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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:59 pm 
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Srilm wrote:
Ydogi wrote:
im a reformed Spirit hater, praise the Lord! 7 RT flights in the last year and a half, ALL ON TIME, last 2 i paid 124 RT TOTAL ( from FLL)....

join the club! ( then bag fees are less too)....

In FLL u dont even wait in line, just swipe PP in machine, done ....

:mrgreen:


It's worth noting that Spirit is proud of their "nickle and dime approach". If you know all the rules (that is definitely one website you want to peruse thoroughly) you can come out very cheap if that is your goal.

The problem I have with Spirit is the same as other smaller or low-cost airlines. If everything is going according to plan, all is well. As soon as the shit hits the fan, though, you could be in for a very long and frustrating day (or two or three...). Legacy carriers like Delta, American, Continental generally have much greater resources to deal with the unexpected and will really go out of their way sometimes for their frequent fliers.

SR



As always, you are right, SR - I think w/ Spirit, you need to know what you are buying, much more so than other carriers - I would not consider them if I had to change planes ( I've flown them many times from FLL and really never had a problem) - but you need to look at the fact that they only have - depending on the season - 1 or 2 flights from FLL - so you are 100% correct; if there is a problem it could be days until its rectified.

The other issue is the charge for carry on's, checked luggage, seat assingments, etc.

In May, I found American out of MIA was far less expensive - like by almost $100 vs Spirit - so you can't assume.

As I've posted, I hate their corporate policy of commoditizing the whole experience - and now, they are not always the least expensive, especially when you factor in the extras ( I've posted this before; I can do w/out a blanket, a pillow, a magazine, a meal, even a drink - but I'm going to have at least a carry on, and I need a seat - charging what they do for these basic needs just pisses me off)


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:52 am 
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Having been in sales for 33 years, I love to see where someone goes above and beyond; where they did the best they could to correct a bad situation - nice to write the letter - if management cares, they can identify the flight attendant - I suspect they have a record of who worked the flight somewhere! :lol: :)


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:23 pm 
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More of us should - everyone likes kudos from time to time!

The class part of what you did was purely for the benefit of the FA - not to get anything out of the airline for your own benefit.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:21 pm 
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this is a current deal july 9- 13


AIRFARE More Information â–º $116.00
$9 FARE CLUB MEMBERSHIP More Information â–º $59.95
TAXES & FEES Less Information â–¼ $106.00
APHIS User Fee $5..00
CR - National Tourism Fee $15.00 wtf IS THIS NEW???
CR-Common Area User Fee $5.16
CR-Security Fee $2.74
Immigration User Fee $7.00
Passenger Facility Fee $4.50
Passenger Usage Fee $26.00 this is A SPIRIT BULLSHIT FEE
September 11th Security Fee $2.50
US Customs Fee $5.50
US-International Departure Tax $32.60

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:59 pm 
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Phoenix Rising wrote:
this is a current deal july 9- 13


CR - National Tourism Fee $15.00 wtf IS THIS NEW???


No not new. Replaced the 3% hotel tax which was added to the 13% sales tax resulted in 16.3% added to your hotel room rate.

Be that is it may what I find more interesting is that you are still using Spirit Airlines after you wrote this letter to Mr. Baldanza, the CEO of Spirit detailing what you would do if they started to charge for carry on baggage.

Phoenix Rising wrote:
This is the letter I wrote to Sr Baldanza in response to his email:

Dear Mr Baldanza,

I fly your airline at least twice a month roundtrip. The carry on bag situation is not out of control. Yes people have been compelled to try to fit their luggage into a cary on bag to avoid the ever increasing checked baggage fees that your airline instigated in the industry a few years back. So it is true that there are more and larger carry-on bags being brought on board, but this is a situation that you created and orchestrated. By instituting your new fee you are essentially forcing to travelers pay for their luggage one way or another, and essentially contradicting your business model of giving your customers "choice" when it comes to the services they want. NO ONE is going to travel without luggage of some sort.

