Is SPIRIT really this horrible?
- Thread starter Hecklers2002
- Start date
NickH
Uber Driver
Why would someone want 8000 miles for an airline they don't want to fly on?
And that aside, have you seen the fees they charge for making an award booking?
z987k
Well-Known Member
Hahaha, that's awesome. Fees for an award booking.
kilo
Well-Known Member
If you were looking for an apartment in New York City and came across a listing for $600 a month, would you actually believe you were about to move into a newly remodeled loft in Manhattan's lower east side? No. It's probably a partitioned living room in some guy's basement apartment in Newark. You're not going to read that and actually believe you've found a sweet deal in the big city, because you understand how renting works and you are not a total moron.
How is this any different? Spirit customers are consistently outraged at these fees and such because they are short-sighted enough to actually think that Spirit is blessed with an ability to operate the same flights as every other airline in business at a fraction of the cost. I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for customers who actually believe that paying one fifth the cost of a ticket on whatever legacy airline they might have experienced in the past will actually get them the same amenities, such as free carry on bags and snacks on-demand. They selected the Spirit fare because it was hundreds of dollars less than Delta and American. How, then, do they mislead themselves into feeling entitled to the same travel experience? When you buy a fare for 70 bucks or whatever, the very first thing that should cross your mind is the unlikelihood that your travel experience will be on par with airlines that are charging 500 dollars for the same route.
How is this any different? Spirit customers are consistently outraged at these fees and such because they are short-sighted enough to actually think that Spirit is blessed with an ability to operate the same flights as every other airline in business at a fraction of the cost. I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for customers who actually believe that paying one fifth the cost of a ticket on whatever legacy airline they might have experienced in the past will actually get them the same amenities, such as free carry on bags and snacks on-demand. They selected the Spirit fare because it was hundreds of dollars less than Delta and American. How, then, do they mislead themselves into feeling entitled to the same travel experience? When you buy a fare for 70 bucks or whatever, the very first thing that should cross your mind is the unlikelihood that your travel experience will be on par with airlines that are charging 500 dollars for the same route.
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Hecklers2002
M.82
How do you justify poor customer service in relation to fares? And I'm not talking about the fees, snacks etc. So because an airline charges the lowest fare, it's totally acceptable to have a late crew and tell your passengers "So what? I got your money, what are you going to do about it?" LOL I mean I can quite understand how you guys think it's totally fine to give poor service because you don't charge as much. It's not a free ride, so yes you have a right to complain. I mean if it were free then I'd totally say "Well what did you expect? It's a free ride Duh!!!"
Hecklers2002
M.82
Well that's exactly what's driving me crazy. If you can say it's ok for Spirit to give bad service because their fares are low then I'm pretty sure someone else who thinks like you is an employee there. Just because the barbershop across the street charges half the price of the other shop, that doesn't mean you should only get half you hair cut. The "You get what you pay for certainly can't apply"
I was not trying to be negative about the airline, the opposite actually. This position has been routinely advertised since I got my license over a year ago and I at least haven't noticed people having much success. As in if it was so bad they wouldn't be able to be selective as they appear to be. You obviously have a better picture of the situation than me. I wasn't been negative, i got no problem with their model.
kilo
Well-Known Member
Well, yes, it actually does mean that the product at the shop across the street is probably not going to be as good as the shop charging full price, because they are not magically able to provide the same product while recovering only half of the operating cost to do so. You are simplifying it by saying if you paid half price you would only get half of a haircut. The reality is that you subject yourself to a greater possibility of getting a bad haircut that you don't like. Just like how Spirit charges you half prices, but still flies the whole route, and its just usually not as good as their competitors.
I'm not saying Spirit's model is a good one. Obviously they are not striving to be some kind of vanguard for morality in business. I just think that the real culprit behind irresponsible companies are irresponsible consumers. The woman in this video mistakenly assumed that a cheap fare would still promise things like free snacks and reclining seats just like the legacy carriers, and yet has the inclination to blame the company for that assumption.
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BayouMLU
Well-Known Member
Poor leadership.
To play devils advocate, is Michael O'Leary at Ryanair an example of poor leadership? He basically studied Southwest and took their point-to-point and single fleet aircraft type to heart while ignoring their customer service and labor rations stability. They are hated but continue to grow and went from a single turbo-prop on 1 route to 1600 routes rapidly and became one of the largest airlines in the world in 20 years. They recently became more customer friendly and now people are saying that is a mistake. That said, unlike Southwest, Ryanair can just stop hiring Irish pilots and other Western EU pilots like they have apparently. and the Polish and other Eastern European pilots have the same income in Euros but goes much further.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2015/05/ryanair
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2015/05/ryanair
BayouMLU
Well-Known Member
I can't speak to RyanAir's leadership. I have had no dealings with the company. I can speak to Spirit's in small anecdotes and what I have witnessed speaks to poor leadership. Attitude is everything. Low fares or fees isn't a reason for poor attitudes and bad customer service.
pljenkins
Resident Knucklehead
I'm amused by the New York apartment analogy, because it illustrates not only how Spirit remains successful but also the state of affairs in the United States in general. There are enough ignorant people in this country who can't be bothered to figure things out for themselves.
If course you wouldn't expect a luxury loft in Manhattan for $600 a month, but you would be astonished How many people would answer the ad and check the place out in spite of common sense.
In this way, congratulations to Spirit! A model of capitalism in modern day America. Can't blame Spirit for picking up the easy money. Morals are not fashionable nor profitable on Wall Street. If people are stupid enough to keep falling into the same trap, why not just keep setting it?
If course you wouldn't expect a luxury loft in Manhattan for $600 a month, but you would be astonished How many people would answer the ad and check the place out in spite of common sense.
In this way, congratulations to Spirit! A model of capitalism in modern day America. Can't blame Spirit for picking up the easy money. Morals are not fashionable nor profitable on Wall Street. If people are stupid enough to keep falling into the same trap, why not just keep setting it?