Spirit Airlines
Reviews and Complaints

This was the absolute worst airline experience ever. Beware of being duped and be prepared to spend a lot more $$ than what they advertise. I am a seasoned traveler and had never heard of Spirit, so why not give them a try ? Seats were smaller than normal, airflow was terrible and Sutter Wine! Yuck! Beware of this airline! Stupid is as stupid does! JetBlue please take me back!

To Whom it May Concern;

In booking my mothers flight, I like any person was looking for the best deal available for a one way ticket for my mother to fly home. Upon looking, Spirit came up the cheapest thru Orbitz. I decided to book the flight for the 26th of January at 4;45pm flying from DFW to Denver, (flight 719) Upon making the reservation I specifically told the agent that my mother was disabled and would need assistance. Any other airline we have flown with her has accommodated her without any issues. Well that all changed on Saturday. We got her to the airport an hour and 45 minutes early to check in. Upon checking in they charged her $70.00 for her bag. Upon arguing with the check in clerk I explained to her my mother is disabled and carries a CPAP machine (medical equipment) in her luggage. The clerk looked at another clerk and shook her head NO. I looked at the clerks and could not believe the customer service we are receiving from Spirit. Then they had a problem with my mothers name on her ticket. We had to pull everything out of her wallet to show the clerk and her supervisor so they could confirm who my mother was. They never once offered her a chair or a wheelchair to seat in while we stood at the ticket counter for an hour. After all that mess, they never accommodated my mother with a wheelchair after asking several times. My mother also asked not to be seated by the wing. What did they do at the ticket counter, they sat her right in the middle of the wing. Then after assisting my mother to the security check point, I ask one of the TSA agents if they could call for a wheelchair since Spirit airlines did nothing to assist her. TSA at DFW did call and get he a wheelchair and even took her to the assigned gate. Then after I thought everything was taken care of for her, she calls me after her flight very upset. Spirit waited on the runway for an hour in a half for the proper paperwork to take off. They would not let the passengers change seats, get up to go to the bathroom nor offer there passengers anything to drink. My mother said she was feeling ill due to the plane being so hot and humid. After they finally provided the right paperwork for the flight, my mother then told me that upon taking off several loud noises came from the bottom of the plane. Passengers started to look worried until the noises stopped after taking off. Since my mother has a disability and takes several medications, she needs to be by a bathroom. When she got up to go to the bathroom, it was occupied. She then proceeded to stand by the side of the bathroom door. The flight attendant got into my mothers face and scolded her like a child that she could not stand there and went on and on and on. My mother looked at her and started crying due to her condescending attitude. There was no need for her to do that to an elderly disabled individual.

After I calmed down to decide what to do about this situation, we decided to write you and Spirit customer service. We will NEVER fly Spirit again. Not only are they ripping everyone off with there luggage fees, there customer service is a joke. Not to accommodate a disabled person is just very wrong. All of the Spirit employee's need a class on customer service since we did not receive any from anyone at Spirit. After researching Spirit, I noticed they have several complaints about them concerning not only there customer service but the shape of there planes and how they are not clean etc...

I appreciate you letting me write my complaints down. I hope you forward this to the right people that will have the decency to do the right thing and bring this letter to the attention of the top people at Spirit. Maybe then they will treat disabled people with a little more dignity and concern.

Warmly
Jennifer Minneman for my mother Dolores D Summers

December 5 about 4pm pacific time I made a reservation on Spirit airlines.

I spoke with 4 of agents attempting to complete the reservation. In frustration, I cancelled the reservation.
I was informed by agent Roy that I could only receive credit toward another flight. I explained to the agent that I just this moment had made the reservation and so that needing to cancel 7 days in advance was rather impossible. Roy then spoke with his supervisor Diego to see if the regulations could be waved. Roy was advised that they would not return the money to my account but would give me a credit on Spirit airlines.

I need to explain that I am a Catholic Sister 74 years old . I am hard of hearing and live with a very limited budget. This was a an emergency trip and I was under a great deal of pressure.

There is no way that I will be able to use this ticket credit within the time limit. In fact I am not sure how to locate the credit.

