Hurricane Maria continues to gain momentum as it churns through the Caribbean, strengthening to a Category 5 storm after making landfall on the island of Dominica on Monday. Forecasters and safety officials are advising everyone in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to get to safety, and so some airlines are capping fares for travelers trying to get out of the storm’s path. [More]
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Here’s Which Airlines Are Capping Fares, Adding Flights For Travelers Fleeing Hurricane Maria
By 9.19.17
Thousands Of Flights Cancelled Today And Tomorrow Because Of Massive Winter Storm
By 3.13.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
If you were planning to travel to the Northeast this week, you’ll probably need to change your itinerary, as more than 1,000 flights have already been canceled in advance of a massive snowstorm.. [More]
Be Careful When You Cancel Your Spirit “$9 Fare Club” Membership
By 9.23.16
When you’ve got a subscription that automatically renews, it’s always a good idea to know when that renewal date is coming so you’ll be able to cancel in time before being re-upped for another year. However, as one Spirit Airlines traveler learned, you can cancel a subscription too early and unwittingly throw money down the drain. [More]
Spirit’s Own Survey Confirms What We Already Knew: People Hate The Airline
By 11.5.14
Back in July, Spirit Airlines announced its “hug the haters” campaign which included an invitation for consumers to share just what they hate about flying with the airline and others operating in the United States. And, as it turns out, travelers don’t exactly want to hug Spirit back. [More]
Which Airlines Have The Most Comfortable Coach Seats?
By 10.3.14
“Oh, goodie! I get to sit in coach for X amount of hours! I can’t wait to stretch out and relax,” said no one ever before flying, because in economy class, luxurious leg room and a sweet ratio of cushion to rump comfort is not what you’re paying for. That being said, some airlines are better at pleasing our behinds than others, according to a new poll released this week. [More]
Spirit Airlines: The Most Complained-About Carrier In The U.S.
By 4.10.14
Yes, we’ve repeatedly made fun of delusional Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza for his claim that his company is the “most consumer-friendly” airline around, especially when it comes in dead-last in traveler opinion surveys and is the only U.S. carrier to make a recent list of the world’s worst airlines. And a new study confirms that Spirit’s passengers are several times more likely to complain than passengers on any other domestic carrier. [More]
Which Airlines Are The Fastest & Slowest At Responding To Customers On Twitter?
By 3.19.14
Complaining on Twitter can often feel like trying to shout to someone across the street with a noisy parade going down the middle. And that disconnect can often get worse when trying to get the attention of a big company with hundreds or thousands of people vying for attention. Some companies now go to great lengths to make sure that customers get some sort of response within minutes, but is that response of any value? [More]
Spirit Airlines Only U.S. Carrier To Make List Of World’s Worst
By 5.17.13
Spirit Airlines can call itself the “most consumer-friendly airline” all it wants, but that won’t change public opinion of the discount carrier. And a new round-up of the world’s worst-rated airlines would seem to confirm that Spirit is far from living up to its own description. [More]
Spirit Airline Ad Riffs On Sheen Meltdown
By 3.4.11
Spirit Airlines has another tasteless email promotion, this time riffing off the crazy phrases Charlie Sheen has been spewing in his latest media meltdown. Unlike their previous ones that made jokes about the BP oil spill, muff-diving and M.I.L.Fs (“many islands, low fares” – ahem), this one does not make me want to punch them in the face. So kudos on that, guys. [More]
Is Spirit Airlines' Refund Policy Heartless?
By 10.21.10
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 CEO: Carry-On Fees Are A "Consumer Benefit"
By 8.2.10
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 Starts Charging Up To $45 For Carry-On Bags
By 8.1.10
Prepare to shift that carry-on bag to your other hand as you reach for your wallet because today is the day Spirit rolls out their new fee for carry-on bags. Billed as an ostensible solution to gate delays, the worst problem you never experienced, the fee ranges from $20 to $45. [More]
Spirit Airlines Launches "Check Out The Oil On Our Beaches" Promo
By 6.22.10
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 6.16.10
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 Grounded By Pilot Strike
By 6.13.10
If you’ve got a reservation for a flight on Spirit Airlines, you’d better start looking into other alternatives. The airline’s pilots have gone on strike after contract talks with management broke down yesterday morning. Apparently, the pilots were upset that they’d have to pay extra fees to carry baggage onto flights. Nah, just kidding. It’s just you getting stuck with those fees, not the cockpit crew. [More]
Airlines Made Nearly $8 Billion From Fees In 2009
By 5.6.10
All those little surcharges to your airline tickets sure do add up. A recently released DOT report states that U.S. air carriers raked in $7.8 billion in fees last year, a 42% increase over 2008. [More]
Spirit CEO Justifies Carry-On Bag Fees
By 4.13.10
Executives love to justify price increases or staff reductions by hauling out the customer service argument, because then any complaint you make can be framed as self-defeating. (“Don’t you want better service?”) On that note, Spirit’s CEO Ben Baldanza told travel blogger Christopher Elliott last week that the new carry-on bag fee is really intended to reduce gate delays. Remember to send a thank-you card to Baldanza. [More]
Spirit Airlines Charges $10 For Buying Tickets Anywhere But Ticket Counter (Again)
By 3.24.09
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!
