Spirit Airlines announced last week that starting November 6th, 2012 customers who purchase/check a carry-on bag at the gate, will have to pay $100 as the carry-on bag fee.
Those who don’t fly Spirit often probably don’t know that Spirit charges a carry-on fee. If your bag fits under the seat in front of you, it is considered a personal item which is free. However, if your bag does not fit under the seat in front of you, and must go in the bin above your head, it is considered a carry-on bag which comes with a fee.
Some people find Spirit’s announcement outrageous, as do I, BUT I can understand why they’ve jumped to such an extreme.
I fly Spirit quite often, regardless of the fact that they nickel and dime the hell out of their customers. I find, it’s the only airline that flies twice daily between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando for less than $100 roundtrip.
Anyway, I witness almost every time I fly with them passengers that are “oblivious” to the carry-on fee – I put “oblivious” in quotation marks only because it’s hard to miss the numerous signs at the airport stating the fee at the check-in counter, security, and at the gate. Very often passengers print their boarding pass from home and head straight to the terminal once they get to the airport. So, when it is time to board, and the gate agent stops them and informs them that a bag of that size will cost “$40”, quarrels begin and it holds up the entire boarding process for the rest of us who understand how flying with Spirit works – you pay for EVERYTHING. Spirit not only charges for bags, they charge you for pre-selected seats; booking on their website; printing your boarding pass at the airport and several other fees. I’m not kidding, you can read more about these fees in my previous post “Airlines’ Hidden Fees”.
Sign at the airport about Spirit’s Boarding Pass fee. Note: Spirit will start charging a $2 fee for passes printed at Kiosks as of June 30th, 2012
I feel Spirit has announced this outrageous fee as shock value to their customers, and to deter people from checking carry-on bags at the gate, which holds up everyone else, thus delaying the flight.
So to avoid this horrific fee, my suggestions are, if you are flying with Spirit and cannot stuff all your clothes, toiletries and misc. items into a small bag that will fit under the seat in front of you – either pay for the carry-on bag ONLINE before you leave for the airport [Current fee: $30 / As of Nov. 6th fee: $35]; check your carry-on bag at the CHECK-IN COUNTER [Current fee: $40 / As of Nov. 6th fee: $50] or, just pay for a “Checked” bag, (meaning, it goes in the ‘belly’ of the plane) [ONLINE :$28-$33; COUNTER: $38-$45]. Spirit has so many additional fees, it’s hard to explain them in just one post, so you can take a look at the full list directly on the Spirit website.
Rule of Thumb: if you have any bit of doubt that the bag will not fit under the seat, DO NOT RISK IT! Also, before you book your flight with Spirit, bear in mind all these fees. Many other airlines offer FREE carry-on bags, some even offer the 1st checked bag free. Once you’ve added all these extra fees to your shopping cart, it often comes up to the same amount as other leading airlines.
Do you think Spirit is being outrageous with this fee? Do you think it will prevent people from purchasing bags at the gate? Have you ever been caught by Spirit’s additional fees trap?
Stephanie's Travel Insights 