Spirit Airlines is by far my favourite domestic US airline. Spirit provides a good service at an amazing price that is sometimes unbelievable. I recently flew from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE) to Myrtle Beach (MYR) nonstop on a Spirit Airlines A319.
The flight left around mid-day, and arrived into Myrtle Beach around 3pm. The total flight time is about an hour, however, the flight attendants serve drinks/snacks for a slight charge. I always get the coffee, just because its only $2.00 and you get refills.
The reason why Spirit Airlines is my favourite airline, is that the employees are mostly young, and seem to actually enjoy their jobs. I have flown on a lot of mainline major US carriers lately, and the flight attendants, crew, employees couldn’t be more miserable. As a former airline employee, I know there is no such thing as an “easy day”, but, still, I always found a reason or way to smile while working. Anyways, the staff and employees of Spirit Airlines are always cheerful, chipper, and try to make light out of situations. I enjoy how the crew tried to crack a few jokes during the dull/boring safety announcement.
The one thing I do not like about Spirit is the lack of connections, odd departure times once in a while, and they seem to usually run about 1-1.5 hours late when leaving Myrtle Beach on my last few trips. While I would rather be late heading home than heading to vacation, it is still a bummer because I could have grabbed a quick bite to eat or something else instead of sitting and waiting.
The biggest selling point of Spirit Airlines is the simplistic and hassle free airport of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. This airport is great because of it’s small size, and the ability to travel from the seat of your car, through security, and onto the seat of the plane within 5 minutes. Hand to God. My last trip was just this way. Walked from my car into the airport, through security, down the stairs, handed them my ticket, and off onto the plane I went. It’s pretty cool. No charge for parking, no long walks, no confusing gates or gate changes (airport has only 2 gates, but 1 jetway), or other factors that make air travel overwhelming at times.
One thing that gives an extra WOW factor to Spirit Airlines is the ability to upgrade to the “Big Front Seat”, which is basically a first class seat in the first 2-3 rows of the plane. There is a fee of $25 each way between Latrobe and Myrtle Beach. It’s a pretty good deal if you want to spend a few bucks. I prefer to pay near nothing for my tickets when I travel. My first time on Spirit was in the peak summer, and the price was $119.00 roundtrip with taxes. I recently just went down and the total price was $74.00 roundtrip with taxes. Best deal ever! I look forward to Spirit start service to Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW) in a few months, as that will open up many destinations on the west coast.
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