To try to couch this in an argument that "you expect fares to come down" is disingenuous at best. Your actions actually cause fares to go up. The other carriers followed your lead and started charging for luggage after you started to. I am guessing that they are salivating to see whether or not you will pull this off so they can follow suit yet again. To try to say that this will save us money is quite frankly offensive to intelligent people.

Over the course of the 3 years I have been a Spirit MC Card holder, 9 dollar fare club, and FreeSpirit club member I have seen changes for the worse, and not better. I am paying more for my travel this year than last year. The coach seats in the new A320 plane do not recline and are uncomfortable. Booking reward travel was easy until you removed the ability to do it online. The new levels and categories for award travel are complicated and cumbersome.When Ft Lauderdale when busy it is still chaos at check in.

Many of your customers who are furious with this action. Charles Schumer has even been moved to legislate against it. That's just what we DON'T need!!! As a business owner myself I recommend you reconsider this action. Regretfully, I for one will stop flying your airline if you take this action, use my reward mileage and turn in my mastercard.


When a short time later I called you on your continuing use of Spirit you replied:

Phoenix Rising wrote:
ID, if you read my post more carefully, you may have noticed that I had written:

I for one will stop flying your airline if you take this action,

Spirit Airlines has not, as of yet, taken this action. According to their emails they intend to begin accepting online payment of carry-on luggage fees as of July 1st for travel after August 1st...(maybe you carelessly missed that too?) :shock: :lol: Thus, my booking of air travel on Spirit for the month of May, does not contradict the intentions set forth in my letter to Mr Baldanza. Still, I remain hopeful he will come around and abandon this locura.


Seems they did take the action and you are still using there service. Care to explain?

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 9:22 pm 
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Srilm wrote "complained to the flight attendant that there's no way those bins could be full if everyone put their ONE allowed carry-on in the bin. I"

funny when I did that on CO the FA threatened to have me arrested. not once but 4 times, I only said it once, and after she threatened me I sat down and shut up, bag under my legs. Gets better cause every time some else said any to her, after she got done with them she came back and threatened me again with arrest.. getting old by this time. BUT now really gets good, after the doors are closed, the same FA comes and asks me to move, bag and all to anther seat for so other people could sit together. I moved 3 times for her, not really for her but so parents and K*ds could be together.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:56 am 
PHD From Del Rey University!
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Irish Drifter wrote:
Phoenix Rising wrote:
this is a current deal july 9- 13


CR - National Tourism Fee $15.00 wtf IS THIS NEW???


No not new. Replaced the 3% hotel tax which was added to the 13% sales tax resulted in 16.3% added to your hotel room rate.

Be that is it may what I find more interesting is that you are still using Spirit Airlines after you wrote this letter to Mr. Baldanza, the CEO of Spirit detailing what you would do if they started to charge for carry on baggage.



You really find that sooo interesting? I'm flattered, but...Wow... you really have NO life :lol: :P

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:30 am 
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Thats what I figured you are all words no action. Nuff said.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:44 am 
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Irish Drifter wrote:
Thats what I figured you are all words no action. Nuff said.


You STILL here? :roll: :lol:

FYI.... looking at the good spirit fares for some ACTION in CR 58 each way in July .... :)

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 5:40 pm 
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Irish Drifter wrote:
Thats what I figured you are all words no action. Nuff said.
Admin1 why is type of hate mongering allowed? I got banned from a trip report and my posts deleted :!: for joking around with another member yet troublemakers like this looking for an argument and attacking well respected contributing members goes on unchecked. Someone send Super Moderator CVcap in here to clean up this mess and toss out the trash! :lol:

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:45 pm 
Masters Degree in Mongering!
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Phoenix Rising wrote:
Irish Drifter wrote:
Phoenix Rising wrote:
this is a current deal july 9- 13


CR - National Tourism Fee $15.00 wtf IS THIS NEW???


