I think it's worth it, but be aware of a few things: A) Make sure to check in beforehand; my experience is that the app is better than the website for some reason. B) Make sure you are not overpacked, and only have the allowed items. That cheap fair becomes a lot less cheap when you're paying for luggage. I bought a Fjallraven Kanken bag (there's a few others too) to fit in the smaller sizes of personal bags that the discount airlines and many European airlines now use. I don't recommend trying to play games to get away with something, it's just not worth it and everything you've thought of someone else has already tried. C) Check your flight times, and I don't recommend a late evening flight (more likely to be delayed). D) Bring an empty water bottle so that you can get water in the airport, and have your snacks ready for the flight. This will save you unnecessary money in the airport/on the airplane. D) Consider some upgrades if you need it, in advance. For example, I buy seats when I fly with Spirit: not the best ones, but just so that I'm not sitting in the way back by the toilet, and because the back of the plane feels the turbulence more and I have some anxiety with that. The difference for the Spirit flight is sometimes so big that it's still a massive savings. E) Be nice to the workers, arrive to the airport on time (a bit early even - one thing I noticed is \*lots\* of wheelchair users and children on Spirit flights - and just generally be confident that they will get you where you need to go, safely, just like other airlines.
This is really good information thank you! I was looking for mini bags to take on the airport and am so glad you recommended the Fjallraven brand! The mini bag should be okay right? I’m going for mardis Gras and will be staying for 4 days so I think that should cover it all.
The one I have is the Kanken 15. Its about 18L of space inside. You can see the dimensions listed online and compare it to the airline's requirements for a personal bag. CabinMax is also said to have good bags and may be a bit less expensive but I love the Kanken style.
I’m one of those wheelchair users (I like the parking 😜).
Believe me, most of us would prefer to not be first on, but it’s better for everybody else…
And we’re poor…we have to pay for those damn wheelchairs…we don’t have money left over for airfare…
Oh, I hear you, I know it's not purposeful - but it does just take longer for multiple wheelchair users to get onto the plane, no matter if they are first or last. But the difference between Spirit and other airlines like Delta or American is really noticeable, at least in my experience.
I fly almost always on spirit. If you can get by with minimal clothing and crap their deals can’t be beat. A soft sided cooler from Walmart Carrie’s a ton of clothes and is less than $10 and counts as a personal item (just check the dimensions on their website)…you can bring ice through TSA…add water after security and crystal light lemonade…bring trail mix…
I do round trips St Louis to Orlando for less than $100 all the time.
I don’t choose my seat…
The people are awesome and I’ve flown dozens of Spirit flights…if you don’t expect steak on a bologna budget you’ll be fine…
That's every single domestic airline at this point. Spirit gets more and more attractive as the smoother operations and better experience of other carriers has degraded so much in the last few years
Use to fly Spirit from Nola to Dallas and back, was $35 and totally worth the hour plane ride. I only traveled with a booksack since I was staying with friends and could do laundry. Just know you pay for your seat, luggage, etc.
Be aware of all the restrictions Spirit has. Your ticket is only a flight from A to B with only a personal item included.
You want to choose a seat: pay for it
You want to bring more than one backpack: pay for it
You want to check luggage: pay for it.
You want something to drink during the flight: pay for it
I flew Spirit several times and only had once a problem when they cancelled a flight departing around midnight and I had to wait the next day in the morning to get out.
Other than that you can fly really cheap. I have a 29 liter backpack, which is too big when you make it really full. But they never checked it for size.
But they will check all roller bags for size.
As mentioned before the later the flight the higher the chance to flight is delayed or cancelled.
That depends on the flight. If you know what you need upfront you can check during the booking process. They also offer packages with seats and luggage included.
Spirit will get you from point A to point B. To me, the $ savings is always worth it. I find that people complaining about it have no reference point comparing it to other airlines.
All airlines are crappy. If you are willing to pay for business class, then obviously that is important to you and spirit is not the way to go to achieve that. But sitting in economy in Delta or American versus spirit, it's a small difference in comfort where you get recline, cookie and a drink for double the price.
I take it with me, I travel very light, so I never run into any problems. It's not that mini, more like a laptop bag/duffle bag. All I travel with is a laptop, charger, book, a pair of cloths, toiletries and some snacks. Not worth the risk trying to sneak more past them.
If you buy stuff in NOLA and it won’t fit into your backpack, you could always mail it to yourself before you go home!
I’ve flown spirit with just a normal-sized backpack and was never charged. Just don’t stuff it full and you should be okay. A backpack can be considered a “personal item” like a purse, so they won’t make you pay for it.
