I've never flown or read much about Spirit Airlines. Are they the Ryan Air of the US?

Coming soon--Government Fine Fee - $15

$375,000? Well, then, I hope their CEO didn't want that golden toilet! Cause its straight up Home Depot for his ass! Yeah! Show em!

Let's see, according to Yahoo Finance, they made 600+ Million. So, I would firmly put that fine in the "cost of doing [shady] business" category

I must be in the minority, I flew spirit once in 2006 and it was a really good experience. Our flights were on time, clean, pleasant and friendly crew. We had our almost two year old with us and had to check our stroller at the gate and had no problems with that either. Plus the cost of our tickets were almost cheaper than driving, making the convenience well worth it.

@Uh oh... Cleveland: Forced Compliance Fee-$12.75

@tenners: They only have a few routes that they fly but they often have very low cost flights on those routes. My parents take them from NYC to Myrtle Beach and the total cost of both of their roundtrip flights is less than the cost of the rental car for a week.

@tenners: Yeah, they're cheap... I fly them everytime I really want some big purple bruises on my knees from the seats in front of me. They definitely lie about the space between rows...

@ARP:

That's probably revenue - what's their net income? Southwest has revenue of 11 billion but net income of 178 million in 2008.

After hearing that they tried to charge the passengers of the plane that went down in the Hudson a $90 cancellation fee for their return flight, i decided to NEVER do anything with them.

@Uh oh... Cleveland: LOL.

pffffft, who has time to worry about trivial things like obeying laws and regulations when there is $$$ to be made!

@pythonkid: I could be wrong, but I thought that was our other favorite airline to bash: US Airways?

Never had any problems with Spirit. I've flown them several times between LGA and DTW. Sure, you don't get much more than a seat on the plane but for $20 round trip I'm not going to complain. I had one flight canceled due to weather and they immediately re-booked me on the next available flight. Not bad at all!

@Uh oh... Cleveland: Shhhh, don't give them any ideas!

I fly Spirit a lot, and they clearly advertise themselves as an a la carte airline. I so far have not had any major issues with them. In face I have twice flown down to Ft. Lauderdale for only 35 bucks round trip! If you search you can find great deals with these guys and if you pack everything on a carry-on, their is no luggage fee. If anyone is sneaky, I think it is the major carriers that don't bother telling you about any of the fees till you get there. When you check-in online, Spirit asks you right there whether you want to buy luggage or seat space. They lost my bag once, but I had it back in 4 hours so I can't comment on their claims process, but I know from friends' experiences that every airline is just as bad with luggage claims.

The fact that $375,000 is a "record fine" explains a lot about why airlines suck so hard.

@pythonkid: yeah, that was US Airways, not Spirit.

I've never flown Spirit, but if the rates I've read about from all the comments are true, I certainly would fly them. I've never had a $35 flight in my life!

@wrjohnston19283: Sorry, it says profit.

[finance.yahoo.com]

@pythonkid: That was US Airways.

And yet southwest gets no punishment for flying planes repeatedly with critical parts from an uncertified manufacturer installed.

@tbax929 is chilling in San Diego: that's $35 with a big-asterisk

@Weirdsmobile: i'd think that $375,000 is just the revenue from a single 747 flight

@pb5000: I flew spirit once in 2006

One experience is not always representative. For example, some people win the lottery but that doesn't mean everyone should play.

$375,000? Hell, they spend that much a day on lunch for the executives at Spirit. They are laughing.

@wrjohnston19283: NI is 148.2 million according to Yahoo Finance.

@Uh oh... Cleveland: Tattler fee-$500

@xamarshahx, ARP: Nope, it was Spirit.

@Weirdsmobile: Exactly. If it's a cost of doing business, they'll flaunt them. They should up the fines and use that money to help pay for infrastructure improvements. But, no fines, fees, etc. are actually used for their intended purpose.

You know what-- if you charge me a reasonable rate (i.e. $150 between NY and LA) I'll fly in the cargo hold in one of those parachute jumper bench seats. Just be on time, get me there, and don't funk with my luggage-- better yet, since I'm in cargo, let me carry on everything I can carry.

@JGKojak: Not to jump down your throat here, but that kind of attitude is the exact reason why the airlines are in the state that they're in. $150 from NY to LA? How much do you think jet fuel costs? How much does the pilot make? Even cramming people in like sardines they would likely lose money on a cross country flight at $150/head. This is why airlines are screwed, people think the cost of running a flight is a fraction of what it truly is and will spend hours online to save a few bucks. It's a race to the bottom as the average consumer will always pick the lowest price, so the airlines keep undercutting each other to death.

@ARP:

Wrong company - that's Spirit AeroSystems. Spirit Airlines isn't public.

Then again, this is the airline that's currently having a sale entitled "We're No Virgin," with the tagline "We've been cheap and easy for years." Classy.

@NeverLetMeDown: It used to be Carnival Air and started out as a feeder system for their cruise line. So look at Carnival's profits.

@statgrad: I usually fly them if they connect the destinations I'm travelling to. I plan ahead for "a la carte" service and a typical flight delay of about 30-45 minutes out of FLL. Other than that, no big issues with service that aren't rampant in the airline industry as a whole. Recent business class round trip FLL-SJU with one checked bag came in at under $300.