No not new. Replaced the 3% hotel tax which was added to the 13% sales tax resulted in 16.3% added to your hotel room rate.

Be that is it may what I find more interesting is that you are still using Spirit Airlines after you wrote this letter to Mr. Baldanza, the CEO of Spirit detailing what you would do if they started to charge for carry on baggage.



You really find that sooo interesting? I'm flattered, but...Wow... you really have NO life :lol: :P


Phunny but that's EXACTLY what *I* thought when I read his post,,,,,,, :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 12:48 pm 
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Just signed up for the $9 club. Reason being they seem to fly to a lot of the places I'd like to go - SJ, Panama city, El Salvador, Managua, MDE, etc. Do they email you with special price offers or do you have to check their website to get these prices? Figured I'd sign up for a year and see how it goes.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:05 pm 
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Keeper50 wrote:
Just signed up for the $9 club. Reason being they seem to fly to a lot of the places I'd like to go - SJ, Panama city, El Salvador, Managua, MDE, etc. Do they email you with special price offers or do you have to check their website to get these prices? Figured I'd sign up for a year and see how it goes.


You'll be getting promotional e-mail just about every day. You find the $9 fares when you go to book a trip. A monthly calendar will appear with all the deep-discounted $9 fares underlined in red.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:41 pm 
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http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/10/2 ... itway.html

Yesterday, in the "Business Monday" section of the Miami Herald, the above article appeared - I think it gave a balanced view of Spirit.

As I've posted, I have (and will continue to do so) flown them numerous times, have their credit card, and am a "$9 fare club" member - while I have some disagreements with their business model, one thing in the article stuck out - during a recent period when domestic carriers collectively LOST over 1 billion - Spirit earned 7.9 million in net income.

Another thing is they are not trying to be all things to all people - its like the old sales philosophy that everyone is a prospect and if you don't sell 'em shame on you; its your failure - Spirit realizes (smartly) that they are not all things to all people. Many businesses have lost sight of this and do not focus.

(A week or so ago, another S. FL hq'd business', Office Depot - they recently appointed a new CEO - was interviewed - he identified as a major problem to many projects, too little focus, and too little focus on what drives earnings - he also said far too many walk out of their stores w/out buying (lets face it; you don't go in to browse the Bic pen collection, you go in with an item in mind to buy) and identified as one the drivers no one to help - in essence, staff just did not give a shit - pathetic - and who knows how much revenue and profits were lost over the last few years - but I digress)

The only quibble - pretty much - I have with the theme of the article (which is Spirit is the cheapest) is that often times they are not - and that is before you add the "extras":

In May, I came down to CR - BOOKED AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME, FLL TO SJO on Spirit was $335 and American was $275 - $60 more on the basic flight - which is not insignificant -

Too, I would have spent an additional $20 for seat assingment (lowest price you can pay to be assured a seat; you can pay lots more) as well as $40 for my carry on (another $60 in fees) - so the "least expensive airline" all in for the same services, was $125 MORE than the old legacy carrier American.

Was this a fluke - who knows and who cares, although common sense tells me it probably was not a fluke - all I know for sure is $125 is 2 nights in a hotel, or 6 nights dinners.

Point is you have to check, and not just assume.

PS if for whatever reason the link does not get you to the article, it was in yesterdays Herald, in the Business Monday section, and you can probably get in through the Miami Heralds' web site.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 12:41 am 
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Spirit is $406 w/tax for DFW-SJO. Checking 2 bags adds $68 for a total of $474 RT without being able to reserve an aisle seat. I believe that reserving seats is $18 per segment which is 4 flts so $72. So I will let them assign seating. The other AA, CONTINENTAL,DELTA are $680 RT; So I would saving about $200 and I like the flt times on SPIRIT. What other fees will they charge me with? I figure a $200 difference is enough to take a chance on SPIRIT.


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