Spirit Airlines is a low-cost airline carrier in the United States of America that mainly serves cities in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and South America. Here you will know Spirit Airlines Fees Lower or Higher. The airline carrier is known for its lowest airfares in comparison to other low-cost airlines, which include Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.
In this travel guide, we will take a look at whether Spirit Airlines fares are lower or higher than other discount carriers. You can also check out Spirit airlines company contacts.
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Why Spirit Airfares are Low
You might be surprised by the cost of airfares that Spirit Airlines charges, even for its basic tier. However, what you may not realise is that their low airfares gives you only the bare minimum. The standard Spirit Airlines fare is the Bare Fare, which is quite similar to the basic economy fare type of other low-cost airlines. Spirit Airlines Reservations are easy as well.
Thus, with Spirit’s Bare Fare type, you are provided free benefits, which include:
- Free boarding pass that can also be printed at home
- Seating assigned at Spirit airline check-in
- One personal item (must be smaller than 18 inches x 14 inches x 8 inches)
There are, of course, other reasons as well that make Spirit Airlines one of the cheapest carriers in the U.S.
- Spirit Airlines fares are low, but does not represent the total amount that you are going to have to pay.
- First among Spirit Airlines fees is baggage and how many you plan to take with you.
- You can also expect to pay Spirit Airlines fees for meals and beverages that are served in-flight.
- Choose your seat is also chargeable. Spirit Airlines charges an additional fee for seat assignment and a higher fee, particularly for the front seats.
- You can print your boarding pass at home to avoid paying an additional $10 fee at check-in.
- Members of Spirit’s “$9 Fare Club” can save on Spirit Airlines fees of all sorts.
- Spirit Airlines fees are high, but not entirely dissimilar from the ones that full-service carriers have introduced for their Basic Economy fares.
In the following sections, we will also take a look at various aspects where fees may be applicable when flying with Spirit Airlines.
Spirit Airlines’ Seat Selection Fee
Spirit is an all-economy airline, however, not all seats on their planes are available at the same cost. The airline offers the so-called “Big Front” seats that, as their name suggests, are larger than ordinary seats and are located near the front of the plane. It would be a stretch to call these seats business class or even Premium Economy, though they will certainly be worth the fee to sit in them and can cost anywhere from $20 to $50, depending on the flight.
Also, the fee that is charged to select an ordinary seat in advance starts at $5, while emergency exit seats can be purchased for an additional $10. As for the baggage, it may appear a little more expensive to select your seat at the airport. Thus, choosing your seat in advance can save you money on your Spirit Airlines ticket.
Spirit Airlines’ Boarding Pass Fee
Among several chargeable services offered, one of the least popular Spirit Airlines fees is the boarding pass fee. This often makes passengers who need to check in at the airport charged $1 for the printing of their boarding pass. So, even if you have to visit a print shop like FedEx, if you do not have a printer at home. This is likely still a better deal than paying extra at the airport, especially considering that you have a full 24 hours before your Spirit flight to take care of online check-in.
Spirit Airlines’ Baggage Fees
Baggage fee is another chargeable service that gets added to add to your Spirit Airlines’ fare. However, if you plan wisely, it is amongst the best means of keeping it low. The airline’s Bare Fare tier includes one free personal item with maximum dimensions of 18 inches x 14 inches x 8 inches, while fees for checked bags may range from $30-50. This depends on whether you pay for your baggage online in advance or at the airport during check-in.
Also, note that Spirit Airlines baggage policy fees for bags may double at the gate to $100. So, if you feel that your bag is a little too big to being an allowed carry-on, then it is best to avoid the mistake of walking through security with it and having to paying hefty fees.
In-flight Food and Drink Prices on Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines offers meals and beverages onboard their flights. However, you will need to pay service fees for the food and drink that you consume in the flight. The prices for soft drinks may range from $2-3, while beer, wine and spirits can cost around $7-8 and snacks may cost you anywhere from $3 for a can of Pringles to $7 for a cheese tray. Spirit also offers a service called “Perfect Pairings” of food and drinks that can cost anywhere from $12-18 each.
Now, this may seem a bit of an inconvenience, i.e., passengers on Spirit Airlines are not given the option to pre-book food and drink on the flight. Though if other low-cost carriers are anything to go by, then hopefully, such feature could become available to passengers in the future. Also, an important thing to note is that regardless of what you choose to purchase on board your Spirit Airlines flight, keep in mind that only credit and debit card payments are accepted.
Spirit Airlines’ “$9 Fare Club” Program
Now, what most travellers might not know is that Spirit Airlines’ $9 Fare Club does not guarantee you $9 airfares or even offer you to them that often. However, your membership in the club, which starts at $59.95 US annually, could make a serious dent in the Spirit Airlines fees that you pay. This may especially be a turn off, if you fly frequently and check a lot of bags.
Members of Spirit’s $9 Fare Club program and everyone travelling on itineraries booked in their name can save up to 50% on baggage as compared to prices at the airport. Additionally, the airline’s $9 Fare Club members may also receive exclusive access to low promotional fares, even if they are not actually $9 in the vast majority of cases.
Comparison of Spirit Airlines Fees to Other Discount Carriers
In the past, you could very easily argue that some Spirit Airlines fees were a rip off, since when you could add baggage and seat fees to them they would compare to legacy airline prices. For example, a $39 IAH-LAX flight on Spirit with $50 worth of baggage, a $10 seat fee and $18 worth of food and beverage actually costs you $117, which is similar to American’s or United’s promotional fares from Houston, Texas.
However, as full-service airlines adopt what might be called the “Spirit Model,” and charge for extras that were formerly free, some have even introduced a new bare-bones “Basic Economy” fare class. The difference between flying Spirit and, for instance, Delta Airlines comes down to a more versatile frequent flyer program and less garish planes.
Conclusion
Before booking a flight on any discount carrier, it is important that your first compare the ticket fare for each airline on your list. Also, keep in mind that having a membership to the premium $9 Fare Club program may help you save money, if the savings is still cheaper than flying on a different discount carrier that charge lower fees. Thus, if you do not carefully calculate Spirit Airlines fees before you book your reservation, then you might unfortunately end up paying quite a lot of money for your flight.
However, if you take precautionary measures to save on higher fees for baggage, seat selection, food and drink and even printing your boarding pass, then you can easily benefit from your savings. You should also have knowledge about Spirit airlines cancellation policy. Therefore, with the availability of Spirit’s “Basic Economy” fares with regard to its competitors, the low-cost airline carrier seems like a more attractive option than ever.
