The good news is that most of what you need to know about flying Spirit Airlines comes in this pre-booking phase. Spirit can sometimes be hundreds of dollars less than the competition, so if you want to get in on the savings, read on. The airline has a few different booking-related fees, some of which can be avoided by booking at an airport counter.
Is it worth it? That depends, but odds are that after figuring in gas, parking, and time, most people will not find it worthwhile to make a special trip to the airport just to purchase a ticket. In any case, if you live near an airport or happen to be at the airport when a good sale pops up, you can try this method. Keep in mind that at smaller stations the ticket counter will only be open in the hours surrounding flight times.
When booking online, it's usually a little cheaper to book directly on Spirit's website. However, it's always a good idea to search third-party sites as well in order to compare with other airlines. Spirit has weekly promo code sales, which can sometimes completely counteract the cost of the online booking fees.
To find out about promo code offers, make sure to sign up for alerts. Spirit also has a club membership program, which gives you access to exclusive fares for an annual fee.
Membership also gives you a slight discount on bag fees. If you book your flights on Spirit's website, you will be offered the opportunity to purchase extras at each step. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Thomas Pallini. Spirit Airlines in August canceled thousands of flights after extreme weather impacted its operation, impacting its reputation for cheap on-time flights. The event highlighted the risks of booking with an ultra-low-cost carrier, which may recover slower than larger carriers.
See more stories on Insider's business page. Spirit Airlines is one of the US's leading budget carriers, known for cheap flights with no frills that make air travel more accessible to the masses. But over the summer, Spirit briefly became known for delayed and canceled flights. Extreme weather led to thousands of Spirit flight cancellations over the course of a week, seriously impacting the airline's reputation for on-time performance.
The event highlighted the risk that can come with booking through an ultra-low-cost carrier. Specifically, travelers on these airlines may have less recourse when things go wrong, such as a lack of backup flights on a given route. Airlines like Spirit also don't commonly partner with other airlines, preventing them from rebooking disrupted passengers onto a different carrier.
Those risks usually entice me to book flights on full-services carriers over budget airlines. My transcontinental journey started dark and early with a 7 a. The first leg of my trip consisted of a short hop to Las Vegas, where I'd connect to a non-stop flight to Newark. As per tradition when I book flights on ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit, I didn't purchase any extras and let fate decide my experience.
All I had with me was an overnight bag and a ticket to ride. This would be the longest journey on Spirit at seven hours and 12 minutes from start to finish. Nevertheless, I stuck to my faith in the system and was rewarded with a choice of two window seats at check-in. Tickets in hand, I went to the security checkpoint that was luckily empty at the ripe hour of 5 a.
Flying time to Las Vegas was a brief 44 minutes and I wasn't concerned at all with this leg of the journey. The route is among the shortest in Spirit's network and there's not much I can't put up with for 44 minutes on an airplane.
Boarding began in groups around 30 minutes prior to departure. Travelers that purchase extras like a carry-on bag or early boarded, as well as Spirit credit cardholders, are given the first two zones and board first. I was given zone three and still boarded relatively early.
But this also wasn't a full flight. Spirit's newest fleet type, the Airbus Aneo, was operating the flight to Las Vegas. Kim Renfro. The first thing to know about booking a Spirit Airlines flight is that the fare listed in third-party fare search engines like Google Flights or Kayak will be much lower than is realistic. You pay extra fees for a carry-on bag, a checked bag, and more. A brief search online will reveal just how controversial Spirit Airlines really is.
The Yelp page for Spirit Airlines doesn't paint a more pleasant picture. And several major outlets have consistently labeled it as the worst airline in America. In , headlines about Spirit Airlines delays causing customer feuds with police dominated the news cycle.
All this being said, I was prepared for issues but kept an open mind as I booked my flight and headed to the airport. As with most airlines, Spirit has a handy bag-measuring station so you can make sure your carry-on items will fit.
Once through security, I made my way to the gate. Once on board, my worries about the overhead bin space were assuaged. The wheeler suitcase fit fine up top. Unlike most of its competitors, Spirit's seats don't recline and have minimal cushion.
I had paid six dollars ahead of time to select the window seat on my flight. Finding room for my feet and my backpack was a slight struggle. Before I could truly get comfortable, a flight attendant asked if I wouldn't mind moving to the seat in front of my original one. Once the flight took off, I perused the menu.
I knew I needed to buy at least a water since no beverages are free on Spirit and I had no food or drinks with me. I fly at least twice a year, and always get ginger ale. So I opted for the "Share Pair" combo that came with a soda, water, and choice of snack.
Since the seat in front of me was so far away, my tray table popped up from my armrest. My snack pack arrived in a neat, small box. The snack box came with Skittles, Wheat Thins, cheese spread, salted almonds, and Milano cookies. Do better or shut down. My family and I will never fly Spirit again. One our our bags was 10 pounds extra weight which we were aware of and wanted to pay the extra weight. However for only 10 pounds extra, we paid This is absolutely ridiculous, if we knew how ridiculous the prices were when we would have opted to pay for a carry on for Worst airline for sure!
You can really feel the great efforts they've gone to in order to cut every single corner. Qatar Airways. Vietnam Airlines. This site uses cookies More info No problem.
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