I heard many a nightmare story prior to taking my first Spirit Airlines trip. People, legit, made it sound like they were on the most bootleg flight of all time. Like, Soul Plane bootleg. After finishing up, yet another, Spirit flight for the holidays I have to say, what gives?
There are definitely some things to keep in mind and here are just a few ways I improved my Spirit experience.
PRINT YOUR BOARDING PASS AT THE SPIRIT AIRLINES KIOSK!
Exclamation mark because, yes, I’m yelling this at you. While you’d like to think the QR code provided in the app is enough, we had the unfortunate, experience of the scanner not working with the app and had to get out of the already lengthy TSA line we waited for 30-minutes in, to go back and stand in yet another lengthy line to print our boarding pass. As you can guess, we narrowly missed our plane.
About now, you might be thinking you’ll just print your pass from home. Let me just go ahead and tell you, you’re thinking wrong. Even individuals who printed their pass at home we’re having to print their pass at the airport because the scanner just wasn’t working with anything else. Don’t be that person … just allow some extra time to print your pass at the Spirit kiosk.
It’s not necessary to reserve your seat
Maybe it’s just luck but every Spirit flight I’ve gone on, there have been several empty rows. Not enough to make me question why the plane is so empty but enough that I could move my seat. Not enough that everyone could get their own row but enough that I could. Just enough to make me excited I didn’t waste money paying a reserved seat. I’m satisfied with space beside and in front of me as well, so I’ve never felt the need to get the Big Front Seat either.
This is only if you’re flying solo, don’t mind being separated from the person you are traveling, and if you don’t mind leaving things up to chance. Otherwise, save your money and let Spirit decide. Even flying with Nathan, our seats have always been placed together.
Don’t forget those travel snacks
Spirit has this handy little A La Smarte Sips + Snacks menu filled with all your options for food and drinks during your flight. If you’re comparing it to the price at the grocery store, it’s a lot. If you’re comparing the price of drinks to the bar, it’s pretty comparable.
I generally don’t drink before nor on the plane because I don’t want to have to go to the bathroom, but I do pack snacks. I think people forget this is an option. It might be super convenient to order those $5 Goldfish, but I promise it’s just as easy to pack them in your personal bag … cheaper too.
Join Spirit Airlines $9 Club
When I first heard about the $9 Club I thought it meant $9 flights … it does not. It’s still a damn good deal though. For $59.95 you get access to even cheaper fares when available. You also get a carry on bag, a checked bag, seat selection, priority boarding, double miles, and are exempt from change fees up to 24 hours prior to your flight. The perks extend to the people on your trip if you book the tickets all at the same time.
I will admit, the $9 Club isn’t for everyone. Thus far, I haven’t even gotten it for myself because I’ve only taken on a personal item. I’ve also only flown solo or with Nathan but if I were traveling with the kids, I’d go ahead and get it as they’ve not mastered traveling light. In saying that, it brings me to my last tip.
Only do short trips with Spirit Airlines
If you absolutely do not want to pay more than the initial rate you see, do not plan to be at your destination long. By long I mean longer than you’re able to pack in a personal item. I can easily get a weeks worth of clothes in my personal item, which also doubles as my purse if I want it to. I’ve already told you I don’t select a seat or buy snacks on the plane. There is nothing I’m paying for other than my ticket and even that stays within the $20 – $51 each way range.
If you’re not a simplistic traveler or just have to have those extras, revert back to the tip above or reconsider a different airline.
After a couple of flights under my belt, I consider myself to be a bit of a Spirit veteran and I’ve loved every flight. If you missed having your free half can soda and peanuts, that’s one thing. For the people who’ve ended up spending insane amounts of money, you’re likely just not doing it right.
I’d love to hear your Spirit Airlines reviews in the comments below!
I have never been on a plane before but I have a Hawaii trip coming up soon, so I think I might fly Spirit.
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Ooh, I’d love to hear about that! I will say, after our 3-hour flight to Puerto Rico recently in the smaller chairs, I think I actually would splurge on a seat pick to one of the bigger seats in the front just for the additional space to move around.