Spirit Airlines

I just wanted to take a break from the trip to talk about how we got there and back.  Spirit Airlines. Spirit Airlines and a lot of money. What were they thinking when they named this airline?  That they had team "spirit" and would work together for passengers?  Was it that they wanted to link the name to the angels?  Or were they thinking that passengers would need to call on their spirit and souls to get through their journey?

Having booked our cruise early, we had some time to shop around for airfare.  Unfortunately, the week we chose was also Spring Break, and since we were leaving on the cruise from Fort Lauderdale, the Spring Break Capital of the World, we were looking at some steep fares.  Ellen finally found the lowest fares on Spirit  and while they were better than most fares, they were still well over $450.  But, we were booked, and would get there and could rest easy.

Then came the information that we had better book our seats or we wouldn't be guaranteed to get them as Spirit was known to overbook and bump passengers that did not have assigned seats.  Add $10 to pay for booking a seat.  Spirit's baggage policy allows for a checked bags at a cost of $30 per bag, but they can't weigh over 40 lbs.  Packing for a weeklong cruise in under 40 lbs is not easy.  But at least you'll be able to carry some items on.  Oh no...not really.  They allow you to carry on a bag of a certain size, but that is $28 per bag.  These fees apply each way. Any "personal items" you wish to carry on must not exceed 12"x14"x10" and must fit under the seat in front of you.  So, now our fare is will over $500 to fly from New York to Florida.  We might as well have booked on a different airline without all the extra fees.  It would have been the same price. OK, but we're booked, and we're going to get there and we're all good.

After waiting 45 minutes for the plane to arrive at the gate in a wing at LaGuardia that had   the heat turned up full blast, we boarded and found our seats in row 36 of 40 something.  Now, we're not talking a huge plane...just one that had extra rows of seats in order to increase the passenger count.  Thank goodness I was sitting on the aisle and not the middle and could at least stretch my legs out when people weren't walking by.  Ellen is only 5'2" and her knees were shoved up against the seat in front of her.  Thank God they didn't recline.  I had no place to put my coke bottle, and as you can see, it fit, wedged tightly between my seat and the seat in front of me.  Can you imaging what a tall man would go through?

Did I mention hippy flight attendants?  I am a larger woman, and God knows I have no right to criticize those who could stand to lose a few pounds, but what were they thinking when they hired these women.  The aisles were so narrow that when they walked up and down they would slam into the passengers seated on the aisles with their hips.  No attempt was made to turn sideways, although I doubt it would have made much difference, and we would have been slammed by a different part of the body.  Sorry, sorry sorry sorry...was all you heard as they went up and down the aisles trying to sell food and drinks.  Oh yes, sell.  Not even a drink of water was served for free.  Soda was $4.50 and a bottle of water was $4.00.  The sandwiches started at $7. They didn't charge us to get up and use the bathroom, but I'm sure there are plans in the works for this.

By the time we landed and de-planed in Fort Lauderdale, I had heard so many of my fellow passengers say that they would never again fly Spirit Airlines, that I began to wonder if they would still be in business when we had to fly home.

And, can someone tell me why it takes over an hour to get bags from the plane to the baggage area?  Is that when they go through them to search for drugs, bombs and valuables that they can steal?  They begin unloading the bags the minute the plane is at the gate.  I know this because we watched it from the 36th row as we waited a half hour to get off the plane. We walked there in under five minutes, including the stop at the rest room. And yet, we waited at the baggage area for over an hour.  I really don't get it.

What I do get, though, is that I will never fly Spirit Airlines again.  I still don't know why they named the airline Spirit, but i think it has something to do with the phrase "a wing and a prayer".