this. Book on Spirit.com. Spirit fares are $10 more expensive when you book over the phone or via third-party websites such as Orbitz. Booking on those sites also means you're more likely to get hit by an unexpected fee because you'll miss the various disclaimers about extra charges that Spirit.com customers receive. Leave the roller bags at home. Spirit charges $30 to $100 for checked and carry-on bags, depending when the bags are paid for. Customers can bring one free "personal item" that fits under the seat in front of them. Most backpacks and smaller duffel bags will fit. Roller bags almost always have to be paid for. Spirit charges fliers $100 who bring a bag to the boarding gate that is too large to fit under the seat—and hasn't yet been paid for. A spokeswoman said that the fee is designed to deter fliers from flouting the rules, and that gate agents are trained to strictly enforce it. However, frequent Spirit fliers say customers with larger backpacks and duffel bags generally slip past. If a gate agent asks to measure the bag, duffel bags are typically more malleable and can be crammed into the bins that measure the maximum size for free bags. If a bag isn't fitting, take out heavier clothes and wear them on the plane. There is no charge for extra layers. Another trick: Paying for a carry-on bag simply gives fliers a higher boarding priority, ensuring they will get overhead bin space. If you don't pay for a carry-on bag, you're still free to put your bag in the overhead bin—if there is room. Bring one bag. Spirit permits only one "personal item," so it will also charge fliers $100 at the gate for bringing a small extra bag, like a pocketbook. Either make room for your pocketbook in your bag or leave it at home. Spirit does allow fliers to carry on umbrellas, coats, cameras, infant diaper bags, food, books, e-readers and small tablets. Bring your own water. Nearly everything on board Spirit is for sale, including water for $3. Bring an empty water bottle through security and fill it at an airport water fountain. If you forget a bottle, order a glass of ice—which is the one free thing on board—and wait for it to melt. Print your boarding pass at home or at an airport kiosk. Spirit charges $10 for boarding passes printed by a gate agent. It recently canceled plans to charge $2 for passes from kiosks. Let Spirit choose your seats. Spirit charges fliers to choose any seat, including the middle seat in the last row. If you let Spirit pick, it doesn't charge—and it will typically seat two fliers together who book together. Buy your tickets at the airport. This trick only the most frugal travelers know. Spirit charges a "passenger-usage fee" on every booking made online—typically $17 each way. (Spirit made $150 million from this fee alone last year.) But there is no fee if you book your ticket at the airport—like travelers did decades ago. Typical savings: $34 per round-trip ticket.
IIRC, I don't think their planes go back and forth from the same two cities. I think they start on one coast and head step-by-step to the other, so when something earlier in the day gets delayed, it messes up the rest of the day. Maybe I'm wrong.
I must have been really lucky.. The flight from Houston to San Diego was on time.. The flight coming back was on time as well. Had 0 issues.. Took a large carry on free. It was slightly bigger than their requirement and I didn't incur any extra chargers. $221.00 round trip for two people I will take it.
Are you kidding me? United is the absolute worst! So many lost language, flight delays, and terrible staff. NEVER AGAIN! For domestic fly Southwest. No baggage fee, No cancellation fee, etc
If Spirit Airlines is like Ryanair, which I used once in a pinch to get to Slovakia, then I hate it already. Despite the myriad fees, it must be said that these ultra cheap carriers are doing something right because so people fly them. Traveling is as essential nowadays as reading books so if more people in America get to see the other states and some Latin American countries, I'm for it. That extra competition makes domestic carriers like United work a bit harder.
I saw a round-trip from Dallas to New Orleans for $88 the other day that I almost took, but couldn't take it because of something coming up. The price only includes one "personal item" which is basically a 16"x14"x12" bag. Any bigger bags or more bags incur an additional fee. The planes also have seats that don't recline and that's to allow even more seats to be crammed onto the plane. I really don't have a problem with any of that, but some of the reviews I've read kind of scared me.
Wife used them for a wedding trip from Houston to Orlando in November. Air fare was cheap, but there was an additional $35 carry on fee each way. Both flights left on time and usually arrived about 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. She had no complaints.
I flew a direct flight on Spirit a year ago. I had no problems at all. Actually, the employees were very helpful. I'll probably use them in February. Will posy here how it turns out. They expanded into Cleveland, which is close enough to me to use. Cleveland to Dallas is super cheap. Like $70 round trip on some dates. Will most likely use that for long weekends a few times a year if I can get family members to haul me from Dallas to Houston and back.
The fees, you can get around. Your personal item can basically be carry on size. My wife just put her purse in a carry on bag. Free luggage. We did check one bag, though, as we were going on a week long trip.
Flew them once, didn't enjoyed the experience. Fees tacked on to the cheap air make it as expensive as flying a standard airline. Planes are crapped and dirty, not flying them again.
When I flew to Portland earlier this year, we found that this rolling carry-on... http://www.costco.com/Ciao-Rolling-Carry-On-Under-Seat-Rolling-Bag---Black.product.100099589.html ...fit all of the requirements for stowing away under the seat in front of you. No extra fees as these were considered personal items. Bought two of these and used three standard backpacks (personal items) and was able to fit enough stuff for my wife and I and three kids for four nights in PDX/Canada. As for the reviews...I'm sure Spirit is hit-or-miss. And most people who have problem-free flights don't post quite as often as those who are disgruntled about something. Unfortunately, Spirit ranks pretty high on lists grading consumer complaints about airlines. ex.... http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/11/pf/airline-complaints/ In the end...if I had to travel again with the entire family, I would give Spirit a shot if it were a short trip (length and distance) and their prices were significantly lower than everyone else.