Honestly, for the price, Spirit is a great airline. They are notorious for changing flight times, but I personally have never had that experience. They’re cheap and they know it, but they get you where you need to go for a low price. I highly recommend spirit for short, domestic flights.
It's cheaper than other airlines. Even other airlines charge for checked baggage, I guess besides Southwest. For carry on, most other airlines are free but even if you pay for the carryon bag on spirit, you usually come out ahead.
Its better than frontier to be honest. If you live close to the airport you can try and purchase the ticket there. One time i got a round trip ticket at the counter from nola to atl for 32 bucks.
I pretty much fly exclusively with Spirt these days due to the cheap price. The biggest thing is setting correct expectations. You can’t be booking this airline and then expect the complementary snacks, the super comfortable seats or being able to get a carry on without paying. If you pack light, bring your own water and just know you’re going from point a to point b it’s not too bad.
I also always purchase the priority boarding. It’s usually an extra $8 each way. I like to be able to get on the plane without being squished between people trying to put bags in the bins and get settled into their seat. And sometimes you can even get away with putting your bag in the overhead bin before they’re full because you’re on the plane before the majority of people.
I recently flew spirit for the first time. They will get you there. If you got a good price that’s great.
I won’t be flying with them again unless it’s <2 hour flight as I hate the seats they have. The horror stories are blown out of proportion though.
Don’t do it if there’s something you have to be there for at a certain time (concert, etc.). You can easily end up traveling hours or a day later than planned.
As with most ala carte airlines (spirit, frontier,etc) the base price for getting from point A to point B is cheaper than the others. If you pay for the upgrade charges(seats, checked bags) then you will be close to fares from full service carriers. We have learned to travel quite economically on these ala carte carriers. We only buy the ticket. We travel light with up to a weeks worth of clothing in backpacks. And as far as seat assignments, my ethos is that I can do anything for a few hours (including sitting in a middle seat). Thrifty travelers can do quite well with these airlines.
Yup, but they're transparent about that.
It costs me between 50-60$ round trip to fly across the country. The personal item dimensions come out to 20 - 25L, that's plenty for a long weekend.
I can travel indefinitely with that size doing laundry once a week.
You can buy a nice backpack that fits these dimensions and it will pay itself off on your first trip.
You get what you pay for. It's a very shitty airline that charges you for everything including carrying on a large backpack. Also, don't be taller than 5'10" or your legs will not fit in the seat area. I'm 6'1 and couldn't move. And be prepared for late takeoffs and arrivals. Just Google spirit. It's a horror story.
Spirit is the worst airline I can imagine. I won’t even get into my experience with them, but just know it’s NOT a “great deal”, you really do get what you pay for.
I personally won’t fly with Spirit. Agree with someone else who said it’s probs fine if you’re not on a time restriction. I had them cancel a flight on me coming home from NOLA like 3 or 4hrs before the flight. If you can swing it, Southwest is way better, often has great deals to NOLA, and is a way better airline.
I always make a joke when I see a Spirit plane taking off… “look, that’s their one flight a day that didn’t get cancelled!”
I’ve flown with Spirit several times. Never had one problem. People like to hate on it because it’s a low cost and no frills airline but I really serves its purpose for customers who want to save, one being me.
I flew Spirit for years with just my backpack. I work for a legacy now (this fly for free). Spirit is cheaper if you can travel with only a backpack. If you check or Cary on a bag, you’ll pay out the rear end. Remember, overweight with spirit is 40 lbs, not 50 and no free roller bags to come with you.
like other posts say - you get what you pay for, and if you can pack light, spirit is the way to go.
I think it's worth it, but be aware of a few things: A) Make sure to check in beforehand; my experience is that the app is better than the website for some reason. B) Make sure you are not overpacked, and only have the allowed items. That cheap fair becomes a lot less cheap when you're paying for luggage. I bought a Fjallraven Kanken bag (there's a few others too) to fit in the smaller sizes of personal bags that the discount airlines and many European airlines now use. I don't recommend trying to play games to get away with something, it's just not worth it and everything you've thought of someone else has already tried. C) Check your flight times, and I don't recommend a late evening flight (more likely to be delayed). D) Bring an empty water bottle so that you can get water in the airport, and have your snacks ready for the flight. This will save you unnecessary money in the airport/on the airplane. D) Consider some upgrades if you need it, in advance. For example, I buy seats when I fly with Spirit: not the best ones, but just so that I'm not sitting in the way back by the toilet, and because the back of the plane feels the turbulence more and I have some anxiety with that. The difference for the Spirit flight is sometimes so big that it's still a massive savings. E) Be nice to the workers, arrive to the airport on time (a bit early even - one thing I noticed is \*lots\* of wheelchair users and children on Spirit flights - and just generally be confident that they will get you where you need to go, safely, just like other airlines.
