If you’re chatting with a group of travelers and Spirit Airlines comes up, someone will probably tell a story of a past Spirit flight. And at least in my experience, the story usually involves a delay, cancellation, or other negative memory.
Of course, we are more likely to remember and recount negative experiences. And I also have a negative experience with Spirit Airlines to share. The last time I flew Spirit Airlines — for a story about how I visited Disney World on a budget in 2021 — I encountered long lines at the Spirit check-in counter in Orlando and a nasty communication delay.
But Spirit now has a relatively new fleet and a strong on-time performance and believes it offers one of the best values in the sky. My husband and I casually chatted with an optimistic Spirit Airlines employee at the Business Traveler Awards in Miami a few days after Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This staff’s optimism and enthusiasm about Spirit’s future led us to visit Spirit headquarters in Denia Beach, Florida, a few weeks later to meet with Rana Ghosh, Senior Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer of Spirit Airlines.
This discussion, and what I learned about the current status of the airline and its Free Spirit program while preparing for the interview, made me wonder — especially with the current Spirit Status Match Challenge — whether Spirit Airlines and its Free It is time to rethink the spirit program. Here’s what I’m thinking.
New fare types and easy way of booking
In 2007, Spirit introduced its Big Front Seat as a rebrand of Spirit Plus. Therefore, Spirit fliers have long had the opportunity to purchase wider seats with more pitch. Also Spirit recently introduced new fares, including the Go Comfy fare that guarantees a blocked middle seat.
The blocked middle seat looks attractive and will make your flight more comfortable. But it is important to remember that Go Comfy seats do not have any extra pitch. is based on Areolapa dataGo Comfy seats have a pitch of only 28 inches. That’s 9 inches shorter than the 37 inches normally offered for the big front seats, and 7 inches shorter than the 35 inches offered in most Spirit exit-row seats.
Ghosh noted that Go Comfort seating is similar to what many European carriers offer in business class on short-haul flights. He highlighted how it was a relatively easy product to build for Spirit and said that Spirit has been pleased with its performance so far.
Now that Spirit has four different fare classes — including the premium options of Go Comfy and Go Big — Ghosh highlighted the airline’s products that can appeal to every type of traveler and every specific trip. He also noted that travelers will soon start seeing premium Go Comfy and Go Big fares displayed as premium fare types by online travel agencies, so that travelers can better compare these products with what other airlines offer.
Finally, it is worth noting that the booking path is much easier now than it was a few years ago. Especially if you opt for a Go Comfy or Go Big fare, you won’t see many opportunities to add more expenses. However, if you opt for a Go or Go Savvy fare, Ghosh said that much of the booking process, where you have the opportunity to add items, is to inform customers of what won’t come with their fare and how much it will cost. Cost of adding additional services.
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Rates are sometimes surprisingly low
Whether you book with cash or free Spirit Points, rates are surprisingly low for some of the dates and routes I found. This holds even if you want to book Go Comfy or Go Big. For example, I paid $33 for a Go fare, $62 for a Go Savvy fare, $78 for a Go Comfy fare, or $98 for a Go Big fare for a sample nonstop flight from Atlanta to Orlando in February. can
Or, I can redeem 2,500 points for a Go fare on this flight. If I want to book Go Savvy, Go Comfy or Go Big, I can only pay $29, $45 or $65 more. These pay-ups are equal to price differences in the rent paid.
A $62 — or 2,500 points plus $29 — Go Savvy fare will get me the personal item, seat selection, and checked or carry-on bag I need. But, with a buy-up cost of $16 for a Go Comfy fare that guarantees me a blocked middle seat, or $36, I’d be tempted to book one of these elevated fares to guarantee more space.
Even on more expensive routes, the buy-up costs between Go Savvy and Go Comfy or Go Big aren’t bad. For example, on this flight between Atlanta and Orlando in March – a time of high demand – the cost difference between Go Savvy and Go Comfy is $46, while the difference between Go Savvy and Go Big is $71.
Related: Maximize Your Airfare: The Best Credit Cards to Book Flights
More flexibility with no change or cancellation fees
If you cancel a reservation for a Spirit flight seven or more days away within 24 hours of booking, you can receive a full refund in your original form of payment. Otherwise, you can get a reservation credit for the value of the reservation if you cancel at least one hour before the scheduled departure of the flight.
When booking on the Spirit website, you can use reservation credit to pay for fares, bags, seats, fees and taxes. Any guest associated with the original reservation can use the credit. And you don’t have to use the entire reservation credit on a single reservation, as you can use any remaining on subsequent reservations. Reservation credits issued after May 20, 2024 are valid for one year, but reservation credits issued due to flight cancellations or schedule changes are valid for five years.
You can also change your flight online up to an hour before its scheduled departure. However, when making changes, you must pay any difference between your originally booked fare and the new fare.
These change and cancellation policies are surprisingly consumer friendly, especially when compared to the basic economy policies of most major US airlines. I like to keep my options open, so I rarely book a fare that can’t be canceled freely.
Related: How to Refund a Non-Refundable Airline Ticket
Spirit’s route map may work well for you
If you are based in or frequently travel to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Orlando International Airport (MCO) or Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Spirit Airlines offers you frequent domestic and nonstop service. Regional places you want to visit.
Additionally, Spirit operates several flights to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Harry Reid International Airport (ATL). does LAS), Miami International Airport (MIA) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). So, if you fly to or from this airport frequently, Spirit is also worth considering.
But even if you don’t plan to fly Spirit often, it’s worth a try if the airline offers an attractive flight option at a reasonable rate. As I have grown up, I have started to prefer booking Nonstop flights when available. And especially given Spirit’s friendly cancellation policies and new fare types, I’m more eager than ever to give Spirit another chance.
Related: Spirit Airlines cuts 24 routes, adds 7 more in latest network shake-up
You can try the Spirit with the Current Position Match Challenge
One of the strangest topics that came up while talking to Ghosh was the negative experiences that many travelers have had with Spirit in the past. He and the airline know that Spirit now has to invest in educating the traveling public on what it offers in terms of products, service and quality. Also, they have to build brand sentiment back up, especially among travelers who have previously had a negative experience with the airline.
The airline is trying to meet both goals through its current Position match challenge. This status match challenge is only for elite members of other domestic airlines, as Spirit is most interested in encouraging these travelers to try its current service and products.
Through this Status Match Challenge, eligible travelers can earn 90 days of free Spirit Silver or Gold status and have the opportunity to extend their status until the end of 2025 if they earn a certain number of Spirit Qualification Points through flights or spending during the 90 days. Free Spirit® Travel More World Elite Mastercard®.
Information for the Free Spirit Travel More MasterCard has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
One negative is that the Free Spirit Elite benefits are only available to status holders if you don’t normally travel solo. While other airlines usually allow the benefit to be extended to at least one traveling companion, this is not the case with Spirit.
Additionally, many of the benefits of Free Spirit Gold status are not very useful if you purchase more than the Go fare. That said, if you have Free Spirit Gold status you may have less reason to book a higher fare class. Finally, Free Spirit Gold members can choose exit-row seating when booking and enjoy priority check-in, free first checked bag, free carry-on bag and free snacks and drinks onboard.
Related: Key Tools and Tips for Finding the Cheapest Airfare
The bottom line
Especially since some travelers decide to become free agents on purpose, I hope more travelers find Spirit’s new fare classes attractive. Booking a Go Comfy seat with a guaranteed blocked middle seat or a Go Big seat with more width and pitch for only a modest upcharge will appeal to some travelers — especially if Spirit offers nonstop flights on the routes they want to fly.