Spirit Airlines Sucks Comment Count

Brian

FFFFFUUUUU-

Your humble author at around 8PM on Wednesday 

So, right. I didn't want to harsh the hockey buzz earlier and mention it then, but I will mention it now: Spirit Airlines sucks. I waited long enough that I am no longer a spittle-flecked FFFFFFUUUUUU-bot about the whole thing and can now relate to you my story without having it devolve into fantasies where I chop off their heads. Instead I will rationally explain to you why Spirit Air is an exceptionally bad choice for anyone looking to use a plane to change their location.

Event #1: I am flying to New York for Blogs With Balls 1.0, the first ever sportsblogger convention-type substance. Due to crazy weather things, the flight is cancelled. Okay, fine, out of their control. I am then told that I can get on the next available flight. The flight is on Sunday. It is Thursday. BWB is on Saturday. I am attempting to get to New York City, which is a large and notable place with no fewer than three major airports if you count Newark.

It turns out I cannot explode the heads of people who are talking to me on the phone. I cancel. I do manage to Priceline a flight for less than one zillion dollars, but I have to get up at 4 AM to catch it. That day is fun.

Event #2: I purchase tickets to head out to Las Vegas for the NCAA tournament's opening weekend in order to see my friend who moved to Nowhere, Arizona, and spends the first weekend of the NCAA tournament running around like one of those little dogs whose blood is 90% cocaine. Because MGoSignificantOther has to TA classes, we have a tight window. It only makes sense to fly out Wednesday night and come back Sunday and unfortunately in that window Spirit is about 300 bucks cheaper than the alternatives. I grit my teeth and buy.

When we arrive at the airport more than an hour before the flight, our boarding passes have no seats. I know this is very bad. It turns out they have oversold the flight by a whopping six people and we are all totally screwed. We are given the option to fly out later… 24 hours later. This totally destroys the sense in going. We cancel. Spirit offers us exactly nothing in compensation.

I FFFFFFUUUUUUU my way out of the airport and fall into a funk that only magically delicious Shawn Hunwick can cure.

A Totally Non Spittle-Flecked Reason You Should Avoid Spirit

I have been caught in the throes of airline fiascoes a few times before, and have been pissed off. But in those instances the delays have been on the order of hours because other airlines have reciprocal agreements where they will reduce FFFUUUU as much as possible by letting you on their flights.

Spirit does not have these agreements—my Priceline flight is proof of that—and if anything goes wrong with your flight, or you are one of the unfortunate folk who Spirit says "psyche!" to when you say "you sold me a ticket", you will be waiting at least a full day and possibly up to, like, forever, before you can actually get on a plane. If getting somewhere at a particular time is important, avoid Spirit Air at all costs. If you have a wedding or a holiday or a space ninja convention or have made any plans whatsoever, Spirit Air is a terrible choice.

I understand that sometimes the flight is going to be ridiculously cheaper and you'll want to roll the dice, but trust me: if it's anywhere under a couple hundred bucks—which most of them are—they'll extract most of that from you in hidden fees for booking a seat or checking luggage or breathing funny and you'll be exposing yourself to greatly increased risk that your plans will just evaporate.

Also, when you try to email them you will have to jump through sixteen hoops to do so and then you will be all FFFFUUUU again when you send them a link to your post.

A Side Note

Is there any other industry that will promise you something, take hundreds or thousands of dollars from you, and then say "sorry, we were just kidding?" I can hardly believe this "oversold" bullcrap is legal. Two would be one thing, but six? Seriously?

Obligatory Planes, Trains, And Automobiles Embed

The most NSFW 53 seconds that does not involve nudity can be:

For the record, I did not do this. For the first time in my life I did pull the "DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO?!?" card, though. They did not.

Comments

rlc

March 23rd, 2010 at 9:03 AM ^

I won't fly spirit airlines either. I was on a plane where the engine burnt out on throttel up. Not a great feeling to be at the head of the runway and hear that! Glad it was then and not 30 seconds later. They did put me on another airline upon my request.

LondonBlue

March 23rd, 2010 at 9:20 AM ^

Unfortunately, the only way to get the attention of companies who rely on millions of customers contributing a small amount is to create leverage.

My brother got bumped by United returning to Germany after Christmas during his year abroad. He was offered another United flight 8 days later with no compensation and they refused to interline him with another carrier. He ended up paying $1250 for a one way ticket on another carrier.

I photocopied my United frequent flyer card and 10 other co-workers who had elite status. In my letter to the CEO, I told them that if they didn't refund my brother $1250 each of these people had agreed to fly another airline for business trips until the total lost revenue to United was $25,000.

