www.CostaRicaTicas.com

JetBlue flight from SJO to FLL today was delayed 4 hours and then 30 minute delay on the tarmac in FLL before getting to the gate. Not much fun! I don't remember Spirit having these issues in this corridor. JB offered a $75 credit for future flights and a whopping $10 food voucher for the SJO Airport Food Court LOL!!

I've done the SJO-FLL run 4 times since they started. They've always been on time for me. Now, US Customs & Immigration, on the other hand ...!!!

_________________
bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

No improvement in customs and immigration in Fort Lauderdale yet? That's the reason I avoid FLL like the plague... even with the bargain basement prices of Spirit and Jet Blue.

I hope this is an isolated situation.I too just made SJO trip and was on time.I plan on moving to not far from FLL in Palm Beach so i.ll be going to SJO,MDE more often,never went through customs at FLL,only Orlando and it took 10 min

You guys should get Global Entry. I flew in through FLL on JB in August. I have GE but my family doesn't so I was stuck in immigration for about 45 minutes, but GE line was wide open. I should've left the wife and K*ds in line and gone for a drink.

Other than a certain night in MDE this past August, probably the best $100 I have ever spent. http://www.globalentry.gov/

I have taken family travel companions through GE with me. But, I found it depends on the airport.

Spirit at FLL is plagued by delays, both in- and out-bound.

For example: this past Friday a good friend took the 2 AM Spirit flight from SJO - FLL. It left late and upon arrival at FLL my buddy had to wait 5 hours for his next Spirit flight due to delay. Do you think Spirit gave him a credit or a voucher? No.

Flightstats has Spirit's performance index on the SJO - FLL route as a Very Poor with a 0.3 score out of 5. In comparison Jetblue's score is 3.8 for the same route.

And I second Orange's suggestion about Global Entry. The longest it's taken me to get through FLL immigration is less than 5 minutes.
mh

_________________
mh

100% agree - just do it, even if you travel only once or twice each year - if you are able to be accepted into the program (not a slam dunk - no felonies, ever; no misdemeanors or serious traffic infractions <like DUI, reckless driving> w/in the last 10 years - I was told only like 35% of the applicants get accepted in S. FL, but then I'm sure the percentage is higher in the Mid west - we just have a lot of deadbeats down here )

I'm gonna take JetBlue the end of the month so I'll keep my fingers crossed - while I don't like Spirits corporate philosophy and find they are frequently not the least expensive option when you factor in what should be included - like a reserved seat and a carry on <I automatically add $100 to any Spirit fare> I have never - in many years and many flights - had an issue with their on time proformance - other airlines, sure.

Oh....while I'm on the soapbox - some years back, the American people spoke, and stated clearly they wanted cheap air transportation ( what choices did we have - our train system - unlike many other places, like every country in Europe, for example - is a joke) and like the saying goes, be careful what you wish for - b/c you might get it.

I'm not even 60 <very close > but I remember air travel back in the day, during the 1960's - it was a pleasure - but the people have spoken, and often, when price is the motivator, service suffers - but otoh, it does not have to - I think - for likely similar earnings - Southwest employees seem to like their job a lot more than say, Spirit's - the legacy carriers, who have seen earnings and benefits erode - while being stupid as to what was possible in a regulated environment, is not with deregulation.

Hell, don't take my word for it - ask Charley Bryan, the head of the union most responsible for Eastern Airlines demise - instead of having jobs, and taking less, every employee lost theirs and Miami a proud corporate headquarters.

(Obviously, lots more to the story - and its not all on the unions - many stupid decisions made by management, like failing to switch to jets and placing a large order for prop jets when the public wanted jets - but Eastern's demise is a classic example of a union wanting things the "way they used to be" and blind to the realities of a changing time)

I've flown JetBlue between Orlando and San Jose three or four times a year for the past four years, and have never been delayed. Flying in and out of FLL on JetBlue may be different. I know the flight crews out of FLL are different. Earlier this year when they were alternating flight crews between FLL and MCO (MCO crew would return to FLL, and vice versa), the cabin crew going from SJO to MCO were the worst I have ever encountered on any airline. One of the MCO flight attendants told me their corporate office received many complaints about the FLL crews.

I fly Spirit between FLL and MDE, and have only had one delay, and that was not Spirit's fault. A plane was stuck on the runway in MDE and we couldn't take off. The Spirit seats are cramped, but it's ok for three hours. I noticed for next year, Copa has some better prices than Spirit. I plan to try Copa for my second trip to MDE next year - already have frequent flyer tickets on Spirit for my next trip. Another reason to try Copa was my last experience flying out of MDE on Spirit. I never pay for a seat, and have always been given an aisle or window seat, until the last flight. I asked for an aisle seat in the front part of the plane. The guy told me he gave me an aisle seat. After I left the counter and looked at my ticket, I saw he gave me an aisle seat between FLL and MCO, but a middle seat in the rear of the plane between MDE and FLL. That was only one time, so I'll see what happens on the next trip.

Forbes Magazine is not known to be especially labor-friendly (they're self-proclaimed as "The Capitalist Tool"),
but in Charlie Bryan's obituary, they have rather a different take on the Eastern Airlines situation:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/201 ... ot-to-all/

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

COPA and Avianca are now my main squeezes. I don't even look at Spirit as an alternative. The free two checked bags on the two Latin American carriers are important to me as when I make trips to the States, my bags are two-blocked with items that are too hard to find (or too expensive) in Colombia. On trips to the US, my wife and I use virtually our entire 200 lbs free baggage allowance. I hate to think what that baggage would cost me... and that doesn't even include our two 21" carry-ons. The legacy cabin service on COPA and Avianca is worth a little extra in my book as well. Spirit is a business that just happens to operate airplanes... it is what it is... and has a loyal clientele that's convinced it's saving money. I never liked FLL since the first time I set foot in it. It's a shitty little airport, handling international traffic, without the capacity.

Sorry, Jazz - on this one we are going to have to agree to disagree - while the point that Eastern might never have survived anyway is debateable, but to me - living in Miami during the drama (and I have no connection with the airline at all) I'm never going to be convinced that Charlie was a labor leader of the worst kind - I will concede that the oil and water mixture of him and Frank Lorenzo was a marriage made in hell - but everyone is entitled to their own opinion

Just got a $90 credit from JetBlue which I used to mitigate the rate on a flight I booked from SJO to FLL in early March. Used my points for the FLL to SJO run so the whole itinerary cost me about $80 bucks. Helped salve the wound of the delayed flight on Monday.