Spirit Airlines - Why They're Hated

Spirit Airlines is among the most disliked companies out there. This video profiles the company while attempting to identify the reasons behind all the hatred.

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Company Declines:
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[malaysiaairlinesflight]

Last time I got on a Spirit flight the flight attendant said over the intercom; "If you said you'd never fly Spirit again, welcome back"

[benjaminreed]

I’ve flown Spirit only once, but my impression was that they’re the airline equivalent of Greyhound. The best part of the flight was when the gentleman who was going to be seated next to me stopped in the aisle, looked at me, himself, then the seat and stuck his hand out. “Good morning, my name is Brent and we’ll be invading each other’s personal space for the next three hours.” 😅

[uranus_crunch_cake]

I'm usually one of those people that travel with just a backpack and don't ever expect flights to be a good experience. My low standards have kept me pretty satisfied with spirit. Lol

[KellicTiger]

I used Spirit exactly once. I received a survey from them and they asked if the ticket was cheaper would you be willing to charge to go to the bathroom. WTF. I'll never fly with them again. That is some insane BS.

[whiskers]

He left out one of the most obvious reasons people hate Spirit: they strand you if your flight gets cancelled. Most airlines can easily rebook you on a later flight or connect you through a different airport, where Spirit tends to just leave you stranded.

[robbieharris]

My favorite thing about Spirit is that even their staff know they suck. The number of flight attendants that have made a “it’s spirit airlines so what did you expect?” jokes sometimes make the flight worth it (sometimes)

[certifymexs]

Where ppl go wrong: Never check in a bag at Spirit ever. Always have expectations to pay for everything with Spirit, knowing this will save you a lot of grief & going to their horrible customer service.

[TheHorrorDevotee]

Spirit’s new motto: “If we can’t get you there in person, we’ll get you there in spirit!”

[alexallen]

My experience on a spirit airline flight. 2014, a Karen went nuclear because she didn't have ice for her jack and coke. She was really yelling. One passenger even shouted it her "it's a ONE HOUR FLIGHT calm down." Which of course set her off more. We hadn't taken off yet, so she was kicked off the plane. The passengers literally clapped when they escorted her off the plane.

[benvanelli]

I got off a Spirit flight with my dad and the first thing he said when we landed was "I am never using that airline again."

[TrFjAcOr]

I'm from the UK, I had to fly Spirit after missing a connection from Seattle to Las Vegas. It made our easyJet look luxurious. I've never experienced anything like it... what an experience. I felt like I was experiencing a meme in person

[stevenp]

Problem is all the other airlines are adding all of those fees as well.

[anthonyc]

Half the problem with Spirit airlines are the passengers. The passenger dramas on Spirit planes are legendary and worthy of their own YouTube channel.

[dwatts]

I flew to Cancun a few years back on Spirit. I think a lot of people's problems with them is that they go into the flight without an understanding of what they're paying for. My experience wasn't bad. It was crowded, little leg room, and yes a fee for everything but it allowed my wife and I to save $3-400 on two round trip tickets. Given the cost of the tickets I feel we got exactly what we paid for. It felt like riding a Greyhound in the sky. If you go into it with reasonable expectations for what you're paying, it's really not that bad imo.

[luvsail]

Seems like the beginning of the downfall of most companies begins with “a controlling interest was bought by a venture capital firm”. That usually means cuts in customer service and value of the products or services provided in favor of shareholder profits. If there’s a company where customer service actually improved after acquisition by a venture capital firm, I’d like to hear it.

[Hank..]

I think the cost-cutting idea is really good in theory, even for things that are inconvenient like low leg room, because it provides a barebones alternative to a more expensive flight for those who just want to get from A to B. However, some of the penny pinching is a bit outrageous, like charging a toll to call their support line, or screwing over a terminally ill person because they don't want to be flexible. It's THAT kind of miserly behavior that's gonna get you a lot of enemies

[thebestcentaur]

I have a lot to thank Spirit and United for.

...Mainly convincing me that sticking with Southwest all these years is a fantastic idea

[sunshinet]

spirit was the only airline i'd used as an adult until i had to take a flight with delta. they were bringing the snacks down the aisle and i asked how much a pop was and the stewardess laughed and said, "it's all free. we're not as bad as spirit airlines... yet."

[nicholasrossano]

A little over a year ago, I had a flight scheduled shortly after Christmas Day. The flight got cancelled, which isn’t that surprising but what was surprising was that Spirit never refunded me and did not offer a rescheduled flight either. After a long phone call, they agreed to give me credit for the next flight which they would never have done if it were not for the call. Then, a few months later, I found out while looking for another flight that the credit they gave me expired after a month.

[dy]

The one time I flew Spirit, I got round-trip tickets from Houston to Seattle and back. Going to Seattle, they were over 5 hours late (which isn't necessarily on the airline), and on the way back they canceled my flight as I was driving to the airport. Not postponed, *CANCELED*. Their website was down, so I called their customer service line, which directed me through multiple automated prompts before hanging up on me. Tried that 3 or 4 times before throwing in the towel and spending $600 for another airline 'cause I had to be back at work the next day. Never found out what happened or got my money back, but considered it a lesson learned.