Rating : 1/5

Never again, even for free! Boston to FLL and back. Just horrible, whole flight felt like a torture. No leg room, only one restroom working, delayed for 35 minutes with 156 passengers waiting on the plane for one couple being late from connecting flight. Charging 2$ for 25 cents worth can of coke, after buying two tickets for $1020 - that is just cheap! The cabin pressure was poorly controlled, or the pilot was bringing the plane down too fast on both landings, our ears almost exploded from pain.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 13 November 2008 : by J Campos

Customer Rating : 3/5

LGA-FLL-LGA Y A321. Spirit was the least expensive airline on this route with 2-days advance purchase. LGA check-in line was long as their automated kiosks were down. Ticket agent promptly gave me my outbound and return boarding passes as this was a day trip to FLL. Boarded the A321 to a refreshed interior, leather seats, and vibrant publicity sponsored by the Bahamas Tourism Board. Service impeccable, and while they charged me for a coke and chips, I welcomed the professional service which at times bordered on robotic. The flight attendants seemed to want to work there (what a change from AA). The return was equally efficient and pleasant with a smaller A320. As a Gold 1 million mile with AA, I would invite their flight attendants to fly and learn from the competition. While Spirit is not the best on a global comparison, it certainly beats the rest of the US carriers. I would caveat this comment with my recommendation to fly them point-to-point as I saw some frustrated passengers on connecting flights from Latin America and the Caribbean, again not unlike AA. Overall, this trip dispelled my negative bias for this airline.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 7 October 2008 : by Michael Lawrence

Customer Rating : 1/5

Just returned from Cancun. Our original flight was a direct flight from Detroit. A week before departure Spirit cancelled our direct flight and put us on a one stop flight through Fort Lauderdale. The flight down was fine but the return flight was the reason we preferred a direct flight. In Cancun we left our resort at 12:50 PM to catch our Spirit 4:00 flight to Fort Lauderdale. Do to a storm at Lauderdale we circled for about an hour until we were diverted to West Palm Beach for fuel. We spent another hour waiting for fuel and clearance to go back to Lauderdale. When we arrived in Lauderdale we were met by a Spirit representative who told us to go to gate H4. At gate H4 there was no Spirit representative and no plane. Some passengers from an earlier flight were told that the Detroit flight left and that they were to make new reservations for a morning flight. The crew arrived at the gate and also had no clue as to where the plane was. At about 10:30 PM the plane was pushed to the gate and we took off at around 11:00 PM and arrived in Detroit at 1:30 AM Sunday morning. You do the math. They now charge for everything including water. The seats are so close front to back that in is difficult to get your tray down flat.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 1 October 2008 : by T Davis

Customer Rating : 2/5

Round trip Detroit to Aruba; after flying with Southwest for most business and personal travel, this was a very rude awakening. The fees are outrageous; it is one thing to pay to check bags, but both my girlfriend and I had to pay just to pick our seats so that we could sit next to each other. The fees for the in-flight beverages also were annoying. I think the worst part of the experience was the extremely limited amount of leg room. I am only 5'10", but my knees were crammed up almost into the seat in front of me. It was easily the most uncomfortable flight I've ever been on. I'm not sure if it was just this particular flight, but on each leg, the plane was quite dirty. The seats were in poor condition, stains and dirt on the tray tables. On a positive note, we did not have a single delay, and our planes landed on-time for each leg. Overall, I would never fly Spirit again.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 23 July 2008 : by A Coons