I have attempted without sucess to speak with a Spirit airlines agent about this matter. I did speak with Travelocity as they had booked the flight . I was informed that Spirit airlines does not allow them to cancel any reservations.
In effect I am subsidizing Spirit airlines. I am requesting a full refund on ticket #IBC5WA

Rachel Shepard

Blake Janover
8 Royal Palm Way 202, Boca Raton FL
33432
[protected]

Spirit Airlines
http://www.spiritair.com
2800 Executive Way
Miramar, FL 33025
800.772.7117
Fax: [protected]

To Whom It May Concern,

I’m writing to report an incident that occurred on November 24th, 2012 for flight 142 from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Fort Lauderdale, FL. I have always been a loyal patron of Spirit Airlines, but this recent incident, which involved lack of customer support and rude, unhelpful Spirit staff, has spurred me to file a formal complaint and obtain an apology and a refund for my grievances.

My sister Ashley Janover booked a round trip on Friday, November 9th, 2012 from Fort Lauderdale, FL on November 22nd, 2012, Flight 145; departing at 1:16pm and arriving to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at 4:30pm. And back on November 24th, 2012, Flight 142 departing Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at 5:24pm and arriving to Fort Lauderdale, FL at 6:47pm. Confirmation code for this flight is Y4CNVY. Let me point out that my sister, Ashley suffers from Lyme disease. It affects her nervous system, causing symptoms such severe headaches, numbness, pain, weakness in the limbs, and poor coordination, causing her to take medications; this is why it was extremely important to go back home in Florida on the scheduled flight. Once we arrived at the Aeropuerto Internacional de Las Américas, José Francisco Peña Gómez in Santo Domingo, we were a few minutes late due to Ashley’s condition. We explained the situation clearly and kindly to the Spirit counter attendant Yudith Tolentino, badge # 2691; and she had a very poor attitude and ignored our dilemma. We asked her if she could please print out our ticket and boarding pass, she refused. Then she printed another fellow flyer’s pass right in front of us. We spoke to multiple people about our predicament including Mr. Jose Fernando Rodriguez, Aerodom employee, badge #577, and still received no help. Finally, we located Ms. Tolentino’s supervisor Wilfredo, who was on vacations, put him on the phone and he told her to print the tickets. At that time, it was already too late. They requested we change the flight for the next day, November 25th, 2012; and charged us a completely new ticket. The on staff supervisor Mr. Jose Fernando Rodriguez was condescending as he denied to help saying he couldn’t waive the price. As we returned to the airport the next day, there was a different on staff supervisor who said it wouldn’t be a problem to waive the ticket, due to our position but it was too late since it was already charged. He was very friendly and helpful. He did not understand why nor the Spirit counter attendant Yudith Tolentino or the on staff supervisor the previous day, didn’t do so. He proceeded to charging us US$163.01 for the return ticket.

I understand policies and regulations, but I don't understand how a major company such as Spirit Airlines can hire such unhelpful and discerning staff. As a continuous Spirit flyer and VIP member at the Aeropuerto Internacional de Las Américas, José Francisco Peña Gómez in Santo Domingo, I expect at a bare minimum to be treated fairly, kindly, and with a little respect which was not received at the time of this incident. I would also expect a company such as Spirit would thrive to make sure it’s frequent flyer customers are happy and satisfied, which is definitely not the case with Yudith Tolentino and Jose Fernando Rodriguez, who wasn’t cruel or mean, but certainly isn’t “supervisor material”.

Please contact me before January 1st, 2013 to confirm that my requests will be honored. If I do not hear from you by then, I will report this incident to the appropriate agencies such as the BBB, Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, Aeropuerto Internacional de Las Américas, José Francisco Peña Gómez in Santo Domingo, and more. I look forward to your rectifying this situation.
Respectfully,

Blake Janover
8 Royal Palm Way 202, Boca Raton FL
33432
[protected]
Free Spirit #: [protected]

