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Is the low fare worth the high cost of stress?

July 14, 2007 by Escape Together Travel Team  
Filed under Blog, Travel Tips and Advice

1 Comment

I found a great fare on Spirit Airlines to the Caribbean for a last minute getaway with a friend. We were traveling over the Fourth of July holiday which meant that we were extremely lucky to find a reasonable fare at all. We arrived and checked in with no hiccups or concerns for our late afternoon flight out of DCA in Washington DC. A few things that should have made us realize a bargain is not always a bargain when we booked with Spirit include… 

  1. You have to prepay $5 per bag for your checked luggage. 
  2. You have to pay for everything but water on your flight including soda, juice, and snacks. 
  3. There were only two flights in and out each day. If that flight is delayed or cancelled you are stuck! 

Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood Airport is the hub for Spirit Airlines. The terminal at that airport where most Spirit flights arrive and depart has very few services. Try to bring food with you before arriving in Ft. Lauderdale unless you are a Nathan’s Hot Dogs fan! On our return flight we had a 5 hour layover and ended up going to another terminal to find food. 

Some great things about Spirit: 

 

  1. You can really save to some fun international destinations. They often publish fares as low as $2 dollars each way. 
  2. The seats are pretty big with enough legroom throughout the coach cabin. 
  3. If you are carrying-on and live in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area the entire Caribbean and many other destinations will be very inexpensive for you to visit. 
  4. Your luggage tends to make it with you. I am the Queen of lost/delayed luggage but have never heard or experienced problems with Spirit losing luggage. The same is not always true for the big airlines. 

But let’s not get too excited and buy our tickets just yet. 

On our flight from DCA to Ft. Lauderdale we ended up circling the airport for over an hour because the weather did not allow us to land. When our flight finally landed we did not arrive at a gate in the Spirit portion of the airport and had to go outside in the rain and walk to terminal H. Then walk through security AGAIN (which meant we had to throw away the bottled water we bought when we landed before we realized we had to exit the terminal to get to our gate). Eventually our flight touched down and we arrived at our final destination an hour late but with our luggage. 

On our return flight from the Caribbean we had a five hour layover. This caused us to have to go to baggage claim in Ft. Lauderdale, get our bags and re-check in at the ticket counter. After getting on a 6 am flight, the last thing you want to do is get back in the ticket line and go through security for the second time in one day. Note to self: remember to check more closely the arrival and departure times for ALL flights. :)  

And of course the ticket counter was a zoo. I have never experienced so much disorganization and confusion when checking into an airport. I still have no idea why they could not just check our luggage all the way through to DC. We never went through customs and stayed on the same airline for both flights. 

At the ticket counter the kiosks were in the same place as the line for people who needed to talk/see an agent. The person providing direction to passengers was rude and not very good at providing clear instructions. People dragged their luggage through the very tiny space around the ticket counters and tried to get checked in with very little space between customers. Once checked-in, you still have to drag your luggage back to the screening machine! By the time we were checked into our flight and our luggage was being screened we had both vowed to never fly Spirit again. The stress was not worth it! 

Upon returning, I have not completely given up on Spirit Airlines. I still think they are a great choice for people that are more concerned about saving money then the overall service and experience. Besides how can you not take advantage of a deal like a $20 flight to Guatemala or an $8 flight to Puerto Rico! Spirit often provides VERY low fares and if you just need to get away, then save money on the flight and use the remainder for a de-stress massage at your destination. 

 

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