Spirit vs southwest

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

We always fly southwest but prices have nearly doubled over precovid numbers for us. I’m considering switching to spirit for our next trip.

I know we have to pay for any bags beside our personal items and they strictly enforce size. I also plan to purchase our seats so we can choose to sit together. We are a family of 4. We always have a stroller and car seat, usually 3 checked bags. Can I gate check the stroller and car seat for free? Anything else I should know about?

 

[maxiesmom]

According to their site it says you can check one stroller and car seat per child.

I would just make sure you figure out the costs of the seats (it varies) and bags before booking with them.

 

[EACarlson]

Be aware of frequency issues. How often does Spirit fly to both your origin and destination? If something goes wrong, when is the next flight you can get on? I know it's fairly regular for Spirit to only fly two days a week someplace, are you ok with waiting three days or do you have a backup plan?

 

[Ross Kratter]

Once you add seats and luggage, Spirit and Frontier end up being just as expensive, if not more, than the non-ultra low cost carriers.

 

[_19disnA]

I agree. The 'base' ticket prices for comparison purposes are very misleading and some of those budget airlines don't make it very easy to figure out what all of the various extras cost. Always make sure to look at the TOTAL price of the ticket for the various upcharges that will apply. Personally, I would never travel on Spirit at they were constantly on the local news where I used to live. Irate passengers were frequently stuck at their destination due to a flight cancellation and unable to return home since the next flight was 2-3 days away. Others were unable to depart when a mechanical issue grounded their plane and no replacement was available.

Have flown several times on Frontier and never had any issues.

 

[Leigh L]

Be aware of frequency issues. How often does Spirit fly to both your origin and destination? If something goes wrong, when is the next flight you can get on? I know it's fairly regular for Spirit to only fly two days a week someplace, are you ok with waiting three days or do you have a backup plan?

THIS.

It took me 2 years to finally use my Spirit credits that I had from April 2020 because they kept canceling flights and I had to go with other carriers and keep taking back the credit.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Once you add seats and luggage, Spirit and Frontier end up being just as expensive, if not more, than the non-ultra low cost carriers.

Sometimes, but not always. In some places the traditional carriers are expensive enough that even buying “the works” is a savings. I’m coming down in Frontier in August for $76 round trip per person. I just put my dates into Southwest to see what I come up with, and the Wanna Get Away fare would be $328 round trip same dates same airports. Even paying for luggage and seats, I’d come out ahead on Frontier.

And you can be strategic about seats and luggage. We don’t pay for seat assignments. I check in right at 24 hours and while we’re often at the back of the plane, we’re usually seated together which is all I really care about.

As for bags, you can fit a lot into a personal item size bag, so we maximize those and then just plan for laundry on longer trips. Usually the checked bags are less expensive than the carry on, so if you need more than the personal item size, buy one checked bag per family and put a little bit of everyone’s stuff in. When flying to a major destination like Orlando, I just plan to buy my toiletries, sunscreen, etc. there rather than taking up valuable bag space.

Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, Breeze, etc can be cheaper alternatives if you do your homework. I do agree that fees can add up fast if you’re not careful. I think the real drawback is their lack of reserves if something goes wrong. Southwest is more likely to recover if there’s a glitch, although when Southwest had a meltdown a while back, it seems to have been worse than other airlines.

 

[DIS_MERI]

Sometimes, but not always. In some places the traditional carriers are expensive enough that even buying “the works” is a savings. I’m coming down in Frontier in August for $76 round trip per person. I just put my dates into Southwest to see what I come up with, and the Wanna Get Away fare would be $328 round trip same dates same airports. Even paying for luggage and seats, I’d come out ahead on Frontier.

And you can be strategic about seats and luggage. We don’t pay for seat assignments. I check in right at 24 hours and while we’re often at the back of the plane, we’re usually seated together which is all I really care about.

As for bags, you can fit a lot into a personal item size bag, so we maximize those and then just plan for laundry on longer trips. Usually the checked bags are less expensive than the carry on, so if you need more than the personal item size, buy one checked bag per family and put a little bit of everyone’s stuff in. When flying to a major destination like Orlando, I just plan to buy my toiletries, sunscreen, etc. there rather than taking up valuable bag space.

Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, Breeze, etc can be cheaper alternatives if you do your homework. I do agree that fees can add up fast if you’re not careful. I think the real drawback is their lack of reserves if something goes wrong. Southwest is more likely to recover if there’s a glitch, although when Southwest had a meltdown a while back, it seems to have been worse than other airlines.

