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Guys, I did it!  I survived my first Spirit flight.  In all honesty, it wasn’t that bad.

Don’t forget, I chose to purchase my tickets in person at Boston Logan International.  Although my personal experience wasn’t fantastic…it’s worth looking into.  Long story short, you can save the $19.99 Passenger Usage Charge by purchasing your next ticket in person at the airport!  It’s up to you to decide whether the savings are worth it.

Spirit Airlines Check-In and Boarding

Check in was easy, I logged in with the Spirit Airlines app, punched in my name and confirmation number, and received my boarding pass.  I didn’t check in right at 12 hours though, check out this post to see why!

a yellow airplane on the runway

When I got to the airport, I stopped by Stephanie’s for another great breakfast, courtesy of Priority Pass.  The agents called Zone 1, then Zones 1 and 2, then all zones.  I walked down the bridge and found my seat, easy as pie.  As more folks started to find their seats, I realized the plane was only about half full.  And about half the people that were on the flight seemed to be a large extended family, maybe on their way to Disney!

a row of seats in an airplane

A whole row to myself!

Spirit Airlines Flight Experience

The flight experience was easy throughout.  The crew seemed knowledgeable and comfortable, and the pilot had a good sense of humor.  The takeoff was uneventful and there wasn’t much turbulence once in the air.

The seats didn’t really bother me too much.  Granted, I’m only 5′ 7″, so taller folks will certainly feel tight.  I also flew Frontier for the first time earlier this year, and the seats are exactly the same.  Rather than a “normal” leather or cloth chair, Frontier and Spirit both have what I’d call a “stretched leather” seat.  There isn’t much padding, just a thin cushion and a leather cover, over a metal frame.  These seats are common on low cost carriers throughout the world – check out Jason’s experience with RyanAir on very similar seats.

My flight was BOS-MCO, only about 2.5 hours.  If the flight was much longer, I’d probably get pretty stiff.  I’m happy on the low cost carrier seats for a few hours though.

a black backpack on a plane

As someone that tries to maximize my space under the seat in front of me, I felt the crunch of a short pitch.  My backpack wasn’t very comfortable with only 28″ of pitch between the seats, and stuck out a bit.  When I turned my backpack sideways, it fit snugly under the seat and I had room for my feet.

Shortly after takeoff, a few crewmembers came through the cabin, offering snacks and drinks for sale.  They were very careful to say “for sale” so there was no confusion.  Spirit won’t offer their passengers any snacks or drinks for free.  My flight had a total of 4 crewmembers, which seemed pretty heavy.  On a full flight, though, I’m sure the crew would be busy with overhead baggage and seating assignments.

As we approached Orlando International Airport for landing, the flight got a little bumpy.  When we landed, there was a significant bump, and a young girl ahead of me let out a squeal.  As anyone who flies frequently though, we all know that can happen on any flight.  I’ll give the Spirit pilot the benefit of the doubt on the rough landing.  (Plus, the pilot left the seatbelt sign off almost the entire flight!)

The Spirit Airlines World Mastercard from Bank of America

Toward the end of my flight, I saw a small flyer for the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard.  Naturally, as a credit card enthusiast, I picked it up.

a poster with text and images on it

15,000 Free Spirit Miles after first purchase is the standard welcome offer on this credit card.  The 5,000 additional bonus miles is a special in-flight offer.  If you flag down a flight attendant, and ask nicely for an application, they’ll pass one to you.  Now, you don’t really need to fill out the application and pass it in while physically on the flight, just so long as you get the application from the attendant.  When the attendant hands it over, they’ll fill out two fields on the application:  Employee ID, and Employee First and Last Name.  With those fields filled out, you’ll get the bonus 5,000 miles.

Now, whether this card is right for you or not is a totally different question, and you’ll have to decide for yourself!  But get this, the attendant apologized for not having their “new” in-flight offer, with an additional 1,000 Spirit miles broken down as follows:

  1. 15,000 Free Spirit Miles after first purchase (standard welcome offer)
  2. 5,000 additional Free Spirit Miles after first purchase (in-flight application offer)
  3. 1,000 additional Free Spirit Miles for applying in flight (new in-flight offer)

She also offered my a “Lucky Seat” voucher, since they didn’t have the new credit card application with 1,000 further Free Spirit Miles.  I had no idea what a Lucky Seat voucher was…

a yellow and white card with a leprechaun sitting in a chair

5,000 free miles!  Woohoo!

So what’s the catch?  Uhh, nothing that I can see.  The voucher has a code printed on the back, and I can punch that in at www.spirit.com/redeem.  A great way to end my Spirit flight, and a very nice gesture from the crew on my flight.

My First Spirit Flight, and Only Spirit Flight?

Well…

a yellow airplane at an airport

Definitely not!

My Spirit flight was (mostly) smooth, friendly, and easy.  If you know what you’re getting when you buy your ticket, you shouldn’t have any issues.  In my case, I only needed a backpack, and brought my own snacks and water bottle.  For a 2 or 3 hour flight, that’s all I need!  Make sure you read the rules, don’t overstuff your bags, and plan ahead, and you’ll survive your first Spirit flight too!

I probably won’t fly Spirit with my family and friends, don’t want to pay the seat selection to sit together.  I probably won’t fly Spirit cross country, though I’d like to try out their Big Front Seat…

Where all my Spirit fans out there?  Represent!


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