On December 2011, we book a trip from Dallas to Las Vegas using Spirit Airlines. The airline overbooked the plane and we were no able to fly. However, the airline was able to accommodate us in American Airline. In compensation, Spirit offered us a “free” trip (we paid around $450 for baggage and taxes) to any wherever they fly. We thought that was a great deal, and booked a trip to St. Maarten on May 12, 2012.
My husband and I were so excited and booked a hotel with all inclusive in St Maarten. On Saturday, May 12, we arrived to the airport and received the noticed that our flight was delayed due to mechanical problems. Later we were called and the attendant informed us our flight was canceled. We had two options: flight that night to Florida and spent the night there at our expenses in order to take the next morning plane or the stay in Dallas and flight the next day. Either option was not favorable for us since we were incurring more expenses and losing one night paid in St Maarten. The attendant told us that there was nothing she can do about it. We decided to stay in a hotel in DFW airport to take the 5 am flight on Sunday.
We proceeded to recover our luggage and that was another nightmare. It took us four hours to find our luggage. We were almost a dozen of customers with the same problem, and the attendant at Spirit counter was very rude and incapable of helping us. Other customers asked him to see the manager, but he said he was the manager. He was extremely rude and careless about the problems we all were facing.
This was a lesson learned, Never ever fly Spirit. I believe in second chance, but it did not work here. I am letting my friends and family know about this incident and how Spirit did not respond to our problems.
We never recovered the fees we paid for the baggage on the airplane we never took!

It is no surprise why Spirit airlines has a terrible reputation. And it all begins from the rude and unhelpful staff they have working representing the Spirit name. I arrived at O'Hare airport to print my boarding pass of which I had checked in online the night prior to departure. I did this procedure 3 times, because the online system fails to send you a check in confirmation. Once arrived at the airport, 35 minutes before departure and with NO nags to check in, the kiosk says to check with the front desk which is where the problems begin.
1 - Spirit attendant proceeds to tell me and my passenger we are were in fact not checked in and now can not board.
2 - I ask to speak to a manager, they tell me no manager is present. I ask again, "There must be a manager, I need to speak to one" It is now 25 mins before departure with the dispute of finding a manager in order to get better assistance.
3- Manager arrives and says again there is nothing that can be done, she proceeds to review boarding policies. It is now 10 min until boarding.
Here is the problem, I understand policies and regulations, but I don't understand how a major company can hire such unhelpful and discerning staff. As a spirit member too I expect a certain level of customer service which is not received. I would expect a company such as yourself would thrive to make sure it's customers are happy and satisfied which has not been the case at the O'Hare check in with Ms. Diane Keys as the "manager" and her associates. I intend to take this small complaint to the highest level possible to express my grief and great disappointment in this airline. You can assure you have lost a customer, and while one may not mean much against millions, if Spirit continues with this poor customer service, one will quickly multiple by the thousands.

I purchased tickets thru Priceline and failed to review Spirit Airlines web page. DTW to LAS rountrip and my journey began after my online purchase. 1) The following week they cancelled my flight and rescheduled my departure by 4 hrs. I contacted customer service and spoke to someone from India who was very difficult to understand. After complaining about the change for over 20 minutes he finally gave my wife and I assigned seats. 2) Baggage: this airline charges for carry-ons that are placed in the overhead bins. Checked bags cost almost the same. The free carry-ons have to be placed under the seat. All checked baggage has a wt. limit of 40 lbs while most airlines have it at 50lbs. If you exceed 1lbs over it will cost an additional $25 each leg. 3) I pre-paid for one checked bag. When we arrived at the airport I was sent to a Kiosk to print ticket just to go back to an attendant to check the bag in. I was told they could print the ticket but it would be an additional $5. 4) Once I finally got to board the aircraft I found out how tight coach is. I'm 5' 10" and my knees were pushing in the back of the next seat. I had to spread my knees to the outside of the seat and they were still pushing on the magazine holder. All drinks and snacks cost with credit card no cash allowed.
Avoid this airline at all cost, once you pay for all the extras this airline is similar in cost with major carriers. I tried to find a customer complaint department in th US and it was unsuccessful. This company hates the customer and only wants to make a buck by hauling a cattle car.

We were traveling from Detroit to Tampa on 6am flight with our family of 6 passengers. We arrived at the airport 2 hours prior to our domestic flight to find that there was a huge line at the baggage check-in counter. We already had our boarding passes and the lines for security were very small so we just needed to check our bags prior to the flight.

I was not initially worried but after several minutes we saw how slow the line was moving I approached the spirit employee directing the line with 1hour and 10 minutes prior to the flight to inform her that we only had 70 minutes to our flight time and could not make it through the line in time for the flight because the line in front of us was so long. I was told to "just get back in line". I asked if we were going to be OK and was told to "Don't worry, just get back in line" again. I asked if we could do a curbside baggage check and was told that spirit did not have that service anymore.

