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I’m definitely never flying Spirit again. As the famous proverb goes, “buy quality and cry once—buy cheap and cry forever.” I may not be crying, but I am writing a scathing blog post which basically amounts to the same thing.
I can get past the absurd font styling and the marketing that targets 4-year-olds. I can get past the horrid yellow and black logo that looks like it was crafted by a colorblind toddler. I can even get past them squeezing us into the aircraft like sardines with this sorry excuse on their tickets: “We’re a cozy airline; We add extra seats to our planes so we can fly with more people”. There are so many other flaws with this company like their absurd costs for carry-ons and other hidden fees. They don’t even have complimentary refreshments.
I was able to get past all these absurdities because Spirit is cheap. As a broke college kid, that is my number one priority. The only thing I allow myself to splurge money on is good food. After last week, I now allow myself to splurge on food and airlines.
Some of you may have noticed that I didn’t have any posts last week. That is due in part to my laziness and wanting to relax on Independence Day weekend. However, a much larger reason was that my Spirit flight to go back home and visit the folks was cancelled.
They put us on the plane two hours behind schedule despite clear skies. This is not unusual for Spirit, an airline known for late departures. After having our patience tested, the Spirit plane continued by staying on the ground for the next 3 hours. They started up the engine a couple of times to give us hope. However, every time the engine started there would be a strange sound like the plane was tearing itself apart, and they would stop again. Finally, they kicked us off the plane, and told us that they couldn’t depart because of weather-related issues. The sky in Chicago was clear. As was the sky all the way between Raleigh and Chicago (I made sure to check the weather forecasts).
So, what did I get for all my troubles? I waited 5 hours for a flight that didn’t arrive, and then spent the next hour frantically searching for another flight to get back home and waiting in line to get a refund. Spirit had no flights for that night or even the next day. After spending 6 hours in total and getting back to my apartment on an expensive Uber at midnight, all Spirit “compensated” me was a refund of my ticket. If an airline messes up it should at least take some accountability and try to go out of its way for customers whose vacation it ruined. However, that’s not Spirit’s way.
I guess a lot of the fault goes to me. I’m the one who decided to go with this airline after all. In the end, I bought a connecting United Airlines ticket for the next day and had a smooth journey back home. However, I feel like it is my public duty to warn the public of the dangers of flying cheap, especially for important occasions like spending time with family and close friends.