My brother ended up getting the $1250 refunded plus a $600 United travel voucher and a written apology.

Ziff72

March 23rd, 2010 at 9:26 AM ^

This is the kind of thing that happens to me. This is like when people tell me to call the cable company and threaten to switch and you'll get stuff for free. I call up and they say fuck off leave. I always here about people hoping to get bumped because you just have to wait an hour go on a later flight and they give you free air fare anywhere in the world for free or they got bumped to 1st class etc etc....this seems more like what would happen to me.

Token_sparty

March 23rd, 2010 at 9:49 AM ^

Did they respond by saying, "Some anonymous douchey blogger cashing in his AdSense dollars so he can finally emerge from his parents' basement and end the winter hibernation?"

Just kidding, I know you don't live in your parents' basement.

Actually, just kidding, I'm giving you some well-deserved crap for pulling that db 'don't you know who I am' bit. If you have to ask the question, the answer is no.

We should be able to suggest businesses to get the Terry Tate treatment. He'd make a fortune just on the airlines.

Love the Paint pic, though, that was good. Can't wait for Cowturd to put it up on his site and claim to be an 'artiste'.

Six Zero

March 23rd, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^

Let's use our unicorn horns to create a new planet and put all the Spirit airplanes on that planet, and then we'll go to the Weapons store and buy enough swordfish and lemon bombs to blow up that planet!!!

PS. If you haven't read it, no I am not intellectually challenged and have the mind of a five year old. Ten, maybe, but definitely not five.

leftrare

March 23rd, 2010 at 10:10 AM ^

Brian, when you asked "do you know who I am?"...

She could have picked up the PA mic and announced "ladies and gentlemen, this poor man needs your help. He doesn't know who he is."

kedarkam

March 23rd, 2010 at 10:13 AM ^

My gf was flying through Philly on the way to Detroit and they tried to tell her (4 days after a snow storm) that they were having trouble due to snow delays (Blue skies pretty much everywhere in the NE and Midwest. They tried to rebook her for 5 days later. But, since I had web access, I looked up any flights on the same leg between the two pairs and found some first class and economy class seats open on US Air. After she got on the phone with US Air they rebooked her for an hour later when minutes before making the phone call a desk agent told her no flights were available.

Two morals of this story based on my travelling experiences, 1) US Air is god awful and 2) when your flight is cancelled, rather than waiting in line at the "resolution" counter, get on the phone. The people at the call center have less stress to deal with than those at the airport, so they tend to be more accomodating.

I have turned down a free ticket on US Air when bumped simply because I know it would mean having to fly US Air again.

MayzNBlu

March 24th, 2010 at 6:50 PM ^

While it may be that US Air is god-awful, I would actually be tempted to blame this on the Detroit-Philadelphia connection. My boyfriend and I spent a year and a half "commuting" to see each other between Ann Arbor and Philadelphia. Over that year and a half, we flew to visit each other about 10 times... 9 of those flights were either canceled because of weather (with clear blue skies all around), delayed by multiple hours so that we missed connections, or re-routed to another airport for no explainable reason. Basically, the flights (on ANY airline) between Detroit and Philadelphia are terrible.

bronxblue

March 23rd, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^

Great post Brian.

I don't usually fly if the drive is bearable, but those super-cheap Spirit deals are hard to pass up. So I feel your pain about the sudden and unexplained bumps and overbookings.

Another note about Spirit Airlines and other budget services - because they are not "major" carriers, but tend to be bumped on takeoff at crowded airports (like OHare and LaGuardia). My wife and I were flying back to Michigan from New York and sat on the tarmac/runway for something like 3 hours (after a 2-hour delay during boarding), and the reason was because all of the smaller airlines were limited to a single runway. Delta, United, etc. had first dibs on the other 2 runways, which we didn't realize until we asked the people around us (who flew Spirit more often).

ChalmersE

March 23rd, 2010 at 10:38 AM ^

"If you are denied boarding involuntarily, you are entitled to a payment of “denied boarding compensation” from the airline unless:

(1) You have not fully complied with the airline's ticketing, check-in, and reconfirmation requirements, or you are not acceptable for transportation under the airline's usual rules and practices, or (2) you are denied boarding because the flight is canceled; or (3) you are denied boarding because a smaller capacity aircraft was substituted for safety or operational reasons; or (4) you are offered accommodations in a section of the aircraft other than specified in your ticket, at no extra charge, (a passenger seated in a section for which a lower fare is charged must be given an appropriate refund); or (5) the airline is able to place you on another flight or flights that are planned to reach your final destination within one hour of the scheduled arrival of your original flight.