I attempted to fly Frontier a couple of times for the savings, however they canceled and/or changed the flights so that they didn't work for us, and I ended up paying even more for Southwest than I would have had I just booked them in the first place. I stopped looking at Frontier altogether. This was pre-Covid, I can't imagine they've gotten better.

 

[kittylady1972]

We always fly southwest but prices have nearly doubled over precovid numbers for us. I’m considering switching to spirit for our next trip.

I know we have to pay for any bags beside our personal items and they strictly enforce size. I also plan to purchase our seats so we can choose to sit together. We are a family of 4. We always have a stroller and car seat, usually 3 checked bags. Can I gate check the stroller and car seat for free? Anything else I should know about?

Years ago I was totally "anti-Spirit" as many others here seem to be...but not any more. All airlines are going to have issues, none are immune. Our local airport has several Spirit flights a day, at least 2 a day direct to MCO (and back) and some with connections. Here's what you should know that somebody else already mentioned.

You don't have to pay for seats...if you are on the same reservation you will get seated together. You can check in 24 hours in advance or LATER if you want to be near the front of the plane, but if you are checking luggage it won't matter as much. If you find after checking in that for some reason you don't get seats together (that has never happened in our 12+ Spirit flights over the last 2 years) then you can always go online even after checking in and pay for seats.

Keep in mind that personal item means ONE item...not a carry-on under seat luggage item PLUS a purse or a small backpack. It is ONE item...so pack accordingly. It's usually cheaper to check a bag than carry one one, so I would do that and then take on a backpack for stuff for the family.

Yes they charge for drinks and food on the plane, but no different than if you bought drinks and food at the airport AFTER entering security...which of course you can do and bring on the plane. I'll take buying food at the airport or on the plane over the "free" small pour of a drink on other airlines and a bag of snack mix. Actually Spirit has a few food and drink "packages" they sell on the plane that I enjoy purchasing...and I get the entire can of soda!

I actually had a Sprit flight cancelled on me, during the week between Christmas and New Year's last year, and it happened to be the last flight of the night for Spirit to my home airport from MCO. They handled it beautifully...sent me an email listing several hotel options in the MCO area for me to choose to stay, I picked one, it was reserved for me and it was a NICE resort hotel, just checked in there and just provided my name. Spirit also provided money for travel to/from the airport the next day AND vouchers for food (used at the airport). It was truly one of the best flight cancellation experiences for me and my daughter!

Our recent Sprit flights have been some of the best landings ever as well, and I'm so happy to not have to deal with the SWA "cattle call" on Spirit. All airlines are going to have pros and cons, but we book Spirit all the time without hesitation now. In fact, we live so close to the airport that we go directly there to buy our tickets which usually saves us another 30% per ticket vs the online price.

Best of luck on your travel decisions!

 

[sponica]

I know people who have flown them without a problem, and some who have had a problem. Like just about any airline. The critical part is, how frequently do they fly where you need to go? If it's 3 days until the next flight, I'm not willing to take that risk. If it's 3 flights a day, every day, that's a better risk.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If your primary reason to search elsewhere is cost that's the first place I'd look to see if they were really on par to save you money or just create a headache so mock an entire flight from start to finish to at least get an idea on it.

SWA will allow you more flexibility in cost such as getting credits back (and having a higher chance of being able to use them) or if you have points stored up having those right back into your account plus two checked bags. We normally don't use 2 checked bags per person but if you're a family that does that consider that additional luggage cost in there when comparing with Spirit.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I know people who have flown them without a problem, and some who have had a problem. Like just about any airline. The critical part is, how frequently do they fly where you need to go? If it's 3 days until the next flight, I'm not willing to take that risk. If it's 3 flights a day, every day, that's a better risk.

This is a really important consideration. My preferred airport is small, so flights are usually once per day. But I live within 1-2 hours’ drive of several other airports they fly to, so if they can get us back to the general region, I can get home.

Also, while it would be a haul, if all else fails, I could rent a vehicle and be back within 24 hours. It would be a miserable 24 hours, but we wouldn’t be truly stranded to the point where we would have to miss a significant amount of school/work/vacation. This is why I’m always going to choose American over Spirit to, say, St. Croix or San Francisco, but I’ll risk Spirit or Frontier to Orlando.

 

[Cheburashka]

We always fly southwest but prices have nearly doubled over precovid numbers for us. I’m considering switching to spirit for our next trip.

I know we have to pay for any bags beside our personal items and they strictly enforce size. I also plan to purchase our seats so we can choose to sit together. We are a family of 4. We always have a stroller and car seat, usually 3 checked bags. Can I gate check the stroller and car seat for free? Anything else I should know about?

