Spirit Air out of Boston-MCO

[disneyobessed]

Can anyone tell me the pros or cons with using this airline.. I know there are additional charges but I have read they change their flight schedules frequently... Looking at a summer flight.

 

[Brenda Kim]

I have flown them a lot and here the skinny: They are cheap for a reason and if they don't have enough sold to cover the cost of the flight, then the flight doesn't go or gets moved. How often does that happen. I have flown them 8 times over the past 3 years and only had one flight bumped, due to pilot strike.
Know that if you want a guarantee to sit together, you will have to pay for a seat assignment. If checking bags buy online in advance it is cheaper, I have even done this online the day of the flight. Checking bags is cheaper than paying for carrying them on board. You are allowed one free item that can fit under your seat, but if it goes in the overhead bin, you have to pay (in theory) I have brought a duffel bag on that probably would not have fit under my seat, and not had to pay, but it is risky.
You can print your boarding pass at the airport kiosk and not pay any additional fees, but if you go up to the counter it's $10 for them to print out your boarding pass. All items on board cost money, water to snack packs, the only thing you get for free is the seat cushion that can be used as a flotation device Even with all these add on fees, only the carry on bag, printing of boarding pass and drinks on the plane are something different from what other airlines already charge you for, and often times charge more for.

I price it out and most of the time I am saving over $150 per person flying Spirit. If you know all this before you go, then you won't be disappointed. I think most of their bad reviews come from people not doing there homework. Because Spirit does not have that many flights out, sometimes only 1 or 2 a day, they do everything they can NOT to cancel them.

Case in point 2 years ago we flew to MCO in February from DFW and on the way to the airport it starting sleeting, when we got to the airport all of the American Airline flights were cancelled or delayed and our Spirit flight was on time because there was not another Spirit flight later in the day that they could throw us all on I suppose. Where American flies 8 flights a day from DFW to MCO.

Hope that helps.

 

[rwdavis2]

As was mentioned, the biggest problem from what I read is they do not schedule a lot of flights. So if you do get cancelled one day and the subsequent flights are full you may not leave for a day or days. Almost no amount of money saved is worth that trouble that would cause.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Case in point 2 years ago we flew to MCO in February from DFW and on the way to the airport it starting sleeting, when we got to the airport all of the American Airline flights were cancelled or delayed and our Spirit flight was on time because there was not another Spirit flight later in the day that they could throw us all on I suppose. Where American flies 8 flights a day from DFW to MCO.

Hope that helps.

well that alone is a reason NOT to fly.

Let's see the other airlines say "no not safe to fly", so you get ON the airline that says "oh we don't care"?

Ummmmm........
That makes me nervous.

But it's true that if they do cancel you could be in trouble. I had a friend who was told "the next flight with an available seat is 7 days from today"! b

 

[kydisneyfans]

There is a comfort factor involved for me also. 28" of legroom is sardine like packed. From Boston to Orlando is a decently long flight, hope nobody is over about 5'5", or you will be highly uncomfortable.

 

[Westcoastwild]

well that alone is a reason NOT to fly.

Let's see the other airlines say "no not safe to fly", so you get ON the airline that says "oh we don't care"?

Ummmmm........
That makes me nervous.

But it's true that if they do cancel you could be in trouble. I had a friend who was told "the next flight with an available seat is 7 days from today"! b

Flights are sometimes cancelled not due to safety during bad weather but due to something like how long it takes to de-ice each plane, and how that time will inconvenience or set back the rest of the airport. So in this case- American likely made the decision that although they could take off, it would be less hassle to cancel or delay. In spirits case, they would fly because it would be much more hassle to cancel or delay.

Faced a situation this winter where one airline- the one with most flights- cancelled everything in one day. Aviation rules had determined it was safe, but de-icing would take so long that flights would stack up, and so they basically cancelled all their regional flights to make it possible for the fewer long haulers to get out of there.

 

[momtwoboys]

I have flown them a lot and here the skinny: They are cheap for a reason and if they don't have enough sold to cover the cost of the flight, then the flight doesn't go or gets moved. How often does that happen. I have flown them 8 times over the past 3 years and only had one flight bumped, due to pilot strike.
Know that if you want a guarantee to sit together, you will have to pay for a seat assignment. If checking bags buy online in advance it is cheaper, I have even done this online the day of the flight. Checking bags is cheaper than paying for carrying them on board. You are allowed one free item that can fit under your seat, but if it goes in the overhead bin, you have to pay (in theory) I have brought a duffel bag on that probably would not have fit under my seat, and not had to pay, but it is risky.
You can print your boarding pass at the airport kiosk and not pay any additional fees, but if you go up to the counter it's $10 for them to print out your boarding pass. All items on board cost money, water to snack packs, the only thing you get for free is the seat cushion that can be used as a flotation device Even with all these add on fees, only the carry on bag, printing of boarding pass and drinks on the plane are something different from what other airlines already charge you for, and often times charge more for.

