Spirit mia-santiago

pmey27 · #1 10-21-2009, 07:17 AM

Does anyone have any comments on Spirit? I have never flown them and will be in 2 weeks from Mia to Santiago. Normally I go MIA to POP on American but Spirit has a flight for $203.00

Mariposazul · #2 10-21-2009, 10:01 AM

Nothing is free...(luggage, food, drinks, choice of seat, headphones, etc.)
Less leg room.
Kind of dirty (food crushed on the floor @ my feet).
Cranky staff (on board). The 3 men appeared to be w/o sleep.

HOWEVER-----great hours.....great price.....

Just take a carry-on. Pack a snack. Bring your own headphones. Move to an empty seat (once everybody is on-board).

I loved Jet Blue...as many snacks as you want, personal tv/movies/music. You can pick your seat. Lots of leg room and similar hours.

socuban · #3 10-21-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mariposazul

Nothing is free...(luggage, food, drinks, choice of seat, headphones, etc.)
Less leg room.
Kind of dirty (food crushed on the floor @ my feet).
Cranky staff (on board). The 3 men appeared to be w/o sleep.

HOWEVER-----great hours.....great price.....

Just take a carry-on. Pack a snack. Bring your own headphones. Move to an empty seat (once everybody is on-board).

I loved Jet Blue...as many snacks as you want, personal tv/movies/music. You can pick your seat. Lots of leg room and similar hours.

Dead on. I'm on Jet Blue for the next flight, but like Spirit's schedules better.

Chip · #4 10-21-2009, 10:21 AM

I've flown with Spirit many times from SD to Ft. Lauderdale - Orlando. The prices are cheap but then you have to pay for drinks, etc. Fortunately, the flights are short and I just eat a good bfast. Unfortunately, they started charging for luggage and worse changed their flight hours to the very early morning. I've started flying with American because of that and the prices are almost the same.

AlterEgo · #5 10-21-2009, 11:48 AM

One of Spirit's hubs is in Atlantic City, NJ, close to our home, so I always used them to fly to Palm Beach and FLL to visit my parents when they lived there. Never the least problem. Always flew AA to SDQ though.

HOWEVER, for the first time, I originally booked with Spirit to SDQ for our December trip, mostly so we didn't have to drive to Newark, NY or Philly. It was cheaper than AA too, at least at first glance. Within a month they changed the connection in FLL twice [made it a 9 hr lay-over!], and by the time I added in the cost of our 4 bags it was higher than AA. Plus if you want to choose your seats in advance, which we always do, it was another $7.50 per flight leg, so add another $60 for that. We canceled everything, and ended up with a direct flight on AA for $200 less than Spirit. To me Spirit is great only for a quick trip to Florida with a carry-on only. It pays to check other options.

Hillbilly · #6 10-21-2009, 01:13 PM

Southwest is taking advantage of Spirits luggage charges and so are other airlines...

I think I will have daughter check with jet Blue to FLL...

I have had good luck with Spirit, so I do not complain..

HB

pmey27 · #7 10-21-2009, 03:46 PM

thanks.......

BPL888 · #8 10-21-2009, 05:46 PM

One of the complaints I had with Spirit is they have made using thier Frequent Flyer Program very difficult. You have to submit your request and then they counter offer. The last time they just flat out refused to let me book a frequent flyer trip anytime in January, even thier flights that went in the middle of the night and I asked 11 monthes in advance. Thier customer service is impossable to get a hold of. Luckily I had a direct number for a customer service rep from a previous problem so she reluctantly helped me book a January flight that includes spending a night sleeping on the floor on Ft Lauderdale! I used to use them a lot and also used thier credit card a lot so I could earn two free trips a year. But if they make it that hard to use the miles what's the sense. I stopped using them and thier credit card. Say what you want about American Airlines but I have had no such problems with them. I would like to start using Jet Blue more but it doesn't make sense to split my miles between two airlines.

suarezn · #9 10-21-2009, 06:30 PM

Well I hope I'm wrong since is good to have choice, but I don't see Spirit flying to STI for long. I flew them down there about a month ago and the was almost completely empty - About 10 people on board - and the guys own at STI told me that was always the case, so I don't see how they can make any money that way. I do like the hours...but their nickel and diming is to the extreme...

kjdrga · #10 10-22-2009, 07:47 PM

also you can only check 1- 50lb bag on spirit...you can not pay for a 2nd bag and the first can not be overweight (I called to verify this). At least these are the restrictions around the holiday season...that to me was the deal breaker... I'll be going AA, two free bags and many options if a flight is delayed and I miss my connection in Miami.

I'll be using them to go DCA-FLL next weekend for the first time, I figure if its $3 for a soda might as well get a cocktail for $6.

Also AA prices for the holidays have come down over the last week. Jetblue just matched their prices yesterday and today.