Customer Rating : 4/5

We decided to take a chance on Spirit for Boston-FT Lauderdale-Lima Peru since the price was 1/2 of any other airline at the time - even when paying for a checked bag each way and a few waters/teas in flight. We were very pleased with the overall service, but then we were also lucky. I think you need to make sure you know what you are getting into so there are no surprises. I would read the web site carefully. All flights left and arrived on time. We got to Logan 2 1/2 hours early (as warned) and there was no line! Planes were exceptionally clean and well maintained. Seat pitch is very short (1" shorter than United smallest) but for the two of us (5' 8" and 5'2") it was not a problem. I am not sure 6 footers would like the space. Nor do the seats recline very much, but their exceptional head holders (with the flaps that can be put at an angle to hold your head) made sleeping very easy compared to bigger seats without them. Flight attendants were friendly and helpful. They came down the aisle once with the cart and after that sat down. However, as soon as you pushed the button or went up to them, they helped immediately. Even refilled tea cups free. In fact, since they were not in the aisle serving drinks and food over and over again, the aisles were clear and access to the restrooms was much easier and not backed up. The scheduled transfer in Ft Lauderdale on the way back was 1 hour. We asked over and over it that was enough and everyone said yes if the Lima flight was on time. While it was and baggage delivery was good, we had to go upstairs and through security again to get to the Boston flight. They were short people to take our transfer bags, but once we found a manager and multiple encouragement from the crowd, two big guys took baggage at a very fast rate. A TSA agent called the Boston passengers to the start of the TSA line and we all (or most of us) just made the flight. If we had missed the flights, Spirit does not have many other options to get us home quickly. That certainly has to be considered. So, we had a very good experience but it might not have been. On the other hand, that can happen on other airlines. My sense is that Spirit is a great deal when things go right. It may have more difficulties when things go wrong do to the lack of counters and a significant flight schedule.

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 30 June 2008 : by Iain Maciver

Customer Rating : 3/5

TPA-FLL-MBJ and rtn, 4 flights and everyone late arriving and leaving. Last being 2 hrs late leaving FLL. Planes were clean, responsive cabin crew. Real issue is their hub at FLL - too small for spirit - it is a zoo!

SPIRIT AIRLINES review : 25 June 2008 : by J O'Brien

Customer Rating : 2/5

Airbus 319 flights Ft Lauderdale to Detroit we sat in row 5, a 6-seat row directly behind the 4-seat upper-class row and had sufficient leg room. We checked in on-line and avoided a long line at the counter. It was on time. Las Vegas to Ft Lauderdale was terrible. We sat in row 15 and had painfully insufficient leg room. The metal rod inside the top of the leather magazine pouch pressed directly and painfully against our kneecaps. I am 6 foot and my wife 5-10 and it was worse for her. The seats reclined 2 inches maximum so we could sleep only with heads bowed forward - not good. They sold water for $3 per bottle. The flight was about an hour late.

Spirit Airlines review - by L Mathis

17 June 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

After all the horrible things I read on the internet, I was leery of our first flight on Spirit Air. If you can, take the charter flight. We took the SA charter from Ft Lauderdale to San Salvador, Bahamas. We got in the long cattle line until my husband noticed that one of the SA counters had a Club Med sign on it. We immediately went to the front, no one in line. They took our two bags per person, one being oversized which Air Tran charged us for, with no problem or extra charges. There were no luggage charges. The flight was not full, and it left and arrived on time. We got all our luggage. No charges for drinks or water. Same on the trip back. Lesson: take the charter - it is a lot better!

Spirit Airlines review - by Debbie Coulson

23 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I have never flown such a messed up airline as Spirit. Our whole trip was a disaster. Our flight to Cancun was diverted to a stay over in Ft. Lauderdale with a flight to Cancun the next day. Charges for bags at $20 each. Charges for everything in flight, water too. Cramped seating, dirty plane, 3 hour late flight and our new luggage was run over by a truck.

Spirit Airlines review - by M Richards

23 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Unless you have no other choice, take another airline. By the time you pay $10 per bag, $2 for a cup of ice and soda, and give up the hope of any leg room what-so-ever, you are paying dearly. The overhead bins are stuffed to the max before everyone is on the plane due to the charging per bag - if you don't pre-pay for your bags it is a $20 fee per bag at check in. The idea is right but the service is poor.

Spirit Airlines review - by C Ross

8 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

ATL-MCO-SJU and back through FLL instead of MCO. Never flown Spirit before. Spirit does not have a first class per se, but a bigger seat. The seats are wide, seat pitch isn't anything special but the width allows you to sit sideways if you wanted to. No IFE but on the A319. Crew put in above average effort and muffins served were good.

Spirit Airlines review - by W Burke

31 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Atlantic City to Orlando return. The flight down to Orlando was average. The plane was dirty and the crew didn't go out of their way to help the passengers. The return flight was much better. Crew was excellent, plane was cleaner and the service was better. I would use Spirit again, because it is so easy to fly out of Atlantic City.