I have flown with spirit and other airlines several other times and have seen them manage baggage checks so that that people were moved up if their flights were leaving shortly. There were people ahead of us who were leaving on later flights and if I thought the employee was going to make us miss our flight, I would have gladly stayed back with the luggage and allowed the other 5 people in our group board the flight and join them later.

At this point I thought that we would be allowed to check our bags as the flight time neared since the employee was pulling some international passengers out of line and we heard her call our Tampa flight out too but when I held up my hand she again said to stay in line so we did.

With 45 minutes prior to our fight I approached her again and told her we only had 45 minutes now and it was obvious we would never make it to the baggage counter in time since there were still many people ahead of us. Again I was told to "just get back in line" and I did. With 35 minutes left before the flight both me, and my wife who was in tears now, pointed out that it was 35 minutes before our 6am departure and asked directly if she was going to make us miss our flight. All she said was, "I can't speak to you right now and get back in line". We were relatively close to the front of the line with maybe 20-25 people ahead of us but still were expecting her to not deliberately make us miss our flight. since she had called other people out of the line. We waited another 5-10 minutes and then she called us up to check our bags. We immediately rushed up and the flight was not accepting baggage anymore. The employee deliberately held us back until we could not check our bags.

There was no way she was not aware of our situation since we checked in with her regularly. I asked what we could do now and she handed me the 1-800 number and said she couldn't talk to us.

We then waited with several other families who had been trapped in the baggage line for the service manager. We asked if we could get on another flight that day and she took our boarding passes to get refunds processed. We specifically asked her to make certain not to cancel our return flights. There were no other flights available to Florida that helped us and she also cancelled our return flights and simply walked away.

Now all the kids are crying, we are missing our cruise and now we have to rebook flights down south to Jamaica and back from Florida at much higher prices.

We were told Spirit had the flights overbooked from the day before and were purposely trying to make us miss our flights so they could use our seats and not have to give us any compensation.

They advertise the lowest prices, but they don't tell you that they charge extra for everything. Pay for a bag. Do it an advance and you save a little but it is still ridiculous and it can only be a certain size and not over 40 pounds! Take a second bag and you'll need to get a loan or mortgage your home! So, you think you will carry on? Nope, charge for that too. Even more than checking a bag and if you do it at the gate, oops, another upcharge. You pay extra to reserve a seat and premium seats such as those in the extra row cost more. Aisle seat, extra. Window seat, extra. Middle seat, cheaper but still a charge. No free refreshments of any kind. What will be next, pay toilets? I better not give them any ideas. When you finally get on the plane they have added extra rows of seats so that even if you are of medium height your knees hit the seat in front of you. Speaking of the seats, and the seat pockets, they are nasty looking. Many are broken. Flight attendants were grouchy and rude. We will never fly this airline again!

Never Again! Spirit Airlines is a “RIP OFF”. My husband and I booked our tickets for our trip from Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay – Jamaica. Their price was the lowest so we went for it. Unfortunately, it was only after our flight was booked that we learned about the various restrictions and additional charges -- such as extra charge for carry-on items and seat assignments, as well as limit of 40 Lbs. on checked baggage -- which in all our international travel around the world, we have never experienced before! By the time we paid for everything, it was very expensive and we realized that we would have been better off booking with Air Jamaica. Although the base quote was a little higher than Spirit's, it would have ended up cheaper in the long run, and with less hassle. Air Jamaica allows 50lbs for checked baggage and 1 bag is free.

By its own admission, this Airline claims it is an Ultra Low Cost Carrier, with a unique approach that liberates customers from being forced into paying for services they do not desire or use.

Makes one wonder: on what planet, do passengers fly without desiring or using a SEAT?!