Amount of Denied Boarding Compensation

Passengers who are eligible for denied boarding compensation must be offered a payment equal to the sum of the face values of their ticket coupons, with a $200 maximum. However, if the airline cannot arrange “alternate transportation” (see below) for the passenger, the compensation is doubled ($400 maximum). The “value” of a ticket coupon is the one-way fare for the flight shown on the coupon including any surcharge and air transportation tax, minus any applicable discount. All flight coupons, including connecting flights, to the passenger's final destination or first 4-hour stopover are used to compute the compensation.

“Alternate transportation” is air transportation (by an airline licensed by DOT) or other transportation used by the passenger which, at the time the arrangement is made, is planned to arrive at the passenger's next scheduled stopover (of 4 hours or longer) or final destination no later than 2 hours (for flights within U.S. points, including territories and possessions) or 4 hours (for international flights) after the passenger's originally scheduled arrival time.

Method of Payment

The airline must give each passenger who qualifies for denied boarding compensation a payment by cash or check for the amount specified above, on the day and place the involuntary denied boarding occurs. However, if the airline arranges alternate transportation for the passenger's convenience that departs before the payment can be made, the payment will be sent to the passenger within 24 hours. The air carrier may offer free tickets in place of the cash payment. The passenger may, however, insist on the cash payment, or refuse all compensation and bring private legal action."

Hemlock Philosopher

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:20 PM ^

This, to me, seems highly insufficient for what happens to the traveler. $200 for a canceled flight? What about the hotel I dropped $200/ night on? What about the return flight?

I think they should have to compensate in full for the traveler's losses plus a fine. Then, maybe, they wouldn't do this shit so often.

st barth

March 23rd, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^

Domestic air travel in the United States is a disaster and, unfortunately, anybody who has ever bought tickets based solely on price is responsible for this. In other words, all of us.

Providing air service is a surprisingly complicated business affair. Yet with a consumer market that only cares about the bottom-line ticket price, is it any wonder that the airlines have to cut staff & service and even resort to questionable business tactics in order to generate a profit? And even then, airlines are declaring bankruptcy about every other year.

Just think about how much ticket prices from Detroit to Las Veagas have changed in the past 10 or 20 years. They're probably about the same, maybe even slightly cheaper. At the same time fuel costs alone have probably doubled or tripled. The airlines have to cut costs somewhere. Service is an obvious example that we are all familiar with. I shudder to even think about where they are cutting corners in terms of safety. If they decide to cancel a flight for what appears to be ambiguous reasons then it's probably for the better (better than crashing at least).

I know this isn't the popular opinion, but all things considered I would rather see the airlines make an effort to charge more for there flights. In the meantime, we get what we pay for.

st barth

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:42 PM ^

And I wouldn't want anything to do with the airline business either. With rising fuel costs, increasing government scrutiny, hordes of upset customers, discount competitors continually pushing prices down, expensive pilots & planes to be paid for and/or financed...I would touch the business side of the industry with a ten foot pole. Oh, and did I mention the unpredictability of the weather?

colin

March 23rd, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^

the cost charged funds a much more thorough experience. the difference between a jaunt across the Atlantic and one across the States (say, NY to London, vs. NY to LA) doesn't cost much more in fuel, but the cost is a great deal more, right?

st barth

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^

Good questions. I'm no expert and I really don't fly that often but my international experiences tend to be much better than the ones in the United States also.

I think some of it is just cultural differences. Americans like to get things cheaply. whether it's Walmart or Priceline.com. With international travel a different market is being tapped...one that is far less accustomed to shopping under blue light specials.

Having said that, travel abroad can be just as sketchy. For example, there was one time I was at Arlanda airport waiting for an SAS flight to Oslo when the announcement was made that they had a delay. A businessman sitting in the back started loudly booing as if he were at a football game. Half an hour later they announced that the flight was cancelled and that we would all be on the next flight two hours later to which the businessman responded with a hearty "bullshit!" (or maybe the swedish equivalent of bullshit, either way it was amusing) before storming up to the desk. After he came back, we asked him what was up and he said that he often flew this route and that even though SAS offered two morning flights they would often cancel the first one if it didn't have enough bookings and put everyone on the second flight. Their excuse was always "mechanical issues." I was not in a hurry so I really didn't so much but the businessman was obviously pissed. So, I guess my point is that the shenanigans happen all over the world.

ShockFX

March 23rd, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^

You get what you pay for man. Spirit is NOTORIOUSLY shitty as it caters to casual/vacation travelers.

