While Santa and his pointy-eared, non-union laborers toil away at the North Pole, the editors of our more famous sibling publication Consumer Reports have compared their notes on a wide variety of companies’ policies on everything from guarantees to fees to refunds and distilled it down to the best and worst of the lot in their first-ever Naughty & Nice Holiday Shopping List. [More]
Is Spirit Airlines' Refund Policy Heartless?
By October 21, 2010
We recently received two very different stories of people who had booked tickets on discount carrier Spirit Airlines. One involves a terrible family tragedy and the other occurred when a fading formality turned into a red tape nightmare, but in the end they both ended up facing the stone-faced (and possibly stone-hearted) Spirit refund policy. [More]
Spirit Airlines Spoofs JetBlue Slide-Jumper With "Don't Be Blue" Coupon
By August 13, 2010
We’ll give it to Spirit Airlines — they know how to get attention with their e-mail coupons. First their was the MILF Sale, and then the MUFF Diving promo, and of course this summer’s Check Out the Oil On Our Beaches deal. Now the yucksters have turned their focus on last Monday’s JetBlue flight attendant flip-out. [More]
Spirit Airlines Wants To Charge You For Talking To A Human
By August 3, 2010
Yesterday, we wrote about how the CEO of Spirit Airlines thinks he’s doing consumers a favor by charging for carry-on bags. Now, Big Ben Baldanza is saying that he wants to start charging passengers for the right to talk to a real human being at the airport. [More]
Spirit CEO: Carry-On Fees Are A "Consumer Benefit"
By August 2, 2010
In terms of public relations, 2010 hasn’t exactly been a banner year for Spirit Airlines. First, they ticked people off by announcing they would begin charging up to $45/bag for carry-on luggage, then they introduced “pre-reclined” seats. They were shut down for about a week because of a strike, and then there was the ill-advised “check out the oil on our beaches” promo. But the company’s CEO doesn’t understand why travelers aren’t lining up to thank him. [More]
Spirit Airlines Launches "Check Out The Oil On Our Beaches" Promo
By June 22, 2010
Spirit Airlines is known for pushing its bottom-scraping fees with crass emailed promos, but usually they just stick with dorky sex puns. Now they’re branching out into sociopolitical commentary with their latest “Check Out The Oil On Our Beaches” promotion that leverages the BP oil spill in comedy and marketing gold. [More]
Spirit Airlines Flights Resume Friday, Offers Everyone $50 Off
By June 16, 2010
Spirit Airline flights, grounded since the beginning of a 5-day pilot strike, could will resume Friday, after the pilots union and the airline reached a tentative agreement following 26 straight hours of negotiation. In its typically tongue-in-cheek fashion, coinciding with the announcement was a “Strikingly Low Fares” promotion offering everyone $50 off new tickets plus 5,000 bonus miles. [More]
Spirit Airlines Pulls Plug On Thursday's Flights
By June 15, 2010
The Spirit Airlines pilot strike continues on with no immediate end in sight. It’s only early Tuesday afternoon and the airline has already opted to cancel all flights scheduled for Thursday. [More]
Customers Remain Stranded As Spirit Cancels Wed Flights
By June 14, 2010
The South Florida Sun Sentinel says that Spirit Airlines has canceled its Wednesday flights, which will be the 5th consecutive day that the airline has not flown due to a pilot strike. [More]
Spirit Airlines Introduces "Pre-Reclined" Seats
By April 21, 2010
While everyone’s been raising a hoot and a holler about Spirit Airlines’ recent decision to begin charging for carry-on bags, the budget carrier has quietly been rolling out planes with “pre-reclined” seats. At least you don’t have to worry about being chided by a flight attendant to sit up while the plane prepares to land. [More]
Senator Schumer: 5 Airlines Commit To No Carry-On Fees
By April 18, 2010
In the aftermath of Spirit Airlines’ announcement that they’ll be charging up to $45 for carry-on bags, five airlines have pledged that they won’t jump on the fee bandwagon. New York Sen. Charles Schumer said today that American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways and JetBlue have told him they won’t start charging for carry-ons. [More]
Senator Joins DOT Secretary In Blasting Spirit's New Carry-On Bag Fees
By April 12, 2010
Spirit Airline’s ballsy new $20-45 fee for carry-on bags has already caught the attention of the Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and now New York Senator Charles Schumer is rattling his sword. [More]
DOT Secretary: Spirit Airlines Doesn't Care About Their Customers
By April 9, 2010
If you found yourself getting all riled up by Spirit Airlines’ announcement on Tuesday that they are now charging for carry-on bags, you were not alone. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has taken aim the move, calling it “outrageous” and “ridiculous.” [More]
Spirit Airlines Now Charging Up To $45 For Carry On Bags
By April 6, 2010
Welcome to the slippery slope of air travel fees. Today, discount flier Spirit Airlines announced that they will begin charging anywhere from $20 to $45 for you to carry on your own bag. [More]
Is It Poor Taste To Solicit Hotel Rewards Points Donations?
By January 16, 2010
Jeremy received a solicitation from Hilton to donate his points from the chain’s loyalty program, HHonors, to the Red Cross in order to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti. He thinks that this e-mail blast was in poor taste. Do you? [More]
Spirit Air Hit With $375,000 Fine For Really Screwing Up
By September 18, 2009
Spirit Air, home of fees for everything from buying your ticket online to being a victim of a plane crash (OK, they dropped that one), has been hit with a record $375,000 fine from the Department of Transportation for, among other things, false advertising, adding extra fees to its fares (toldja) and taking as long as 14 months to compensate passengers for lost luggage. Spirit’s response? Some perks are bound to fall by the wayside when you’re an “Ultra Low Cost Carrier.”
Spirit Airlines Charges $10 For Buying Tickets Anywhere But Ticket Counter (Again)
By March 24, 2009
Habitually awful carrier Spirit Airlines is bringing back its “passenger usage fee,” which charges passengers $4.90 each way for booking tickets online or over the phone. The only way to avoid the fee is by purchasing directly from a ticket counter at the airport. Convenient!
Spirit Airlines Tries To Charge Cancellation Fees On Passengers It Put On Flight 1549
By January 19, 2009
Update 3:10pm ET: the airline has said it won’t charge the men after all.
Spirit Airlines wants $90 each from Rob and Jeff Kolodjay, two of the passengers in last week’s U.S. Airways flight 1549, because they’re not using the return leg of their tickets. Rob and Jeff were on flight 1549 in the first place because Spirit canceled their original flight.