On the outbound flight, we were not even offered complimentary water. You had to buy water! On our return flight which departed 3 hours behind schedule, they did not even explain why or have the courtesy to keep passengers apprised of the status. It was up to us passengers to check with the ticket/gate agents as to what was going on. As if that was not enough poor service, the information provided by the agents at the ticket counter contradicted that given by the agents at the gate! And to top it all off, once our plane finally took off 3 hours late, one would expect that they should have at least offered us water and a snack on the plane. NOTHING! It was as if everything was normal and 'business-as-usual' -- buy the water or snack if you need to, no recognition of inconvenience to passengers or apology! To fill out the custom forms, they said if we didn’t have a pen, we could buy pens from them for 25cents. (What's next? Charge to use the restrooms?). Spirit Airlines is only out to make money. They have no sense about good customer service.

We were not only deeply disappointed by the lack of customer service but also disturbed by the lack of transparency in the airlines' communication with customers on-line and at the airport. We feel it is important to share our dissatisfaction so others who are planning a wonderful vacation can avoid the hassle of flying with an airline that doesn't seem to know or care about quality customer service. Fortunately, we were blessed to enjoy our time in Jamaica and the fond memories of reunion with old friends, the white sandy beaches, warm ocean breezes, friendly locals and happy music, will always be with us...

My wife and kids (1.5 yrs & 4.5 yrs) travelling from DC to Ft.Laud(Miami).

she waited for 3 hrs at the airport at the last minute flight got cancelled, they gave 2 options either rebook for next day morning or refund.

she rebooked for next day morning, next day morning went to airport and again flight is delayed for 3 hrs, now after waiting 3 hrs again they cancelled second time, Shame on them... happened twice
Shame spiti does'nt have no backup plans at all.

Now the lady at the counter said they can do is refund or rebook.

My wife with kids its totally not easy.

Spirit airlines really a shame less mgmt. no customer service.

I will never fly Spirit Air again! I had the most awful experience with them flying out of Latrobe back to my home in Fort Lauderdale. I flew home to West Virginia (into Latrobe) for a long, 4-day weekend. This airport is way out of the way and we arrived at the kiosk 25 minutes before our flight was set to depart back to FLL. The kiosk said to see an agent for check-in. This has happened to me countless times with other airlines, they quickly check me in, and I proceed to my gate. Keep in mind, Latrobe airport is extremely small. One check-in desk, one gate (visible from the entrance) and no line in security. We found a Spirit employee who very rudely informed us that the computers were shut down and I should have been there 30 minutes ago. I informed her the flight did not leave for 25 minutes and I could see the 1 gate from where I was standing. Also, I was not checking any bags. She flatly told me she could do nothing to help me and scolded me for being late. She told me all airlines operate that way, which I know not to be true. She offered no alternatives, nothing to help, just kept repeating, "that is our policy, our computers shut down automatically, I can't do anything". She seemed to get some kind of satisfaction repeating this to me several times. I told her that was ridiculous, the flight did not depart for half an hour and I had to be home to work the next morning (I am active duty military). She very rudely continued to scold me for being late and kept repeating it was their 'policy' to shut their computers down half an hour before the flight. I refuse to believe there was nothing this lady could do to help me. Everyone there was extremely rude and confrontational. She asked me my name, for what reason I do not know and wrote it down. I had to ask when the next flight was and she very curtly told me Wednesday (2 days away). I stood there helpless staring at the gate, knowing the flight would not leave for half an hour and this woman was refusing to help. She offered no help whatsoever, just rudely stared at me and said she could not do anything. I had to drive an hour and a half to Pittsburgh, book a one way flight on another airline for the next morning. When I was able, I called Spirit, and spoke to an outsourced individual who kept repeating that it was their 'policy' and I should have been there 2 hours before the flight? 2 hours? Where does it say that? I asked. 'On our website' he replied. He stated that I was marked as a no-show. I informed him that I was there 25 minutes before the plane left and they would not let me on. He robotically repeated that it was their 'policy' and he would not help me in any way besides reading from a script. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was left on hold for 30 minutes. I have never, ever been treated this way by an airline. This is most definitely my first and last time ever flying with Spirit and I will continue to tell everyone I know, including my many military brothers and sisters never to fly with Spirit. They are more interested in their ridiculous 'policies' than customer service. I have never seen anything like it. Their business model seems to be luring customers with their seemingly low airfare and tacking on ridiculous charges (for carry-ons! 40 dollars per carry-on per flight! This was $80 each way for us, might as well bought a ticket on a reputable airline for that price!) These people are in no way concerned with customer service. I will pay a little extra and stick with United and American from now on. Stay away from this extremely rude company!

