Spirit Airlines--Let the Buyer BEWARE!
 

I would like to share my experiences so that others will not have to deal with this airline again.

This was the default option for the Expedia vacation. I had never heard of it but thought how bad can 1.5 hrs. be???? Well, I was REALLY WRONG!!!!

First off: after receiving the confirmation, I went to the site and selected seats. To pre-select seats, you have to pay anywhere from $5 to $13 or randomly get assigned seats. Not a big deal--there are no pre-selected seats at the Southwest Airlines cattle call--I'll just check in early. Then, I noticed that they charge for carry-on and for checked bags other than 1 "personal item" (usually a purse for women). Not a big deal--there are workarounds.

The biggest thing that was BEYOND the PALE was we recently had a death in the family and the service coincided with the day of our return from our trip. Asking to move the flight forward a few hours so we can attend the service, I was told, ABSOLUTELY, NO BEREAVEMENT, NO MEDICAL, NO REASON WHATSOEVER for a change, but we were welcome to pay $124/person change fee and the difference in the cost of fares. Luckily, there are also other options and my AP, the deceased sibling, WILL attend the service.

To top insult to injury, when we left, we were charged $5 for a wheelchair for my AP--normally, I would tip this amount for the service anyway, but this highway robbery definitely essentially guaranteed that the employee who hustled my AP in a wheelchair and dumped him off at the gate will not be tipped. Then, there was the matter of the plane being 2.5 hrs. late for a 1.5 hr. flight--this on top of asking passengers to arrive at the airport 2 hrs. early. Luckily for Spirit Airlines, I was still enjoying the wonderful lunch I had before I went to the airport. The final "oddity" was the charge for beverages--$4, which is not a hardship for us as we had plenty of time to ingests lots of liquids in the 2.5 hr. delay and to refill our waterbottles.


So, to save a few bucks, is it worth dealing with being nickled and dimed to death, and to be treated like cargo rather than a human being (the handling of the bereavement/medical emergencies, promoting passenger dehydration)--EMPHATICALLY NO!!!

First, I and sorry for the loss of your family member.

Spirit's many fees are well known and are all spelled out on its website. They do charge for almost everything extra, including changes in flights no matter what the reason. Nothing you experienced was out of the ordinary for them.

Do people still book and pay for a vacation which is non refundable or changeable and not take out travel insurance?

Certainly.

<i>Do people still book and pay for a vacation which is non refundable or changeable and not take out travel insurance?</i>

If you purchase travel insurance for every vacation you take, you will almost certainly lose money in the long run.

I'm sorry for your loss but you should have read the fine print before buying your tickets. Discount carriers charge for EVERYTHING and their inflexibility is unsurpassed. As soon as Ryan Air finds a way to charge you for the heat you bring to the cabin, they'll do it and the rest will follow behind.

<i>Spirit's many fees are well known and are all spelled out on its website. They do charge for almost everything extra, including changes in flights no matter what the reason. Nothing you experienced was out of the ordinary for them.</i>

Aye.


This is why I always fly a legacy carrier.