I price it out and most of the time I am saving over $150 per person flying Spirit. If you know all this before you go, then you won't be disappointed. I think most of their bad reviews come from people not doing there homework. Because Spirit does not have that many flights out, sometimes only 1 or 2 a day, they do everything they can NOT to cancel them.

Case in point 2 years ago we flew to MCO in February from DFW and on the way to the airport it starting sleeting, when we got to the airport all of the American Airline flights were cancelled or delayed and our Spirit flight was on time because there was not another Spirit flight later in the day that they could throw us all on I suppose. Where American flies 8 flights a day from DFW to MCO.

Hope that helps.

thank you that is helpful! I am researching Spirit right now. I have no problem printing out our boarding passes at home and again at our disney resort. I did hear that when returning to MCO we cant use RAC? We can use DME and ride the bus but they wont check us in for the flight and take bags correct?

 

[nerak]

I just posted this on another thread. A lot has already been said but other posters but I thought I'd give my impression as well.

I flew Spirit for the 1st time this past February Boston to Fort Meyers. I was very anxious due to all the mixed reviews and I did a lot of research. I do believe a lot of the bad reviews out there (about the prices and the flight in general) are from people who maybe did not research. Are the seats small? Yes but I've sat in smaller seats on AA. I'm 5'9" and "plus sized", I'm solid and carry most of my weight in my butt (unfortunately!) and the seat was average width wise, it was just snug pitch wise (but not unbearable). I paid some extra money to have an aisle seat and I was able to put the armrest up.

Yes you have to pay for everything, even water but the prices for the snack boxes weren't more expensive than any other airline and obviously you can bring your own food and drink.

I paid to check a bag. The only thing I did NOT like about checking in (well aside from having to pay) is the weight limit. It's only 40 while I think Jetblue and most other airlines is 50. I am a terrible packer so this was a hard one for me but I just made it with 38 lbs. lol You can bring a free "personal item" and it has to fit into their test box at check in. It's bigger than it seems. I bought a duffle bag on Amazon that was designed to fit (there are tons of them. Also tons of youtube videos with packing tips), I had that thing packed to the gills and it was still smaller than the test box.

So it is what it is. If after all the fees, the price is a lot cheaper than any other airline, I would consider it. (depending on how long your flight is. if it's a longer one, it may not be ideal. Also, i don't think Spirit has the bonus of being able to check in for your departing flight at WDW hotels like other airlines). Unfortunately, for my trip, it's even more expensive than Jetblue which I didn't think was possible!

My parents flew spirit in February of 2015 and their flight out of Boston to Ft Meyers was cancelled due to snow and they called and were able to be put on a new flight the next day. I'm not sure if the BOS to FM route is more frequent than BOS-MCO

 

[mdinme]

I have spoken to many people who have flown Spirit. All said they'd never do it again, Mostly because of "being nickled and dimed" but several "because the plane and seats were so tight."

We fly SW direct every trip. Two bags checked for free and it's a three hour flight.

 

[Jimsig]

thank you that is helpful! I am researching Spirit right now. I have no problem printing out our boarding passes at home and again at our disney resort. I did hear that when returning to MCO we cant use RAC? We can use DME and ride the bus but they wont check us in for the flight and take bags correct?

That is correct, you will have to take you bags with you and check them at the airport w Spirit. Airlines that participate are:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines (U.S. Domestic Flights Only)
• JetBlue Airways
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines

 

[Jimsig]

A family friend flew Spirit to MCO from BOS for business. His flight home to BOS was cancelled and he was straight out told the next available flight he could get on was in 7 days, but if he wanted to he could come back to the airport everyday and maybe get on standby. He rented a car and drove home.

Spirit does not endorse there tickets to another airline so you can only fly them if there is an issue. Once I was flying Continental (now United) from IND-CLE-BOS. Due to weather in CLE the plane I was supposed to take had not even left CLE when it was supposed to have already landed in IND. Continental endorsed my ticket on Delta and got me on a flight from IND-Cincy-BOS and it didn't cost me anything.