Less Money? More Go?

Less Money? More Go?

I recently took a trip to Costa Rica. This was my first time to the country and I flew there on Spirit Airlines. Honey and I spent the night in Fort Lauderdale before heading to Costa Rica. That night Spirit Airlines emailed saying that I need to print my boarding passes before I arrived at the airport or I would be charged a fee of $10.00 per ticket.  Yikes! Luckily there was a business center in the hotel and I was able to print the passes. The bright yellow plane was brand new, so everything was clean and tidy. The staff and crew of the plane were kind and accommodating. The flight was suppose to take 3 hours but landed early, 2 hours and 20 minutes later. Who doesn’t like getting to their vacation a little earlier than planned!


The airlines advertises bare fare, you only pay for what you use. Or as the fight attend told one passenger, “We charge you for everything.” Our flight doubled when you added the purchase of two pieces of luggage and making sure we were able to sit next to one another. Each bag that was under 40 pounds cost $39.00 each to check. The price to carry on a bag was $36.00 each. Each passenger was allowed one small personal item such as a purse or carry on. If a bag was deemed  to large then a fee of $100 dollars was charged to check the bag.

All fees included, we ended up paying an additional $190.00 on top of the tickets themselves. With the additional fees and the stress of trying to figure out baggage policies, I would recommend flying with a company such as Delta or Southwest for trips to Costa Rica. Sometimes being free Spirited will cost you more time and energy in the end.

Recap

Pros of flying Spirit Airlines 

  • New planes
  • Friendly staff
  • Clean bathrooms

Cons of flying Spirit Airlines 

  • Hidden fees at every turn
  • Baggage policies are confusing to figure out and to follow adding unneeded stress to a vacation
  • Have to print boarding passes before arriving at the airport or a $10.00 fee per person is charged
  • Have to pay for sitting next to your party. Fees are determined per flight and by location. The front of the plane is an additional $60.00 per seat while the rear of the plane is $7.00 per seat
  • Seats are small and do not recline