1. Nice.....I've never flown Spirit...and thankfully I hope I never will.

9:43PM on Aug 20th 2007 by Josh Hallett

2. Alex, my how you're a programmer in blogger's clothing! You've become the one-stop-shop for anti-spirit airlines. I think I speak for most people when I say, "Save a penny with JetBlue, and love your experience."

9:47PM on Aug 20th 2007 by Randall Bennett

3. I know, I know.. I'd love to stop posting about Spirit at this point, but there are just too many people sending me god awful stories and complaints. Absolutely crazy.

9:51PM on Aug 20th 2007 by Alex Rudloff

4. I never would have imagined how bad this airline was, from this email, it does seem that they truly don't care. And you never bash a client, especially if is documented in something like an email!

12:34AM on Aug 21st 2007 by Chris Husein

5. I think it'll be really interesting to see how this all ends.

I do feel bad for you Alex taking on all of this... But Kudos for keeping on top of it!

9:00AM on Aug 21st 2007 by Celly

6. Wow. I've been researching flights to Peru, and Spirit came up with the best price. But I'd never heard of Spirit airlines, so I looked them up on Google -- and, thank goodness, found your blog. I'll pay the extra money for a more reliable airline. Thanks very much, your blog is most definitely having its intended result. The CEO of Spirit says, "Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny." Little does he know that most people will choose NOT to "save that penny." How did he get to be CEO, anyway? Never mind the arrogance, that's par for the course. But such stupidity!

10:44AM on Aug 21st 2007 by C.H.N.

7. Wow, the saga continues and it keeps getting worse. I generally try to fly JetBlue and have loved every flight I have taken with them, and use Southwest as my second option. I had looked into Spirit but will think twice about ever considering them in future plans.

10:58AM on Aug 21st 2007 by Thomas C

8. I Am so happy you have this blog...thank you. Spirit is by far the worst airlines ever to be in business.

4:33PM on Aug 21st 2007 by Faun Baldizzi

9. Never underestimate the power of a blog post!

4:43PM on Aug 21st 2007 by Chris Gent

10. I flew Spirit on my honeymoon to Jamaica. I had a great experience. That was a couple years ago, and my parents took care of it. So, maybe that was why I had such a good time. It's probably worth noting that Spirit isn't the bogeyman, but they have had some serious lapses in judgment at the highest levels lately.

Come to think of it, I wonder if my good experience with them was before Ben Baldanza became CEO?

9:47PM on Aug 21st 2007 by Cory

11. I'd imagine the majority of flights on Spirit are just fine, I mean.. not like they're falling out of the sky, and they're pretty cheap.

The thing that seems to be a constant in all the stories being posted is the lack of a functioning customer service line. From what I've been told, they fired just about everyone. The line only works 9-5, and even then, you stand a good chance of not getting through.

I can only speak for myself, but I received a call Saturday morning telling me to call the 800# to rebook, which of course falls outside of the M-F 9-5 hours that they operate in (but don't mention).

If Spirit would even take the slightest effort to handle their incoming call volume, I'd imagine none of this would even be going on.

9:55PM on Aug 21st 2007 by Alex Rudloff

12. Spirit sucks. If you fly Spirit expect to be treated like trash.

12:11AM on Aug 22nd 2007 by August West

13. I am pilot for another airline and am not about to make excuses for Spirit but the CEO's response actually hits the nail right on the head.

First off, what is this customer thinking? Ample time for their plans? You don't shell out hundreds of bucks for concert tickets and think you'll breeze into Atlanta (one of the busiest, most congested airports on the planet) in the middle of August expecting no problems. One thunderstorm and all bets are off. I don't if weather played any part in these delays but you would have to be a moron to book a late afternoon flight into Atlanta in the summertime expecting to waltz into the arena to your concert seats that evening - on ANY airline, What most people don't realize is that the weather doesn't have to be in Orlando or Atlanta or anywhere in between. There may have been a weather or maintenance issue at 9AM in Seattle that got this plane behind its schedule early and that delay ripples all day long. A certain percentage of flights on every airline will experience these types of delays on any given day. Plan on it!

When the CEO said that the customer will be back when they can save a penny is heart of the issue. It's basically true. The airline customer today is almost completely price driven. For he most part the airlines compete on price - not service. That is what the consumer demands and that is what they get. A cheap ticket. The cheaper the airline can operate the better. How much does a customer service or ticket agent make in salary? How many hours do they have to put in in front of irate passengers on any given day? Are you are on hold for 10,20 40 minutes for a res agent? How many res agents does your cheap tickets buy? If you are on a small plane or regional jet - do you have any idea how little your pilot is paid? You would be shocked. An airline in the 90's took some seats off their airplanes to give customers more leg room. Guess what they discovered. Passengers loved it but they would not pay so much as a dime for leg room if brand B offered a cheaper seat. They voted for cramped conditions with their credit cards. Full service airlines are going the way of the dinosaur because that the customer wants the cheapest ticket possible.

Spirit may suck more than most, I don't know. I do know that all airlines have been driven by the cheap ticket mania and customer service is the first casualty.

11:53AM on Aug 22nd 2007 by Bill Patrick

14. Hey Bill (#13),

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

More than this specific complaint, it's important to remember that its
in context to the 100+ thread growing on the other post. Many of the
symptoms being described by both customers and spirit employees point
to management issues -- this email seems to back that theory up.

I disagree that the industry, or any industry, is 100% price driven --
instead, I'd suggest that they are value driven (largely defined by
price). The point where expectations and value meet, you have silence.
On either side of that point, you have word of mouth.

It seems to me that even with Spirit Airlines cheap fares, they are
failing to meet expectations. That speaks volumes about their service.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Best,

Alex

12:00PM on Aug 22nd 2007 by Alex Rudloff

15. Right, so after Bill called us morons, I felt the need to defend myself a bit (Thanks, Bill!). Yes, my husband and I knew we were taking a risk when we booked the flight on the same day of the concert. And yes, our requests for reimbursement may be a little over the top (especially when you consider the delays other passengers have experienced), but understand that had we not experienced the poor customer service at every turn not only throughout the flights but also when we tried to call to speak to someone, we probably wouldn't have even bothered to send a letter in. Yes, we do try to find cheap flights when we fly, but that doesn't give an organization the right to treat you like crap. Do me a favor Bill and google any number of the other discount air carriers and I guarantee that you won't find near as many complaints about customer service as those that are showing up for Spirit.

3:01PM on Aug 22nd 2007 by Christy