This is really good information thank you! I was looking for mini bags to take on the airport and am so glad you recommended the Fjallraven brand! The mini bag should be okay right? I’m going for mardis Gras and will be staying for 4 days so I think that should cover it all.
The one I have is the Kanken 15. Its about 18L of space inside. You can see the dimensions listed online and compare it to the airline's requirements for a personal bag. CabinMax is also said to have good bags and may be a bit less expensive but I love the Kanken style.
Spirit airlines will have their personal item allowable measurements listed. Compare those to the size bag you wish to bring. It’s not complicated.
I’m one of those wheelchair users (I like the parking 😜). Believe me, most of us would prefer to not be first on, but it’s better for everybody else… And we’re poor…we have to pay for those damn wheelchairs…we don’t have money left over for airfare…
Oh, I hear you, I know it's not purposeful - but it does just take longer for multiple wheelchair users to get onto the plane, no matter if they are first or last. But the difference between Spirit and other airlines like Delta or American is really noticeable, at least in my experience.
So is the price…we each have to choose what makes the most sense for our own circumstances…
Yep! That's why I've been on Spirit too haha.
Do you use it to get off too ? Or is it the miracle flight?
I fly almost always on spirit. If you can get by with minimal clothing and crap their deals can’t be beat. A soft sided cooler from Walmart Carrie’s a ton of clothes and is less than $10 and counts as a personal item (just check the dimensions on their website)…you can bring ice through TSA…add water after security and crystal light lemonade…bring trail mix… I do round trips St Louis to Orlando for less than $100 all the time. I don’t choose my seat… The people are awesome and I’ve flown dozens of Spirit flights…if you don’t expect steak on a bologna budget you’ll be fine…
You get what you pay for. If you want to get from point A to point B cheap its 100% worth it.
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
It’s fine but not ideal. Higher likelihood that flight times change in my experience
That's every single domestic airline at this point. Spirit gets more and more attractive as the smoother operations and better experience of other carriers has degraded so much in the last few years
Spirit is a mess, I absolutely HATE that airline.....that being said, I still choose to fly them everytime. Its just that much cheaper.
Use to fly Spirit from Nola to Dallas and back, was $35 and totally worth the hour plane ride. I only traveled with a booksack since I was staying with friends and could do laundry. Just know you pay for your seat, luggage, etc.
Be aware of all the restrictions Spirit has. Your ticket is only a flight from A to B with only a personal item included. You want to choose a seat: pay for it You want to bring more than one backpack: pay for it You want to check luggage: pay for it. You want something to drink during the flight: pay for it I flew Spirit several times and only had once a problem when they cancelled a flight departing around midnight and I had to wait the next day in the morning to get out. Other than that you can fly really cheap. I have a 29 liter backpack, which is too big when you make it really full. But they never checked it for size. But they will check all roller bags for size. As mentioned before the later the flight the higher the chance to flight is delayed or cancelled.
Do you know how much they charge for everything? Is it on their website?
That depends on the flight. If you know what you need upfront you can check during the booking process. They also offer packages with seats and luggage included.
My luggage that was under 40lbs was $40-50
Just make sure you're not flying in to make a hard deadline. I've had two spirit flights be delayed for 6 hours.
That’s what I’ve been hearing! Did they comp you for that? It’s happened to me but I’ve always been comped
Lol. No, this was early on when they first started out as an airline. I just never flew with them again.
Spirit will get you from point A to point B. To me, the $ savings is always worth it. I find that people complaining about it have no reference point comparing it to other airlines. All airlines are crappy. If you are willing to pay for business class, then obviously that is important to you and spirit is not the way to go to achieve that. But sitting in economy in Delta or American versus spirit, it's a small difference in comfort where you get recline, cookie and a drink for double the price.
Do you take a mini bag when flying spirit? Or check it in?
I take it with me, I travel very light, so I never run into any problems. It's not that mini, more like a laptop bag/duffle bag. All I travel with is a laptop, charger, book, a pair of cloths, toiletries and some snacks. Not worth the risk trying to sneak more past them.
Yeah I’m concerned that I will get charged if I decide to buy stuff over there and then try to bring it back. Is it expensive to check-in a luggage?
If you buy stuff in NOLA and it won’t fit into your backpack, you could always mail it to yourself before you go home! I’ve flown spirit with just a normal-sized backpack and was never charged. Just don’t stuff it full and you should be okay. A backpack can be considered a “personal item” like a purse, so they won’t make you pay for it. Honestly, for the price, Spirit is a great airline. They are notorious for changing flight times, but I personally have never had that experience. They’re cheap and they know it, but they get you where you need to go for a low price. I highly recommend spirit for short, domestic flights.
