[lamontnow]

My son, 17 years old, needs to go round trip NYC-Fort Lauderdale. Spirit is MUCH less expensive than the other choices. He's never flown alone and I'm just concerned about Spirit's reliability in terms of flight cancellation and luggage delivery, relative to other airlines such as JetBlue.

I mean, what's the probability of a flight cancellation or being bumped?
And lost luggage?

And how many hours before departure should he be at the airport?

We don't have much experience with this.
thanks

[mars6423]

how long should he be at the airport before the flight? i would say 2hours since NYC is very busy and it gives some wiggle room especially since your not frequent flyers

if you can check in online than do so 24hours prior to the flight and then you wouldn't need to worry so much about being bumped.....if not get to the airport even earlier so you dont run the risk of all of that

i wouldnt worry too much about a cancelation, unless the weather is terrible or other unforseen events........delayed maybe but cancelation probably not

[jimworcs]

Just know that Spirit make their money not from the headline price, but by their ability to get ancilliary income from the passenger. One ounce over the luggage allowance will cost you a fortune. Late arrivals, passengers bumped and not helped, they are every bit as bad as Ryanair in Europe and that is a very low standard! If he is confident, capable of coping with any problems by all means take the cheapest.. otherwise avoid Spirit and Delta is my advice

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by lamontnow

I mean, what's the probability of a flight cancellation or being bumped?

Spirit has more than its fair share of flight cancellations. I have done this route a few times and my choice is Delta followed by Jetblue. If your son is traveling midweek, you may find Delta's fares almost as cheap as Spirit. Don't forget Spirit is flying from La Guardia which is not that busy an airport. They ask you to be checked in 45 minutes before departure, but it doesn't hurt to be earlier. Just to emphasize, you have to be at the counter and checked in with your boarding pass in your hand 45 minutes before departure. You can check in on line at home and print your boarding pass, or you can check in at one of the check in kiosks at La Guardia.

I always prefer the major airlines such as Delta, Continental and AA as you are more likely to get compensation from them if there is any problem other than weather, requiring you to spend money to overnight, than with Spirit.

[esjessi]

DON'T subject your son to Spirit Airlines! I just completed my first and last trip with them, and it was a nightmare.

- Trip DATES changed less than a month before departure
- Rude and incompetent staff
- We missed a connecting flight due to our first flight being late due to "weather"; however, it's impossible to tell if weather was actually a factor. Staff is so incompetent that boarding is never done on time. Our final flight left 30 minutes late simply because the staff can't board passengers in an organized manor.
- Our missed connection was at 7:00 am. The other two flights to our final destination that day were overbooked, so we were put on standby. We had been traveling since 12 hours before, but they wouldn't even consider putting us on another flight - unless we paid for it.
- Getting to the rebooking line was a disaster. They had one kiosk that was labeled tickets/rebooking, but no one was staffed there. After standing in incorrect lines for over 30 minutes, they start herding the customers needing rebooking into the overly-crammed international check-in line. That's right, we had to wait with international passengers just to get standby confirmation.
- First standby flight - gates were changed three times.
- First standby flight - once we got to the gate and inquired, staff printed us boarding tickets with seats. Huzzah! We got on the flight! Called family to let them know that we'd finally be home, only to be pulled aside 30 minutes later to be told that the tickets were printed in error, and we were still on standby. We didn't get on the flight, and neither did some folks who had confirmed tickets for that flight. Overbooking is great.
- Second standby flight - finally got on this flight, 13 hours after arriving at this airport. At this point, we'd been traveling for over a day. We needed this flight to be on time to catch a bus at O'Hare.
- Took off 30 minutes late because of disorganized boarding (as mentioned before) - at this point, we knew we'd have to stay overnight at O'Hare.
- 20 minutes into the flight, pilot comes on to tell us that there's a vibration in the back of the plane, and we have to turn around.
- Back at the airport, they find another plane to use pretty quickly. They start boarding before the plane is ready, so passengers are crammed into the jetway.
- Once we get on the plane, they tell us we've all been given a $100 voucher for a future flight to apologize for the mechanical problem. Everyone on the plane laughed because no one in their right mind is booking with these jerks again.
- Plane was ultimately 3 hours late to O'Hare.

All this boils down to me arriving home at 9:30 am today instead of 2:00 pm yesterday. A day of my life that I'll never get back, thanks to Spirit Airlines.

I would ALMOST be able to swallow this experience if I felt that it was isolated, but I got to spend a whole day in the airport with other disgruntled passengers. Ironically, I met one couple who wasn't disgruntled and who had never had a problem with Spirit. They had confirmed tickets for the first flight that we were standby on, and they almost didn't get on due to overbooking. Anyway, other passengers were also complaining of rude staff, delayed and overbooked flights, and canceled flights. While waiting to rebook our flights, we overheard another passenger who was irate because they had just canceled a flight to Haiti. He had a visa interview to adopt a 6 year old boy that day. Did Spirit care? No. Their only solution was for him to shell out the cash for a flight to the Dominican and take a 12 hour bus ride. Sat next to a couple who missed the first leg of their cruise because Spirit had secretly canceled their flight in December, but confirmed their flight the day before the left.

Horror story after horror story. Sad, but true - you get what you pay for. If I had been a 17 year old yesterday, I would have been completely overwhelmed. Don't force your son to fly with them.

[jimworcs]

That horror story tells you all you need to know!! I hope your son is mature and a "coper"!!

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Lamontnow:

If it doesn't look like weather will be an issue I'd go with Southwest. LaGuardia to Fort Lauderdale, round-trip, is about $530. There is a change of planes in Baltimore in both directions. Unlike Spirit, Southwest's fare allows the checking of 2 bags at no additional charge. The fare quoted above is based on a departure of March 8th, returning March 15. If the departure date is more distant than that the fare may be lower.

If your son will be travelling when bad winter weather is a possibility Amtrak is probably the most reliable. From Penn Station, NY, to Deerfield Beach or Hollywood, it's about 24 hours with no change of trains. Sleeping accomodations are available, but can be expensive. There is an Amtrak station in Fort Lauderdale, however it's in a dangerous neighborhood. Thus Deerfield Beach, to the north, or Hollywood, to the south, is safer.

[Cicero]

Butch,

I looked at the fares on Delta and Jetblue for your example March 8th returning March 15th and the fare on Delta with several flights per day from both LGA and JFK is $217 and the fare on Jetblue with also several flights per day from LGA is $218. These are direct flights. Even with $25 for the first checked in bag and $35 for the second checked in bag, they are both better then Southwest. Spirit is cheaper with a return fare of about $147. But the horror story told earlier in this thread about Spirit is not an isolated case. There are several reports of cancelations and delays on Spirit and I would have opted to fly on Delta.

[Cicero]

I mentioned in my first post on this thread that Delta's midweek fares for this route are cheaper. If the OP's son is making the trip on Wednesday March 10 and returning Wednesday March 17 the return fare on both Delta and Jet blue is $177.