shoemacl

HI everyone,

I am considering purchasing a ticket through Spirit airlines from Washington D.C. to San Jose, Costa Rica (connection in Ft. Lauderdale both ways). The price is significantly less than other airlines, even when I factor in 1 carry on, 1 checked bag fee and seat reservations.

I am, however, worried because of the horrible reviews I've read online. Is it really that bad? What is the track record with delays/cancellations? We are going into it expecting a no frills experience. We have a 1hr 20min layover in Ft. Lauderdale before departing for another Spirit flight to San Jose, CR. Is this enough time?

Any feedback on personal experiences with this airline would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

PS. I've written many questions on this forum the past couple weeks and everyone has been a HUGE help! I really appreciate all of your feedback.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

I'm generally skeptical of reviews people write about airlines. I think they're more apt to write reviews when their experience is negative. Flights that do go well don't generate as many reviews. You can find people saying "It was terrible. I'll never fly _________ airlines again" for any carrier.

I've never flown Spirit, so I can't address it from that standpoint. From what I hear, it will be a no-frills experience, but their fares are generally very good. A connection time of 1:20 should be fine on your way there, because there are no exit formalities to leave the U.S. The important question is how much connecting time do you have on your return? You have to go through U.S. immigration and customs when you land in Fort Lauderdale on the way back.

shoemacl

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your response. You bring up some really good points. We have about a 2.5 hour connection time on the way back so I'm not worried about that. We're not expecting over the time luxury. Just as long as our flight gets us there (hopefully on time), safely and ideally with our luggage we'll be happy

Jeff_Costa_Rica

"Just as long as our flight gets us there (hopefully on time), safely and ideally with our luggage we'll be happy"

You know, that's the end result of most flights. I'd go for it if you're comfortable with the times and fares.

rpowell

I recently wrote about my experience on Spirit Air. We ended up paying a lot in extra fees: 1 checked bag and reserved seats for each segment. All the employees we had contact with were friendly and efficient. We planned 2 trips through Spirit: one to Guatemala and one to Costa Rica. On our return trip from GUA there was a problem with the plane in Ft. Lauderdale. They ended up changing us to a different plane with a delay of 3 hours. On our departure trip to CR we actually taxied to the runway before a problem with the brakes was discovered. Again we changed planes and ended up arriving in San Jose at 3:30am. Luckily both breakdowns were in the airline's hub and they could get different planes. I don't know what happens if a breakdown occurs somewhere else. Anyway, if the price difference with Spirit is not SIGNIFICANTLY lower than other airlines, I wouldn't use them. Spirit has no reciprocal travel agreements with other airlines, so if you miss a flight....good luck. We got travel insurance specifically because we were traveling Spirit. Good luck. Love CR!!!

jet1011

With Spirit you get what you paid for. One seat from point A to point B. Seats are ok, I fly them all the time ATL-FLL to see my family. Went to Costa Rica 2 years ago with Spirit and had no problems, but keep in mind, on the return leg the immigration/customs are at FLL is a nightmare. Pay for your bag online before you go, it's cheaper. Don't pay for advance seats, I never have a problem finding an aisle seat when I arrive at the airport, but be there early. I'm going again to Costa Rica in May and I'm taking Spirit again. It's a lot cheaper than Delta, US Airways and American. Jetblue would be my first choice, but they to fly to ATL.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

"but keep in mind, on the return leg the immigration/customs are at FLL is a nightmare"

I don't want to pick on you in particular, jet1011, but I think this illustrates my point above. People say things like this, but what does that mean? If you fly American (the airline I always use) to Costa Rica, on your return, you go through customs in MIA (ugh) or JFK (ugh) or DFW (not so ugh, but now that two other huge international flights arrive at the same time the Costa Rica flight does, it's becoming more time consuming). U.S. immigration and customs are what they are. I'm not sure the grass is greener at different airports.

shoemacl

Thanks everyone for your feedback. We've gone ahead and purchased our tickets with Spirit. Paid $317 total for a roundtrip from Reagan to San Jose, plus about $60 each way for luggage.

Not too bad

Travelessence

omg, that is a Great price!!! Weird how it is cheaper to fly to Costa Rica than to Cancun....used to be that fare for CUN.... I've flown SPirit many times from NYC to CUN, never a problem. never check bags, always carry on.

sylvia3

These days, the only "frills" you get in coach on any airline is a soda or juice! I'd take that low price any day.

mlgb

My flights on American and TACA haven't been anything to write home about. I'd take that price, at least you will feel better about it than if you paid a higher fare and had the same crappy experiences that I did on AA/TACA in the last year..old planes, runover luggage, and no food!