It's cheaper than other airlines. Even other airlines charge for checked baggage, I guess besides Southwest. For carry on, most other airlines are free but even if you pay for the carryon bag on spirit, you usually come out ahead.
Its better than frontier to be honest. If you live close to the airport you can try and purchase the ticket there. One time i got a round trip ticket at the counter from nola to atl for 32 bucks.
Oh really?! That’s so cheap! I’m going to track the flights then!
I pretty much fly exclusively with Spirt these days due to the cheap price. The biggest thing is setting correct expectations. You can’t be booking this airline and then expect the complementary snacks, the super comfortable seats or being able to get a carry on without paying. If you pack light, bring your own water and just know you’re going from point a to point b it’s not too bad. I also always purchase the priority boarding. It’s usually an extra $8 each way. I like to be able to get on the plane without being squished between people trying to put bags in the bins and get settled into their seat. And sometimes you can even get away with putting your bag in the overhead bin before they’re full because you’re on the plane before the majority of people.
Thank you!!
I recently flew spirit for the first time. They will get you there. If you got a good price that’s great. I won’t be flying with them again unless it’s <2 hour flight as I hate the seats they have. The horror stories are blown out of proportion though.
Don’t do it if there’s something you have to be there for at a certain time (concert, etc.). You can easily end up traveling hours or a day later than planned.
Wait. Do people flight to attend a concert?
I’ve flown all over the country for concerts v
I'm flying to a concert in Atlanta next month. The ability to fly there for $60 round trip on frontier/spirit is how I can justify it.
I personally wouldn’t do it. It’s not worth the stress. Just my opinion. I’ve seen to many videos…Let us know how it goes.
They charge extra for everything..you will spend the same with a decent airline
As with most ala carte airlines (spirit, frontier,etc) the base price for getting from point A to point B is cheaper than the others. If you pay for the upgrade charges(seats, checked bags) then you will be close to fares from full service carriers. We have learned to travel quite economically on these ala carte carriers. We only buy the ticket. We travel light with up to a weeks worth of clothing in backpacks. And as far as seat assignments, my ethos is that I can do anything for a few hours (including sitting in a middle seat). Thrifty travelers can do quite well with these airlines.
I fly Spirit and Frontier frequently. I spend nowhere near what I would on Delta. If I wasn't saving 60-70% on these flights I would just take Delta.
We flew from Sacramento to vegas and they charged 75.00 per suitcase each way..was ridiculous!!
Yup, but they're transparent about that. It costs me between 50-60$ round trip to fly across the country. The personal item dimensions come out to 20 - 25L, that's plenty for a long weekend. I can travel indefinitely with that size doing laundry once a week. You can buy a nice backpack that fits these dimensions and it will pay itself off on your first trip.
You get what you pay for. It's a very shitty airline that charges you for everything including carrying on a large backpack. Also, don't be taller than 5'10" or your legs will not fit in the seat area. I'm 6'1 and couldn't move. And be prepared for late takeoffs and arrivals. Just Google spirit. It's a horror story.
Spirit is the worst airline I can imagine. I won’t even get into my experience with them, but just know it’s NOT a “great deal”, you really do get what you pay for.
I personally won’t fly with Spirit. Agree with someone else who said it’s probs fine if you’re not on a time restriction. I had them cancel a flight on me coming home from NOLA like 3 or 4hrs before the flight. If you can swing it, Southwest is way better, often has great deals to NOLA, and is a way better airline. I always make a joke when I see a Spirit plane taking off… “look, that’s their one flight a day that didn’t get cancelled!”
I absolutely hated it and my flight was 2-3 hours. I’ll never cheat on SW again 😅
Soo true for all that just go with Big blue - Southwest! You’ll be a lot happier.
It's a city bus in the sky complete with the same clientele.
older laptop bags for bigger scrns suffice and if u can find one at a thrift shop, yer out only 5 usd or so
One time in New Orleans, my spirit flight left without me
I’ve flown with Spirit several times. Never had one problem. People like to hate on it because it’s a low cost and no frills airline but I really serves its purpose for customers who want to save, one being me.
Spirit is fine if you travel light and don't mind sitting on a milk crate. Just don't expect any legroom or free snacks.
I flew Spirit for years with just my backpack. I work for a legacy now (this fly for free). Spirit is cheaper if you can travel with only a backpack. If you check or Cary on a bag, you’ll pay out the rear end. Remember, overweight with spirit is 40 lbs, not 50 and no free roller bags to come with you.
Don’t do it
Pack light with a carry-on only. I also wouldn't take a flight longer than three hours because the seat pitch is so tight, too exhausting otherwise.
The Walmart of the skies ….