Look up the prices of the legacy airlines (American, Delta, United) for your route. You might be pleasantly surprised. They're often lower than Southwest these days, and they won't have Spirit's level of customer service issues.

 

[Lewisc]

Once you add seats and luggage, Spirit and Frontier end up being just as expensive, if not more, than the non-ultra low cost carriers.

The cost for me to check 2 50# bags and a bin bag with Frontier is $300. The cost for the same items with Southwest is zero.

Frontier doesn't make sense if you need to max out your luggage. It works if you can make due with a personal item, ship stuff or check one bag for your group.

 

[miksicnarf]

I used to fly SW all the time but as the OP states, they've gotten too expensive AND they no longer have suitable flights for me. I flew Spirit for the first time earlier this year, on 2 legs of a multi-city trip and I have no complaints. Originally I booked one of the flights for the wrong day and I fully expected to have to pay to change it but there was no charge. Some other airlines (United, for example) also charge for carry-on bags with their lowest fare so you always have to be aware and have your calculator ready to be sure of the bottom line. I have my whole family including grandchildren booked on Spirit later this month so I hope our luck continues!

 

[ClapYourHands]

The cost for me to check 2 50# bags and a bin bag with Frontier is $300. The cost for the same items with Southwest is zero.

Frontier doesn't make sense if you need to max out your luggage. It works if you can make do with a personal item, ship stuff or check one bag for your group.

Really good point to consider individual travel needs. I don’t think there’s any definitive “best” airline, just what works for you for a particular trip. Different trips will have different priorities, and I’m glad to have choices. Personally, I switch up my airlines depending on where I’m going and why.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Be aware of frequency issues. How often does Spirit fly to both your origin and destination? If something goes wrong, when is the next flight you can get on? I know it's fairly regular for Spirit to only fly two days a week someplace, are you ok with waiting three days or do you have a backup plan?

Luckily they fly a non stop daily from our city and we have two other airports less than 2 hours from us if needed.

Once you add seats and luggage, Spirit and Frontier end up being just as expensive, if not more, than the non-ultra low cost carriers.

This is what I always thought as well but we have two kids so we don’t take as much luggage as 4 adults would so when I factor in only needing 2 or 3 checked bags, the savings seems to be considerable.

You don't have to pay for seats...if you are on the same reservation you will get seated together. You can check in 24 hours in advance or LATER if you want to be near the front of the plane, but if you are checking luggage it won't matter as much. If you find after checking in that for some reason you don't get seats together (that has never happened in our 12+ Spirit flights over the last 2 years) then you can always go online even after checking in and pay for seats.
Yes they charge for drinks and food on the plane, but no different than if you bought drinks and food at the airport AFTER entering security...which of course you can do and bring on the plane. I'll take buying food at the airport or on the plane over the "free" small pour of a drink on other airlines and a bag of snack mix. Actually Spirit has a few food and drink "packages" they sell on the plane that I enjoy purchasing...and I get the entire can of soda

I did not realize they would set you together if the tickets are purchased together. I only read if your a family with small children to see the gate agent and they will “try” to accommodate seating arrangements. That doesn’t work for me so I was including seat prices for that reason only. I could care less where we sit on the plane. Also good info about the drink packages.

If your primary reason to search elsewhere is cost that's the first place I'd look to see if they were really on par to save you money or just create a headache so mock an entire flight from start to finish to at least get an idea on it.

SWA will allow you more flexibility in cost such as getting credits back (and having a higher chance of being able to use them) or if you have points stored up having those right back into your account plus two checked bags. We normally don't use 2 checked bags per person but if you're a family that does that consider that additional luggage cost in there when comparing with Spirit.

I did the math for a few upcoming trips and one we save nearly $230 a person and the other about $50 a person so definitely varies.

Look up the prices of the legacy airlines (American, Delta, United) for your route. You might be pleasantly surprised. They're often lower than Southwest these days, and they won't have Spirit's level of customer service issues.

None of them fly direct

 

[Lumpy1106]

Nothing to see here, just checking in for my flight.

"Will you ever fly Spirit again?"
"NO, God NO! No."

 

[eticketplease]

None of them fly direct

That is the main reason we fly SWA. I have plenty of miles to fly with other carriers but a non stop flight with kids is worth much more to us.

 

[sponica]

That is the main reason we fly SWA. I have plenty of miles to fly with other carriers but a non stop flight with kids is worth much more to us.

We've been flying them since my husband switched jobs and no longer travels for work. He used to have tons of american miles and we'd fly american. But SW is non stop to MCO and 15 minutes from the house. Anyone else nonstop, I have to go to Boston and when I priced out our Feb break trip, everyone was about the same price or the cost savings were so minimal it wasn't worth it.