www.CostaRicaTicas.com

First post, so let me start with gratitude for all of the great info on this board.

From detroit Spirit Airlines is $500-550, while US Airways and Continental are $670. I've read that spirit charges for everything, but is it worth the extra $100+ for another airline?

well, do you have to change planes?....connecting flights?

carry on luggage or checked?....all the airlines mentioned charged for checked luggage?


does spirit also charge for carry on now?

got to admit, I've flown spirit before, but they are the nickle and dime you to death airline.

not that the others are much better.

think i took continental out of DCA thru Houston or Dallas once...had a connecting flight in texas...plenty of time to make the connection that time.

some guys really, really dislike spirit....(and for good reason)....but all the airlines suck.

have you tried the spirit $9 Club for even cheaper flights?.....that might make them a more attractive choice.


but with only a hundred dollar or so difference (at your mentioned price range)....I don't know if spirit is worth it.

oh yeah, which flights have the best arrival/departure times?

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Yeah, Spirit looks pretty attractive when it shows up cheaper than the others on the travel search engines. But if you're the type of person who likes to travel with luggage, choose a seat, or have a drink of water, the Spirit "discount" vanishes quickly. Take a suitcase, bring a carry-on and choose a seat, you will end up paying more than the $100 difference.

Also, Spirit has problems recovering from flight cancellations. The Spirit fleet is booked solid and scheduled very tight. One cancelled flight has a domino effect that will last for several days. I know guys who have had Spirit flights cancelled, and were not able to get another flight until 5 or 6 days later. Unless the savings are so extreme, I would spend the extra $100, and book with one of the more traditional airlines.

I fly Spirit very frequently but ONLY because I live in S FL. For the reasons BlueDevil stated I would NEVER fly them if I had to connect. They are too unreliable and do not compensate you adequately when they Phuck up. Imagine making all the arrangements for a trip you need to make in advance only to arrive at the airport to be told your flight was cancelled and we can't get you there for 5 or 6 days!! And they then ask you if you want your money back What would YOU do?

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Blue Devil and Phoenix Rising make some very good and very valid points - as I too live in S FL, and don't have to change planes, I've flown them to SJO (and NY and Chicago as well) and candidly never had a problem.
(Does not mean I agree with or approve of their business model, and you have a better chance of seeing Jesus than me ever investing in the company - they recently did an IPO).

However......

They fly full (as do most flights these days; I absolve them of that!) and if they have only one or 2 flights to your destination, as Spirit does, it can be a problem.

If you are leaving out of Detroit, you should be familiar w/ being screwed, and poor service - high fares too! As NW (now part of Delta) was famous for poor service (Called it "Northworst"). In addition, you are likely going to have to change planes - which would make Spirit a non starter for me.

Here's a run down - and know if you pay $39 for annual membership in the "$9 Fare Club" Spirit offeres, the fees are somewhat less (but still exist!) - but you gotta factor in the membership cost.

Each way, to choose your own seat (a very good idea, for many reasons) is about $15 each way, so $30 total. Then you have a baggage fee of at least $30 each way (and if you carry on or check more than one bag, there is an additional charge per bag)- so its $60 RT - so round numbers.....its $90 - $100 IN ADDITION TO THE FARE QUOTED, FOR CHOOSING YOUR phucking SEAT AND ONE CARRYON .

And that's a beef I have w/ them - for Christ sakes - you may not need a blanket, pillow, or a meal - but a seat is a must, correct? Also - its also impractical to assume you will not carry luggage - carry on or checked - while it can get out of hand a small carry on should be considered a part of normal travel.

Another thing is don't assume Spirit is always going to be cheaper - in May AA was $275 r/t MIA to SJO. Spirit from Ft Lauderdale was $335 r/t before the seat and baggage fees - plus I did not have to pay for my carryon bagggage or seat selection - was a very nice experience too!

I figure it's $18 per segment, so with DFW-Fl and FL-SJo you have 4 segments so it's $72 to get an aisle seat, and paying baggage with flt comes to $32 for 1 bag and $45 for second bag which come to addditional $149. So i figure spirit needs to be about $250 cheaper to be worth the risk. It is now $60 per year to be in the $9 fare club which are 1am to 5 am flt times.

I thought about the "Flight Segments" after I posted, but figured I had made my point; you escape the extra charge if the flight is direct (i e you have a stop(s) but you don't change planes) - they do treat each one as a separate event -I believe you are correct if you have to change planes in FLL for instance to get to SJO.

Basically if you have to change planes, Spirit is unlikely to be less expensive - but I will not fly them in any situation whereby a change of planes is necessary.

Some solid info here, thank you.

I read this before I booked with Spirit. I love in SoFL, so it is a direct flight.

If you have a carry-on bigger than 16x14x12, it will cost you $20 more each way, if you are a member of the $9 club, otherwise, it is even more expensive.

