Author Topic: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)  (Read 20951 times)

Offline Mocha

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NEW YORK — Passengers on Spirit Airlines Inc. now face nearly $34 in fees just to buy their tickets online. The only way most customers can avoid the fee is to head to the airport and wait on line to see a ticket agent there.

The no-frills airline advertises base fares as low as $9 but then charges passengers for everything from placing a carry-on bag in the overhead bin to having a glass of water onboard. In January it plans to start charging $5 for each boarding pass a ticket agent prints.

"It's one of the sneakiest fees in the industry," said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog. He notes that Spirit lists the generic-sounding "passenger usage fee" along with the government-imposed taxes and fees. "It's very disingenuous. It does look like some unavoidable fee."

On Nov. 8 the Miramar-Fla. company increased the online fee for domestic passengers from $8.99 each way to $16.99, according to spokeswoman Misty Pinson. The international fee fell $2 each way to $16.99.

The passenger usage fee is charged to anyone buying tickets online, which is the bulk of Spirit's sales. The fee can be avoided by buying a ticket at the airport. It is also not charged on flights departing from Colombia or Panama.

The only other U.S. airline to charge such a fee is Allegiant Travel Company. Passengers there face a fee of $17 roundtrip to book a ticket online.

Spirit's booking fee could be 40 percent or more of a ticket's total price. For instance a $14 fare each way between Detroit and New York included $21.40 in federal taxes and security fees and the $33.98 usage fee.



This article can be found at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/APd05298bc143944868089946ddc50ac11.html

Offline elikay

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2011, 12:27:28 AM »
Who still flies spirit?

Offline AJK

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2011, 12:53:35 AM »
People who want to save money.

Believe it or not, they still have some great fares, even with this ticketing fee.

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Offline AsherO

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2011, 01:27:37 AM »
I thought there were regulations against this, I read something along those lines recently...
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Offline Deal Guy

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #4 on: November 15, 2011, 01:33:12 AM »
It's bad news, but obviously it's not a big deal, since Spirit knows that they need to stay cheaper than other airlines. So, by them adding this fare, they will just end up lowering a $17 base fare to $8 for example. When you search on kayak for example, they will factor it in to the total price vs the total price of other airlines. So im sure Spirit will try to stay cheaper, especially with their crazy carry-on fees.

Offline AsherO

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2011, 01:34:52 AM »
It's bad news, but obviously it's not a big deal, since Spirit knows that they need to stay cheaper than other airlines. So, by them adding this fare, they will just end up lowering a $17 base fare to $8 for example. When you search on kayak for example, they will factor it in to the total price vs the total price of other airlines. So im sure Spirit will try to stay cheaper, especially with their crazy carry-on fees.

They don't want to be cheaper (which would mean less profit for them), they just want to seem cheaper :P
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Offline Deal Guy

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2011, 01:38:24 AM »
They don't want to be cheaper (which would mean less profit for them), they just want to seem cheaper :P
True. But me thinks that if they weren't TRULY somewhat cheaper most of the time, they would go bankrupt.

Offline AsherO

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2011, 01:40:14 AM »
True. But me thinks that if they weren't TRULY somewhat cheaper most of the time, they would go bankrupt.

Meh, the masses are ignorant, as long as people keep buying because they thing Spirit is cheaper...
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Offline AJK

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2011, 02:00:35 AM »
Even if the "masses are ignorant", sites like Kayak.com level the playing field.
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Offline AsherO

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2011, 02:03:51 AM »
Even if the "masses are ignorant", sites like Kayak.com level the playing field.

Does Kayak factor-in luggage fees too? What about the rest of the 'fees' mentioned in the OP?
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Offline YudiG

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2011, 04:40:31 AM »
i have 10k in spirit miles which expire soon..this seems like the nail in the coffin. good riddens spirit!

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #11 on: November 15, 2011, 08:33:44 AM »
Wow! This really is another reason why not to fly Spirit
I flew them once and hated being charged for something else every 15 min  ;)

Offline AJK

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #12 on: November 15, 2011, 09:54:06 AM »
Does Kayak factor-in luggage fees too? What about the rest of the 'fees' mentioned in the OP?

It does factor in luggage fees last I checked.

And, yes, as far as I know it gives total fair including all relevant fees. Then again, I'm not sure Kayak searches Spirit.

Wow! This really is another reason why not to fly Spirit
I flew them once and hated being charged for something else every 15 min  ;)

I flew Spirit from FLL-SJU. Was super cheap, but was super uncomfortable. Seat don't recline. at. all.

But for those who want to get there cheaply, it didn't compare in price.
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Offline JEWDA

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #13 on: November 15, 2011, 10:12:46 AM »
Thay are not all the time cheaper but many times they are. I flew once from acy to fll much cheaper then all airlines. But really uncomfortable flight.
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Offline PlatinumGuy

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #14 on: November 15, 2011, 11:07:02 AM »
I'm a real n00b here. Can someone fill me in what's so uncomfortable about these flights?
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Offline JEWDA

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #15 on: November 15, 2011, 11:19:57 AM »
Very small planes. seats are tight. no leg room.
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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #16 on: November 15, 2011, 02:44:41 PM »
Very small planes. seats are tight. no leg room.

+1

Not comfortable flight at all ... Def not worth it unless you really are saving $$$, but now with all the fees, its not too likely to save$

Offline moko

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #17 on: November 15, 2011, 03:07:54 PM »
And, yes, as far as I know it gives total fair including all relevant fees. Then again, I'm not sure Kayak searches Spirit.
it searches spirit
generally i find it searches spirit under what it calls a hacker fare (two one ways and so forth) which requires to book from the airline direct

Offline AJK

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #18 on: November 15, 2011, 03:09:11 PM »
AFAIK, all booking through Kayak take place directly with the airline.
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Offline moko

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Re: Another reason why not to fly Spirit (if another reason is even needed)
« Reply #19 on: November 15, 2011, 03:13:03 PM »
i just booked a ticket through them via airfare.com