Spirit Airlines has finally gone too far. I don't plan to fly with them ever again. The ridiculous nickel and dime charges for seat location, baggage, etc. was bad enough, but to insist that you use a certain browser version in order to book online made my blood boil. So, according to the person who answered the phone when I called to inquire as to why I was having trouble completing an online reservation, you need to have Internet Explorer 7 to process your transaction. In other words, book your ticket on the phone so they can charge you the $10 service charge. I'm done with this airline. If you add everything up their rates are not worth the aggravation. Just charge consumers a fair rate for the damn flight! I'd rather fly with anyone else at this point than to deal with this company again.

I thought my account was expiring at the end of May. They say they sent an email May 12 with the heading Spirit Airlines. They send out so much spam for deals or special offers that I just delete. How was I to know that email was an auto-renewal notice. I called to cancel the account and they said I had my chance and there was no refund.

The reason I am canceling is their specials never go where I want or at a time I want. I am not willing to fly at midnight after 7 hours driving.

I have used Spirit Airlines 3 times for round trips flights and they were ALWAYS late. I finally decided to make a complain since 3 times in a row can't be coincidence. Last Sunday the flight was 3 hours late, and when I got the flight back from Boston it was 1 hour late... They have ok price but very uncomfortable seats and are always late. I like 100x better Jet Blue and I only fly with Spirit if there's no other option available.

I purchased the "9 dollar fare club" of Spirit airlines because doing so allows you to get cheaper rates on flights and checked bags. The only way to get the cheaper checked bag fare is to log in as a member on their website. I've tried many, many times (at least 100 times) over a period of more than a week, at different times of the day. Every time I try I get a message saying "Our website is experiencing a high volume of visitors. Please try again and accept our apologies for this inconvenience." I called to tell them of this problem and was told to keep trying because that's the only way I can get the discount. When benefits offered (for a price) end up not being available in practice, that is for all practical purposes a scam.

I joined the $9 fair club in January and my husband I received good rates in February--although a $9 fair rate wasn't ever offered. In March I went to book a party of four on the internet. The club membership states that any members travelling with the $9 dollar member recieve the same great rate. Unfortunately after I had booked on the computer and got to the final "acception of terms and conditions " the computer timed out. I therefore called their toll free number and got someone in India who could barely speak English who tried to tell me the rate per passenger had gone up by $100. Apparantely the $9 fare club doesn't work over the phone. Forced to book because I was pressed for time (on the phone for 45 minutes) I went ahead. Two weeks later when my husband and daughter decided to join us, I tried to book again on the internet and the exact same thing happened. (Funny when I did the initial booking the representitive said the system would be fixed in 24-48 hrs). Again, no discount given due to the phone booking- even though we stupid enough to have my husband join the club at $60, thinking he would get the great rate aswell.

On top of all of this we had the flight cancelled due to a thunder storm with no compensation for getting another flight and no offers of support-- which all other reputable airlines do.

I have tried to call and speak with managers only to be put on hold forever and then having the initial representative come on and say there is nothing they can do.

I only hope Dateline, The Fifth Estate or 20/20 does a piece on this airline and shuts them down.

I am curious to know who are the devious owners of this company who are getting rich off innocent people by having them buy into their scam. I plan to forward my e-mail to them.

I hope anyone will think twice about joining this $9 fair club after reading my e-mail. I know the flights are cheap, but be very careful about signing up for something that is a total ripoff.

Avoid spirit airlines at all costs...
We purchased tickets to florida for my husband and I with our 3 children. I figured that spirit was like every other airlines. If you want to advance purchase seat assignment you can do it ahead of time. If you wait until the day of the trip you can get your seat assignment free. Not so with spirit. There are no free seats together. The $10 seats are not together - the only seats together are $14, $ 18 and $25 seats which ads quite a bit to our trip cost. I called customer service and was got their india call center (They cant even hire americans to do this job) and was told by the first agent that since we have children the agent will put us together when we get to the air port. I was cut off so I called back and got another agent that said he could not guarantee that we would sit next to each other. If we wanted to guarantee that we would sit together then we had to purchase seats.

By the time you pay $25 for seats and $30 for carry on bag, they are spirit arilines is the highest cost airlines... Avoid spirit airlines at all costs...