Spirit

November 20, 2021

Spirit Airlines has always been a favorite of mine. MSP was once the hub for Northwest Airlines (now Delta), and Sun Country is the largest local charter company. Spirit swooped in and snatched up a sizable chunk of business with their low tickets. They also had the unintended consequence of lowering competitors’ “base fare,” making the match more competitive. Spirit’s basic fares, on the other hand, are hard to beat. There are a couple of significant routes that are reasonably priced, outside of MSP. Here are a few tips I have picked up to help you get the most out of your flight.

They offer a very basic service with some of the best prices in the industry. When they first landed in Minneapolis/St Paul they were quite the game-changer.

They run 3 planes a day to LAS which I have had plenty of rides on over the years. The lowest fare I have paid is $28 for a one way ticket. As a fan of Las Vegas it’s pretty awesome having this as an option. Combine it with TSA precheck and getting to Vegas is like going to Wisconsin. They have a no frills system that can catch a lot of people by surprise. You literally pay for everything. This shouldn’t be a shock given the base fare price is cheaper than a steak at Manny’s.

You get a free 'personal item' which can be a plump backpack. Basically, anything that will fit under the seat in front of you.

If you are unsure of the size of your carry on DO NOT GO CHECK THE SIZE! I have seen many people go do this just to find that their bag is a bit too big. The sizer is right next to the gate agents. Once you go up there and make it obvious that your bag is not the right size you handcuff them into charging you. It’s $100 for a carry-on at the gate! I have never been checked and have only seen one person get asked to size their bag in 40+ flights.

Big front seats. They are 100% worth the fee. Unless you are traveling in a group of 3 and can nab a whole row pick the front seats.

Strollers, Car Seats and Pack n Plays were all checked for free for us when we had a young one. Also, we were able to use the employee security line at the airports when we had the stroller. So be aware and ready to ask for it.

TSA precheck. This is not spirit specific but 100% worth the $75. It requires a bit of planning but I think it’s good for 5 years. MSP is very busy at 7 am and being able to skip a 40-minute line to whiz through security is awesome.

On our most recent flight, I was quite surprised. Spirit bought a new plane!

An Airbus A320. This was the first time I was on a spirit plane that appeared to be less than 5 years old. I have to say the luster of the new seats did not last long. I found that this new plane had some of the worst seats I have sat in on an airplane. There was a very little cushion in the seat I had. No recline, which i don’t think any sports planes have besides the big front seats. And they were just an awkward uncomfortable seat. But there was one feature of this new plane that I had not seen before. Spirit has Wi-Fi! So now for a small fee (remember EVERYTHING extra costs money), you are able to check the gram and stream your favorite movies. They also give you a mini dashboard similar to Delta’s flight tracker. Overall it’s nice to see them coming into the future. I’ve been waiting to have WiFi on these flights and it surprises me that it took this long as it’s another revenue stream.