Spirit Airlines Sends Bags On Vacation, Leaves Passengers

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Spirit Airlines has never been known for its service; a quick Twitter search brings up comparisons like "Air Walmart" and "TRASH." But one reader sent us this horror story that almost seems too ridiculous to be true. She and her family missed their flight from LaGuardia to St. Thomas (with a stop in Ft. Lauderdale) yesterday because Spirit employees couldn't check people in fast enough. However, their bags made it on the plane, and are presumably enjoying the sun and warmth of St. Thomas while she and her family are still in New York. She writes:

Spirit had two employees at a check in counter with well over 100 people in line. We arrived at the airport 1.5 hrs before our domestic flight - traveling, with two children, ages 1 and 3. It was apparent that the check-in line was barely moving and that Spirit’s two, entirely cavalier employees were either incapable of, or unable to manage the sheer volume of passengers.
With an hour to go, then 45 mins, and finally 30 mins to go before departure - and despite repeated attempts to get the Spirit employees to try and move people along who may have been trying to make this flight to Fort Lauderdale, approximately 30 passengers remained un-ticketed. There was no manager or supervisor on hand and despite repeated attempts to have one come up to the counter to address the situation - no one showed up - and no announcements were made.

With about 15 mins to go, we were finally ticketed, and our luggage checked in. We tried to rush through security and finally arrived at the gate, just in time to be told that the gate had been closed. Due to no fault of ours - and the complete lack of Spirit Airlines’ resources and staff on hand at La Guardia - our vacation plans are now over - kaput. Try explaining that to a 3 year old.

What’s more, we were told that the next flight we could be booked on to St. Thomas would be on Dec. 26 - and that Spirit would not reimburse our tickets. The excuse we were given was that it was not Spirit’s employees’ fault that they were under-resourced at the airport. Explain that to the 25-or-so passengers who now have to scramble to make other plans for the Holidays.

One questions how this airline intends to remain in business. Also -isn’t it against security protocols to have a passenger’s bags fly without a passenger on board? After much debate, we were able to receive a refund for our flight - but we’ve just lost out on a week’s vacation - with nowhere to go but back home.

Spirit has also yet to inform her about the whereabouts of her family's luggage. We've contacted Spirit Airlines about the issue, though they made it pretty hard! The link under "How can I contact Spirit Airlines?" on their Help page was broken, and it took a fair amount of searching to find an email or a phone number anywhere on the site. There is also no information listed under "Delay/Cancellation by Spirit Airlines." We havent had that difficult an experience with an airline since that time we asked about Oceanic Airlines flight 815.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jaya Saxena in News on December 19, 2010 5:00 PM

Comments [rss]

Rammy

From the tone of a lot of the posts so far, I'm sure to be crucified for this, BUT...

eesh lay off the woman - unless Spirit Air specifically says that you should check in 3 hours or more before one of their flights, then she did nothing wrong. 90 minutes prior for a NJ to FL flight isn't an example of someone acting like an entitled bitch - how much friggin' time are passengers supposed to give an airline to do their job?

Yes, Spirit is cheap, but does that excuse them of any sense of professionalism or shame? 2 agents working LaGuardia and it took them over an hour to handle 100 people?

trixoh

you know what i hate? people who infrequently travel and then choke up the system with their entitlements.

uberzete

If you have a truly horrendous and unfair experience reverse the charges on your credit card. If the credit card company plays ball not only do you get your money back but they also slap the vendor with a fine.

HymietownHero

I learned the hard way to avoid this airline. My first and final time flying with Spirit, I arrived at the airport in Ft. Lauderdale an hour ahead of time, as I usually do when flying other airlines. FTL usually isn't crowded, and wasn't on that particular day. Typically the airlines at that airport offer curbside checkin, but Spirit did not. There were about five people ahead of me in the line for the counter. The Spirit employees were slow and and passive aggressive, not making eye contact with customers, and addressing people in the tone of a bored, annoyed teenager. About 20 minutes later, with 40 minutes before my flight, I finally get to the counter where I'm told I won't be able to fly that day because the window to check a passenger in closes 45 minutes before the flight. I know FTL well, and know how quickly it takes to go from ticketing counter to gate. They hadn't even begun boarding when they told me to kiss off. My seat was given away to a stand-by flyer. And because it was my fault for missing this window of opportunity (which the airline surely does not inform its customers about in any clear and useful fashion, at least not before it is too late), my flight was not refunded.

I'll never fly Spirit again. Yeah, maybe you'll save $30 on your ticket, but you will end up paying more than that in other ways. I look forward to their inevitable bankruptcy.

Tower18

Almost every airline has such a window when dealing with checked baggage. This is because it takes a certain amount of time to process your bags and get them on the plane, and it is against security rules for a passenger to fly without their bags (at least knowingly). So these rules are in place to keep you from showing up 10 minutes before the flight, checking bags, knowing your bags won't make it and will fly on the following flight.

If you weren't checking luggage, then I'm not sure what happened to you. But if you were, every airline has the same policy.

I'll never fly Spirit for myriad reasons, but this sounds kind of par for the course.

facted

I'm not sure you guys can crucify the OP for not checking in online when they clearly had bags to check. The bag check line these days is just as long as the regular check in line so I'm not sure it would have made a huge difference.

Let's face it, Spirit just sucks. It's cheaper, but that may or may not be worth the stress of flying them.

facted

While it would have been smart to arrive earlier perhaps, checking in online when you also have bags to check though, is almost useless. You still have to wait in the "baggage drop" line which is often just as long if not longer than the regular check-in line.

Spirit is definitely low cost and definitely low service. Personally, the money I would save by flying them is not worth the stress that often comes with it, but to each their own.

Kate Kosturski

My dad flew Spirit Airlines a few months ago when he had to return to New Jersey at the last minute for a funeral. The experience was nothing short of spectacular for him - and this is a man who has logged hundreds of thousands of airline miles in business travel.

This entire experience smacks of whiny Park Slope Mommy Entitlement. (And yes, I went there. I opened the can of worms. I don't fear you Mommy Bloggers!) As with the previous commenter above, there was much this family could have done to prevent such a situation - checked in online (seriously, who checks in at the airport anymore when you can do it online in 10 minutes max?!), shown up more than 90 minutes before your flight when you have small children AND are traveling during holiday travel, etc.

Shawn Chittle

I fly Spirit almost every weekend from LaGuardia to Fort Lauderdale. I am sad for this family but they did not prepare well. Yes, Spirit Air is a so-called "ultra low-cost" airline, or "Air Wal-Mart" as was hilariously mentioned. Do you wear a tuxedo to a fast food restaurant and expect first-class service? Of course not. A cheap airline means you have to do more yourself.

If you are going on a major vacation with or without children, do not arrive at the airport just 1.5 hours ahead of time. That's the *latest* you can arrive! I get there that early when I travel alone and I don't have luggage! You need to get there far far earlier than that. This is NY!

Spirit charges for carry-on luggage. So don't bring it. Spirit has only two people working the ticket counter. So print your boarding pass at home, or use the kiosk. The more you avoid interacting with Spirit, the better.

I fly almost every week on them and have never had a problem. Just go to the gate and get on the plane! It's not that hard.