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Twitter itIt was more than two years ago when we first flew on Spirit. We were supposed to leave on an early morning flight, but we arrived at the gate 29 minutes prior to departure. We weren’t allowed to board. At that time, Spirit had a 30-minute policy on their flights, and “anyone not at the gate on time couldn’t fly”. Those were the words of the sadistic check-in attendant at DCA (Reagan Airport, Washington, DC). I call him sadistic because of the way he mouthed those words, a thin, evil smirk breaking across his face. He rounded off his pronouncement with a full grin that invited a well-placed punch.
We were late by no fault of ours. DCA is a small airport, and we wrongly assumed that it’d be easy to find Spirit. It wasn’t. They weren’t in the main building, but in a smaller, older building connected to the main one via an endless array of corridors. This older building had been the original site of the airport, and photos of those bygone times stared back at us, unmoved, as we frantically ran, luggage in tow, to catch our flight. The metro had run late as well, and you know how some mornings are — things just don’t go right no matter what.
The sadistic attendant didn’t care about any of that. We had to watch the bus that took the passengers to the flight leave as he kept us in. The bus was right there, and the bastard didn’t let us get on. Nowadays, Spirit has a 20-minute policy for boarding their flights. Obviously, others complained as well, and they took some action.
We vowed we wouldn’t fly with Spirit again. We were wrong. We had to. They wouldn’t issue us a refund because they didn’t let us on the flight, and gave us credit instead, good for another flight on their planes. We were stuck with them for the time being.
What happened that morning? US Airways came to the rescue. They had a flight leaving about an hour and a half later, and they put us on it. They also did a VERY nice thing. They didn’t charge us last-minute ticket counter prices. They charged us only a little more than what we would have paid had we bought the tickets in advance. Just for the record, when I talk about a human airline, this sort of thing is what I refer to.
I remember another time when I was five minutes late for my plane’s departure, some time in the mid 90s. I arrived at the check-in counter about 5 minutes before the plane left. The attendants still checked my bags and called ahead to stop the plane from leaving. They rushed them through to the plane as well. The pilots waited for me as I ran through the terminals, through the gate, and onto the plane. The airline? US Airways.
As I write this, we’re flying back home, on Spirit. We flew with them a few more times since that first time. Would I fly with them if I had a choice? No. Perhaps one of the reasons is that a vile, sulphurous stench of farts wafts toward my nostrils as I type here, attacking them with fervor. Who did it, I don’t know, but it sure is disgusting. Maybe it’s the guy next to us, in the window seat. He offered to displace us when he showed up, or as he so “gently” put it, to “let us sit by the window”. What are we, kids?! I promptly refused, having picked the aisle and middle seat specifically for us ahead of time. Perhaps he’s retaliating in his own malodorous way…
When we left home, we flew with US Airways. They had a flight leaving at the right time for the right price, and we were glad to take it. But coming back was another issue. Their would-be return flight arrived too late for us to catch the metro home, and too late for us to bother any of our friends to pick us up as well. We decided to go with Spirit, since their flight arrived in DCA about an hour earlier, in time for the metro.
Leaving with US Airways and coming back with Spirit gave me a chance to compare things after repeated experiences with each. Yes, US Airways has older aircraft while Spirit has newer planes. US Airways has older chairs while Spirit has leather chairs. But I’d still fly with US Airways any day rather than Spirit. This flight that I’m on right now proves my point altogether.
When we checked in, we had to pay for our checked luggage. Excuse me?! Pay for checked luggage under the weight limit? What planet does Spirit thinks it lives on? But there it was, $10 per bag, take it or leave it. After we took off, we had to pay for our food — any sort of beverage or snack, even water. We got a not-so-aptly named Variety Pack and a can of tonic water. Bill: $5. The Variety Pack was just big enough to feed a hamster and cost $3. It had two flimsy packages of soup crackers, a tiny little bag of raisins, a bite-sized Rice Krispies treat and some melted cheese to spread on the crackers. The can of tonic water was the 12-oz. size, the kind that normally costs 50-75 cents. That was $2 on Spirit.
This sort of nickel-and-diming business pisses the heck out of me. What sort of a money-grubbing operation is this? Did you see their new re-design? They’re calling themselves an “Ultra Low Cost Carrier”, and that’s right from their Skylights magazine. They’re euphemistically branding their move to nickel-and-dime passengers to death by saying “you only pay for what you want, not for things you don’t need or don’t use”. Right… So people don’t need to check luggage or to have a snack on the airplane — that’s news to me.
By comparison, US Airways charged us nothing to check our luggage, and provided us with the usual snack (pretzels) plus beverage of our choice during our flight. If people wanted something more, they offered the choice of buying a snack box, which was gigantic compared to the one on Spirit and cost only a little more.
Later on, when we arrived in DCA, our luggage was delayed by half an hour and delivered to the wrong carousel. Thanks, Spirit, for managing to screw this up as well, after we paid $10 a piece… One of our suitcases also arrived scratched and dusted, also courtesy of Spirit’s “wonderful” service.
When I add up the cost of the tickets for Spirit and US Airways and tally up the hidden expenses on Spirit, US Airways still comes out on top. So as I fly with them the next time I head out of town, I’m going to look at those older chairs that I’ll sit on and smile, knowing I’m not only getting a good deal, but I’m also getting human service and a little truth in advertising — something that seems to be harder and harder to find nowadays.
Choice quote from the Spirit stewardess after a rough landing at DCA: “Now that we’ve plopped down here in DC, let us be the first to welcome you to Ronald Reagan National Airport…” Indeed. Gotta love her spunk and truthfulness.
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Too bad Southwest doesn’t fly to too many places in the east. Even though they have a bit of a cattle call for seating, they’re generally fun to fly with. Yep, I said fun - at least as fun as speeding through the air in a sealed tube can be.
Comment — December 11, 2007 @ 9:35 am