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!
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 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.
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.
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:
- 15,000 Free Spirit Miles after first purchase (standard welcome offer)
- 5,000 additional Free Spirit Miles after first purchase (in-flight application offer)
- 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…
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…
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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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
“I didn’t check in right at 12 hours though, check out this post to see why!”
What post?! Nothing was linked.
Ahh sorry Frank! That one’s coming, I posted out of order, good catch 🙂
The post is up now! Check it out – https://www.pointswithacrew.com/how-to-get-a-good-seat-on-spirit-for-free/
good luck with the spirit miles. First you have to find available dates which to get the saver level are only possible with the credit card then on top of it pay for close in booking fees which is 180 days I believe. I had the spirit credit card at one point and had to give my points away to someone to use. When they used the miles i think it saved them $40 between the two of them round trip versus using the miles. I have nothing against flying spirit if you know how to do it, but their frequent flyer program makes delta and american look like the cream of the crop.
Oof, yeah that’s tough. I don’t have any experience with Spirit miles yet, so I’m not sure what to think. 180 days for a close in booking though?? I couldn’t believe it until…I looked it up:
https://customersupport.spirit.com/hc/en-us/articles/202097636-What-are-the-taxes-and-fees-for-booking-award-travel-in-the-FREE-SPIRIT-frequent-flier-program-
You’re right, $15 for booking 180 days to 21 days out, $75 for 20 to 7, and $100 for 6 days out! Almost makes the program worthless now that I see that..
I have survived many Spirit flights with no issues. The Big Front Seat from Dallas to Denver usually isn’t that expensive, so if they are available I splurge.
Hey Nancy, I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the Big Front Seat! Seems like a good deal for the price, just bring your own snacks!
I had the Spirit credit card and miles program for a while. Didn’t find it particularly useful and canceled it eventually. I would only fly Spirit if the flight was short. It’s too uncomfortable to my liking but is okay for shorter flights. I used it to fly from Orlando to Atlanta to pick up my grandkids before they were old enough to fly by themselves. I never bought my seats, and we were always lucky enough to find seats together. I found on longer flights, by the time I paid for luggage, I could usually get a better flight on another airline.
Definitely Carolyn! If you need luggage and the other extras, Spirit doesn’t always make sense.
https://www.futuretravelexperience.com/2018/07/spirit-airlines-redefine-ulcc-inflight-experience/?utm_source=Future+Travel+Experience+Newsletter&utm_campaign=094e4e9bb0-fte_nl_060918&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c306aa3edf-094e4e9bb0-89865825
I just came across this article.
Interesting article Kevin! If WiFi was free on Spirit, then I’d probably convert to a Spirit fan for life. Knowing them though, the fee will probably keep me away..
Stopped flying Spirit due to their unreliability and lack of concern for when they cancelled flights. Don’t recommend using them if you really have to be somewhere. And yes, I once had their credit card and was in their miles program, but it was almost impossible to find a date available for flying. The extra costs also just made it not a wise investment. In general, their concern for the customer is the worst of all airlines I’ve used, and I’ve flown on most.