Also, as a quick sidenote about being compensated:

1) If you are bumped, you are entitled to compensation as listed above.
2) Weather cancellations/delays require no compensation. If the weather problem is at a connecting flight or anywhere along the route that's sufficient.
3) Mechanical/pilot delays do require compensation if it results in a flight cancellation or delay over x hours.

As for airlines, Delta is great if it's out of DTW, provided it's not a terrible snow storm, but even then I've landed in the teeth of one at Metro that I'm sure wouldn't have worked had it been O'Hare or LaGuardia.
United, in general, blows monkey nuts. They DO have a decent international flight map though, so it's worth suffering through if (like me) you fly out of O'Hare every week and elite status makes it tolerable just for perks when you vacation abroad.

USAirways tends to be a bit better than United, and you can credit your frequent flyer miles to United, Continental, or any other Star Alliance airline. This can help you build status in Star Alliance while flying multiple carriers.

Southwest is good overall - good leg room, boarding process is pretty fair and quick, pretty good at point to point flying. It's not really much cheaper though for business routes, at least in my experience, but they offer some great deals for leisure travel if you pay attention. They also have a pretty decent frequent-flyer program that can earn you free flights quickly.

Zoltanrules

March 23rd, 2010 at 11:38 AM ^

I have flown Southwest 100s of times in and out of Detroit. Can't beat their combination of price and service. They have a great frequent flyer program that is easy to use with few blackouts (Northwest was a total joke) and in the rare event they screw up - they have always owned up and make it right. Most good companies have a good culture that starts with the CEO. This is evident at SWA where employees seem happy and helpful - you even see pilots help load bags which says a lot.

slappy09

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^

So i'm a consultant and have been flying every weekend for the past 10 years -- i've flown over 3M miles with American Airlines and find it terribly painful to fly any other airline - mostly because standard rules don't apply to me on American. I'm right with most of you guys, i would hate flying without these special perks.

I have never had a good experience with any discount carriers (Southwest, Spirit, Ryan Air, etc.). Baggage handling on southwest shocks me! They don't actually track luggage like most airlines - they just know what the destination is and put bags on any plane heading that way. the times i've checked a bag out southworst, 80% of the time the bag does not arrive with me - either on an earlier flight, a later flight - or just lost. It's great my bag flies free - but in my experience it never gets there.

ptmac

March 23rd, 2010 at 12:41 PM ^

After a whirlwind trip to Ireland to bury my father my return connecting flight from Boston to Detroit was canceled for "mechanical reasons." In reality it was canceled because there was another flight from Ireland a couple hours after mine that was delayed. Many people on the later flight had the same connecting flight from Boston to Detroit. NWA didn't feel like flying a flight that was not full. Therefore they canceled it.

I was compensated by being given a room at the Logan Hilton and a flight the next day. I agree it is total bullshit that they are able to do this. They fuck with your life. I was so strung out after flying to Ireland, burying my father, and flying back two days later that I just wanted to be home. On top of the canceled flight they lost my luggage for a few days.

I vowed never to fly NWA again, but realistically that is very difficult to do. I have had canceled flights from NWA since then. I just grin and bare it. I am traveling to CA in May with my wife and 8 month old daughter. I just really hope there aren't any delays or cancellations, but know it is out of my control.

Brian, "Do you know who I am", does not work unless that entails you being a gold/platinum level member of SkyMiles or whatever they call the club. I am not such a member, but a close friend is and he gets much respect and free first class tickets/upgrades - which he has been known to share with friends going with him to Vegas :)

I Bleed Maize N Blue

March 23rd, 2010 at 1:13 PM ^

This thread is a look at the sorry state of airline travel. Brian posts about his experience with Spirit; people agree that Spirit sucks; other people post about how (other airline) sucks; more people say don't fly (other airline).

So what is a traveler supposed to do? When I flip open my cell phone and say, "Beam me up, Scotty," nothing ever hap

st barth

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:15 PM ^

Is there any other industry that will promise you something, take hundreds or thousands of dollars from you, and then say "sorry, we were just kidding?"

ummm....wall street is pretty good at this and they get away with at a far larger scale than a Spirit airlines.

bouje

March 23rd, 2010 at 2:49 PM ^

Wow are you really going to compare Wall Street to the Airline Industry... I'm just going to forget that you've said that and not say anything anymore or else I'll get into a spittle flecked rage.

The Man Down T…

March 23rd, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^

'Is there any other industry that will promise you something, take hundreds or thousands of dollars from you, and then say "sorry, we were just kidding?"'

The government does that all the time...