You don't "have" to pick and pay for a seat, although it may look like you do. I really don't care where I sit, so I opted to not pay extra for choosing my seat.

They advertised $124 RT from FLL to SJO for the $9 club members, BUT they don't include fuel or taxes in that quote.

I agree with the above poster, they all suck.

I imagine if I lived near the Fort Lauderdale airport, I would look at booking with Spirit differently, too. It's those tight connections on Spirit in FLL that cause problems. I live near Atlantic City (ACY), an airport serviced by Spirit. ACY is a snap to get through because it is underutilized. That, and very reasonable parking fees, make Spirit at ACY a tempting option. However, if a snowstorm strikes Jersey and Spirit decides to cancel its ACY - FLL legs, forget about rebooking. And unlike many other airlines, Spirit does not book bumped passengers on other airlines... so, you're looking at a fews days before getting to your final destination.

Yes, there is an art to packing a 16 x 14 x 12 "personal item." If you use a medical device like a CPAP, you can get by with another free bag. And what may be considered a personal item in MDE may not pass for one in FLL.

I did not use seat selection on my one and only Spirit flight last February, and lucked out on the outbound portion of my ACY-MDE trip. I got a window seat in an exit row for both legs of my itinerary just by checking in early and asking. I'm still a Spirit rookie, but I'm sure the vets have more tricks to make Spirit austerity a more enjoyable experience.

i live in south fla also and always fly spirit to costa rica i dont pay to book a seat i do it when i check in at the kiosk in the airport as my carry on i use a pretty big bookbag that fits my laptop and all my other stuff i need i can fit that under my seat. also i learned that when u check in if you have a carry on suit case to leave it with a friend when you check ur luggage that way ticket agent doesnt see it cause after that i have noticed they dont know wheather you paid for carry on bags or not. i say this cause i have not seen them put anything on your carry on to say it was paid for so hide them until after you get your boarding pass and you get free carry on

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You do costa rica your way and I'll do it my way

also to add to my last reply ive been down to sjo 3 times and have never had a problem yet with spirit have always left on time and always get a aisle seat i havent joined the $9 fare club yet cause when i go my wingman is a member and just books for both of us but im thinking of getting the spirit credit card so i can earn miles and get the membership

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You do costa rica your way and I'll do it my way

I have flown Spirit three times between Orlando and Medellin. I always have one checked bag and a carry-on personal bag, so I pay $23 each way for baggage. I never pay for seat selection and have always had a window seat. I take snacks with me and buy a bottle of water at the airport. I have a connection in Ft. Lauderdale which is not a problem going to Medellin. Because of the slow security process in FLL, the connection coming back gets a little hairy. The last time I flew, the flight from FLL to Orlando was delayed because they were waiting for people to get through security. Other than that, every flight has been on time. So the extras cost me $46 plus about $3 for a bottle of water in FLL and in MDE. It's like everything else, if you want to spend money, Spirit is ready to accept it; but I fly just fine with less than $50 round trip ad-on fees. I am a member of the $9 club, so if I take four trips a year on Spirit, that's an additional $15 each trip.

Great thread - all the airlines have in common that they tend to be somewhat difficult to deal with and have rules which at best could be termed as arbitrary - after all - what other industry screws its best customers - airlines do it all the time - their business travelers.

I normally would not worry about choosing seats in advance - however, w/ Spirit if the flight is crowded (and they almost always are) - on some of their planes, the seats in the back (the less desirable seats "reserved" for those who do not choose and pay for seat selection in advance) have less legroom, and do not recline - they call them "pre reclined" seats - an oxymoron if I ever heard one

I think with Spirit you need to know the nuances of flying them - as I live in Miami, and I don't have to switch planes to get to SJO, Spirit remains an option for me - but I think its critical - especially for those who don't fly much - to know what you are getting when you fly them.

Think again/twice on the Spirit credit card - I have one, and called in May to see when I could use some miles to fly free to SJO - I was told they have their 1st open seats in Sept - 4 months away - yes, they have a somewhat complicated (and expensive) formula for redeeming miles at any time - but that defeats the purpose, correct? They also have rules - like you have to charge something in a billing period, or you loose miles - also they "gave" you membership in the $9 Fare Club w/ the card - at least for the 1st year (?) but they don't anymore......

The problem w/ Spirit is they don't have a corporate culture of caring - their business philosophy is "be the cheapest (or at least appear to be so ) and the world will beat a path to your door" - and this has filtered into everything they touch - including their credit card.

Read the fine print very carefully if you do decide to take them up on their offer and also know its subject to change - like the dropping of membership in the $9 Fare Club - which was a good deal and a selling point for me - it was likely a good deal b/c they dropped it

Also, the credit card is now $59 a year and no free club.