Spirit?

[Dopey's Girl]

So Spirit Airlines just announced themselves into Minneapolis/St Paul. All I know about them is that they are fee happy...any other thoughts? They don't have my October (Icot15) flights open yet, but was curious to see if they might be a new alternative to Delta for me.

Thanks all!

[DVC2004]

We just flew them earlier this month. They charge for everything including a carry on bag. You are still allowed 1 personal item like a purse or laptop, but there is a charge for carry on. Also for soda, snacks etc.

I will say it was OK overall, we left on time both at arrival and departure. However our the plane on our flight in was very beat up and pretty dirty inside. The seats were visibly dirty, the carpet torn, my hsubands seat was stuck in the recline position and the flight attendant had to fix it prior to landing. Nothing was cleaned. There were crumbs on the carpet and chewed gum stuck to the seat belt hardware that looked like it had been there for ages. When I picked my purse up from the floor it ha crumbs all over it- and we didn't eat anything so they weren't from us!
I must say it was pretty gross. The plane on the way home was better, it seemed newer and at least like it was lightly cleaned.

Sort of felt like riding a flying Greyhound Bus. My husband said never again. I don't know if I would use them again.

[Kenny1113]

I have flown Spirit a couple of times. It is what it is. A cheap airline. If you are looking to get from one place to another for cheap and can squeeze every thing in one bag, and don't mind paying for snacks on the flight then your good.

[Kenny1113]

I forgot to mention I never noticed it to be disgustingly dirty like the previous poster encountered. But then I think airplanes are disgusting anyway.

[tinksmom02]

We've flown Spirit several times, not because we love the airline but because we love the airport that they fly out of--Spirit is currently the only airline there, which means it's a small airport, and it's only about 45minutes away from us.

That said, I don't particularly care for Spirit itself. You are nickel and dimed to death, their (checked) luggage weight limit is only 40 pounds (isn' t it 50 at many other airlines?), the planes are not even given a walk-through spot clean in between flights (that I've noticed, anyway), and the last two flights home (ours in November and DH's just last night) were delayed almost 2 hours. I know that that isn't necessarily Spirit's fault, but...it might be, who knows?

I always price out the other airlines in the huge airports closer to Philly or NYC, but the prices are generally comparable to Spirit's bottom line--and the convenience of Atlantic City airport can't be beat!

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

So Spirit Airlines just announced themselves into Minneapolis/St Paul. All I know about them is that they are fee happy...any other thoughts? They don't have my October (Icot15) flights open yet, but was curious to see if they might be a new alternative to Delta for me.

Thanks all!

Another St. Paulite here (close anyway) but if you saw the articles in the papers today it said Spirit was adding 3 daily flights to Chicago and Las Vegas out of terminal 2 (Humphrey terminal). I know absolutely nothing about Spirit, so maybe you can connect in Chicago to an Orlando flight? Otherwise I don't see any impact on flights to Orlando, unfortunately. I was hoping something would happen to drive Delta's prices down.

[Dopey's Girl]

Another St. Paulite here (close anyway) but if you saw the articles in the papers today it said Spirit was adding 3 daily flights to Chicago and Las Vegas out of terminal 2 (Humphrey terminal). I know absolutely nothing about Spirit, so maybe you can connect in Chicago to an Orlando flight? Otherwise I don't see any impact on flights to Orlando, unfortunately. I was hoping something would happen to drive Delta's prices down.

Hi neighbor!

I looked and you can connect to Orlando from Chicago (similar to Southwest from MSP), it's somewhat cheaper, but not enough for dirty planes and fees galore.

I was really hoping for anyone but Spirit. I have used Airtrain almost exclusively to get to Orlando just because I liked the non stop option and will do nearly anything to avoid Delta.

[DVC2004]

LOL beware! Chicago is where I am and that was the dirty plane!

I have flown them in the past, I forgot to mention a couple years ago to the Bahamas. I don't remember any issues that time or the planes being gross or old. I do remember on the way back they changed our connecting flight (they cancelled the flight we booked about a month before travel) and put us on another with a 10 hour airport delay. We cancelled that flight and booked the second leg back home through Jetblue. That was the only issue that time and it wasn't a big deal since we had time to find another flight and were given a full refund.

[brownie]

Make sure you factor in the carry-on bag charges when comparing prices. Spirit charges for checked and carry-on bags.

[Dopey's Girl]

The more I hear, it becomes less appealing. I priced out SW and Spirit for the same time in the late Spring. Spirit was cheaper on the surface, but once you add on the fees (and take into account some of the other negatives) SW looks like a clear winner to me.

[jennbunn]

We flew southwest from msp to orlando and it was good. We did not have to get off the plane when we had a stop at midway. I was hopeing we would of gotten jetblue.

[Dopey's Girl]

We flew southwest from msp to orlando and it was good. We did not have to get off the plane when we had a stop at midway. I was hopeing we would of gotten jetblue.

I've done Southwest too. I don't mind the stop if the price is reasonable. The non stop option is what I will miss most about Airtran. I have flow them almost exclusively for the last 7 years just to avoid Delta.

[DVC2004]

I know- we always flew Airtran too. Now that SW took over they have cut down most of their non stops. Ugh! Also about Spirit, their Big Front Seats have no benefits. Just bigger but no perks. I liked upgrading to the Business Class on Airtran withmy frequent flier miles program they had. At least they gave you free drinks and a free checked bag.

[Dopey's Girl]

I know- we always flew Airtran too. Now that SW took over they have cut down most of their non stops. Ugh! Also about Spirit, their Big Front Seats have no benefits. Just bigger but no perks. I liked upgrading to the Business Class on Airtran withmy frequent flier miles program they had. At least they gave you free drinks and a free checked bag.

Me too! I'm going to use the last of my Airtran miles to upgrade I'm April. That will be a sad say for me. With my twice (sometimes three) yearly Orlando trips, those upgrades happened pretty often.