Review – Spirit Airlines

It is hard to be frugal when traveling. Especially when trying to find a good deal on air fare. This is a review of a recent trip we took on Spirit Airlines. It could make a huge difference in your travel plans!

We recently flew from Tampa, Florida to Mexico City, Mexico. As I was searching all the websites I usually searched for air fare I was in shock at how much it was going to cost for 4 people to make this  trip. When I was at Expedia.com I saw an alternate airport – Toluca, Mexico.

So I clicked the link. Spirit Airlines was starting a new service to Toluca, Mexico. The date we need to leave was only the third flight for this new service. Yes, Spirit Airlines is an airline that charges you for everything – your seat, your carry – on luggage, you checked baggage, even a Coke! As I did my research I found that even paying for all the above stuff it was still about $700 cheaper for our family!

They are always having specials – I even found a coupon code for our flight! They usually advertise these sales on their home page. Recently they had a coupon to save $35 or $50 on a round trip flight. They even gave me the discount on my one-way ticket.

The have a $9 fare club. This club gives you exclusive discounts on airfare and fees. It costs $59 a year but this is how it still saved our family $61! Click here to see the luggage prices. You do get to bring a carry on that fits under your seat for FREE 🙂

Carry –on Luggage

1st Checked luggage

2nd Piece of check luggage

With the $9 Fare Club we paid $53 for 2 pieces of luggage instead of $73. We also paid $20 for a carry-on instead of $30. (That was a saving of $30 a person x 4 travelers = $120!) Make sure you pay for your luggage before you check in so you can get the cheapest price. You only get 40lbs of luggage compared to 50lbs on other airlines. I was happy that we only had to pay $50 more to have a 70lb piece of luggage. If we would have flown any other carrier we would have had to pay around $30 for our 2nd piece of luggage. I think we paid a total of $13 per person to get an assigned seat.

Besides saving money on this trip, we have access to discounted fare for the next year! I found a flight from Ft Lauderdale to Toluca, Mexico for $143 round trip! This price included taxes!!

About our flight.
We left Tampa at 8:45am to go to Ft Lauderdale. We only had 1 hour between flights so we really had no time between flights to do anything. Luckily our gates were right next to each other. We arrived in Mexico at 1:10pm central time. It was nice to get here so early, even with a connecting flight!

The custom service was great. Since I had never flown Spirit before, I wanted to be as informed as possible so I did not have to pay any unexpected fees. I contacted Spirit Airlines on Twitter and I received an email from someone that same day! I was worried about having to pay form my car seat. They quickly responded and told me you can check a car seat at the airport and it is not counted as part of your luggage and it is free! They even added this to my reservation so I didn’t have to worry about it. You also can take your stroller all the way to the gate and check it there for free. Because my connection was so short, they just tagged it all the way to Mexico.

The service at the airport was great too. Our ticketing agent was friendly and efficient. On the flight the flight attendants were also nice. They did offer snack and drinks – for a price. They did have combos to help you have money too! I think we had 2 Cokes, 1 bottle of water, small can of Pringles, a blueberry muffin, and a big bag of pretzels and nuts for $16. Most major airlines now also charge for snacks, so I don’t think this was a big deal. I am not a big fan of flying, so I was happy we had a very smooth flight!

My only real complaint about this airline is the cleanliness of the airplanes. They are not on the ground for very long, so it seems like they do not get cleaned very well. There were lots of stains on the sides of the seat in the isle. There was some gum stuck in the seat pocket. The bathroom also smelled a little like urine. It wasn’t horrible but it was noticeable. The seats are also very close together. It made it a little difficult with a baby on our lap.

Overall, I think Spirit Airlines is a great airline if you are trying to plan a frugal vacation. They fly to many Caribbean, Latin, and South American locations. Their hub is in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. I was also surprised that both my flight were full! I will definitely be flying Spirit Airlines again!

I read that the airline has a very new fleet of airplanes. They have the maximum number of seats in each plane allowed by the FAA. They do not have a 1st class section, but they do offer Big Comfy Seat for an additional fee. I think as long as you know what you are going to have to pay ahead of time you will have a much better trip. I have read many bad reviews about how Spirit Airlines “nickel and dimes you to death” but as long as you know what you are paying you will not get mad. Next time compare the prices!

Click here to join their email newsletter so you can be informed of their deals!

I was not compensated in any way to write this blog post. I wanted to share a frugal way to fly. I hope this post helps your family save some money while traveling. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment.