Spirit Airlines

My wife and I had booked seats on a flight leaving Cancun Airport on Feb 21st with a connecting flight in Fort Lauderdale to LaGuardia Airport in NYC. This flight was delayed one hour in Cancun because of weather problems in Detroit. Delayed we eventually reached Fort Lauderdale but had to clear customs. Presumably due to customs- related delays in Fort Lauderdale the connecting flight to NYC took off stranding 101 passengers. We were not given any official explanation as to why the connecting flight took off without us. We were advised to re-book our flights and were told that the soonest available seats were for Feb 24th (72 hours later). For Boston the lay-over was 96 hours with the soonest available seats on Feb 25th. There was no management representation at Fort Lauderdale and there was a justifiably angry group of stranded passengers. When asked about hotel accommodations we were advised to find our own and that there would be no compensation. When asked about assistance in locating seats on other airlines we were similarly advised that they wouldn't be able to assist us. Since my wife and I weren't able to wait the 72 hours we spent the night in the airport trying to locate seats on an other carrier (which we knew would have to pay for). We got seats on a JetBlue flight the following morning paying the full non-discounted fare which was considerable. The major problem was the connecting flight not waiting for us to clear customs in Fort Lauderdale. Why would the flight not wait for 101 people? I've been flying for more than 40 years and had to wait on many an occasion for other passengers' connections and other reasons which is par for the course. This was an extremely poor management decision which showed a complete disregard for Spirit Airlines' customers. This was then exacerbated by the lack of any meaningful assistance rendered on the ground. I realize that Spirit Airlines is a "discount (i.e. cheap) airline. However any successful business knows that its fortunes rise or fall with its customer relations. If there was a "crewing" issue (not being able to hold airlines staff beyond a certain time) this should have been anticipated in the airlines normal operations plan with staff back-up in Fort Lauderdale-after all this is the winter and hence presumably Spirit Airlines' busy season. This was our first trip with Spirit. However due to the airline's extremely poor management decision coupled with its complete lack of meaningful customer support I could not possibly recommend this airline to anyone. In general you get what you pay for but even a discount carrier needs to appreciate its customers especially in difficult circumstances. By the way I was going to discuss this matter on the phone with a customer services representative but they kept me waiting for 45 minutes.

On day 2 sitting in the airport trying to get home after spirit canceled my flight and left me hanging. Will cost me $1000 to finish my travel. Be very careful when you pick your discount flights. I will take my business elsewhere. In fact I nor my family would fly spirit for free.

Flew from Armenia Colombia to Dallas TX. First leg of the flight was late for no reason. They resold the second leg even when I was actually on time. They just assumed I would be late. They gave me invalid hotel vouchers and left me stranded in the hotel lobby. I had to pay the room by myself. Also I paid extra for the big seats and I got a regular seat because they changed the plane and the new one did not have enough big seats.

Booked 10 months ahead unable to check in online. Called and was assured we had guaranteed seats. Arrived and checked in at the desk and went through to board. Told we had not seats. Only 2 out of 4 in our party were able to board after a long battle.

I will never use Spirit again. The little bit and I do mean little bit that I saved was not worth it. My flight to Fort Lauderdale was delayed three hours because another Spirit plane that was broken down was blocking our gate. No updates were given beforehand so I was at the airport for five hours before we left. That is not fun with two small children! You would think that they might offer us a complimentary glass of water for that hassle but they did not. Nothing at all! I was lucky but some other passengers had no rental car when we got to the airport because of our late arrival! The saga continues for my return flight. We were sitting on the plane for a half hour before we took off due to "high traffic" in LaGuardia airport. What is that about? Then we arrive in NY and the pilot tells us "when it rains it pours" and informs us that there is a gate door malfunction and we must wait for a power source. That and waiting for our bags took another hour. The stress was not worth the tiny savings. With all the extra fees uncomfortable seats and poor service I saved nothing. Do yourself a favor and don't use Spirit.

FLL-MSP. I have never flown Spirit before but they were the only airline that had an evening FLL-MSP flight so I gave them a shot. Arrived at the airport about 2.5 hours in advance good thing I did as the line was about 100 people long. I have never seen that before. They had about 8 counters open so it only took about 20 minutes. Prepaid my bag and my seat so no hassles in that regard. Was told that my gate was in the next terminal over so had to walk about 4 minutes to the other terminal not a big deal as the exercise is good. Boarding was normal and left about 20 minutes late arrived on time. Seat was thin and hard as a rock and tray table was equally as bad. Flight attendants seemed pleasant enough. I live in Canada so I'll probably never have to use them again but might consider if I need to.

I have absolutely nothing to complain about on my first Spirit Airlines experience. I know the reputation of the airline however on my trip I was impressed with the experience for the price I paid. I flew DFW-CLE round-trip just a few days after the route started. I took only a personal size item and made sure I followed all the rules to avoid extra fees. The trip cost me $68 round trip total out the door. Flights were on time flight attendants were humorous and nice. I will say the experience was no worse than any other airline I have flown (I fly once every 1-2 months) and given the cost may have been better. This route will allow me to visit family at home in CLE more often. I felt I needed to give credit where it was due given the majority of the reviews for Spirit.

We were traveling from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale and found what we thought was a good rate. But once we added luggage ($220) for three checked bags and 2 carry on's (which we later found out were personal bags that should not have been charged ($90). We asked for a refund which they refuse to do for luggage. Also their weight limit is 40 lbs. where other airlines are 50 lbs. their website is suppose to look cute but instead it is very confusing and difficult to navigate or find numbers for customer service and get answers to questions.

This is the worst airline I've ever flown with. After all the add ons for baggage ($ 35 for a carry on) seat assignments boarding pass charges etc. it cost more than other airlines. The seats were up against my knees (I'm not a large guy) and didn't recline. They even charged me $2 for a coffee. When my flight back to Boston was cancelled due to snow they wouldn't work with me other than putting me on their plane four days later. Terrible airline. Do yourself a favor and don't fly with them.

Having flown Spirit twice now I can honestly say that some of the criticism is justified but most of it is not. I flew to Dallas on Spirit out of Cleveland which is a new market for Spirit. We actually bought our tickets at the airport to save the so-called "passenger usage fee." We did save that fee but they charge you more to check your bag at the airport even though we weren't taking our flight for another two months. So in the end you do save some money but probably not enough to justify a drive to the airport. It should also be noted that the people working the Spirit counter in CLE were pretty inept and the "manager" at the counter seemed annoyed we would buy our tickets at the airport. There was one woman though who was very helpful and tried her best to help us. Based on what I saw at the airport and online most of Spirit's work staff is outsourced and our experience makes for a pretty damning case against outsourcing. One step forward; two steps back. When we arrived at the airport for our flight we had a "baggage drop" pass since we had checked in online. This suggested that we would simply drop our bags off and go. Or that there was at least a separate line just for baggage drop. No such luck: We waited in line like everyone else. The only benefit is that the line was short. Another step back. The flight was delayed over an hour though in fairness much of the country was in the grip of a winter storm and LOTS of airlines had delays. Now for the flight itself: Much has been made about Spirit's filthy planes non- existent legroom and awful flight crew. I am 5'10" and while the legroom was tight again it was no worse than most other airlines. I will say that the seats are pretty thinly padded. The flight back was right on time crew was even better. All of this came at a price that was well over $100 less than other carriers. And it was a direct flight. So there's the pay-off. I have the spirit to fly Spirit again.