Spirit Airlines: Are you ok with reduced prices at the expense of customer service?

[Deberg_1990]

Now, i guess i can see why he wouldnt give the guy a refund....but its his lack of empathy, compassion and Dont give a crap about customer service thats troubling.......




Spirit Airlines' boss calls complaints 'irrelevant,' says dying veteran should've bought insurance

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/03/spirit-airlines-outpaces-competitors-regarding-passenger-complaints-statistics/?cmpid=GoogleNewsEditorsPicks&google_editors_picks=true



The boss of Spirit Airlines isn't about to cave in to a dying former Marine, and he doesn't lose sleep knowing his company leads the industry when it comes to customer complaints, he told FoxNews.com.

“That’s an irrelevant statistic,” Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza said when told his airline generates gripes at two-and-a-half times the rate of the next most complained about carrier.

Spirit racked up 8.27 complaints per 100,000 passengers in January, while United finished a distant second-worst, registering 3.5 complaints per 100,000 fliers, according to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics. By comparison, Southwest notched just 0.2 complaints per 100,000 fliers.

Spirit is generating complaints at a much faster clip on Facebook, where a "Boycott Spirit Airlines" page has seen its number of "likes" soar to more than 21,000 from about 700 since the carrier denied a $197 refund to Jerry Meekins. The 76-year-old Vietnam veteran and former Marine tried to get his $197 back after learning his esophageal cancer is terminal and being told by his doctor not to fly from Florida to Atlantic City. Airline officials told him to forget it, and Baldanza reaffirmed the company's hardline in an exclusive FoxNews.com interview.

“A lot of our customers buy that insurance and what Mr. Meekins asked us to do was essentially give him the benefit of that insurance when he didn’t purchase the insurance,” Baldanza said. “Had we done that, I think it really would’ve been cheating all the people who actually bought the insurance … and I think that’s fundamentally unfair.”

Baldanza likened the situation to a homeowner with no policy calling up an an insurance company after his house burns down.

“We feel very badly for Mr. Meekins, however, this is a country and society where we kind of play by the rules,” he said. “And he wanted to really not do that and that’s really not fair to the 10 million other Spirit customers and that’s why we made that decision.”

As for the industry-leading rate of complaints per 100,000, Baldanza said it doesn't bother him.

“If you ran a restaurant, and out of every 100,000 customers, 8 of them said they didn’t like your menu, would you change your restaurant?" he asked. “Why don’t we interpret that 99.92 of all customers have no complaints? Because that is what it says."

Kate Hanni, executive director of Flyers Rights, which bills itself as the largest nonprofit consumer organization representing U.S. airline passengers, said Spirit doesn't seem to care what customers think.

“They’re the worst airline in the U.S.,” Hanni said. “They put no money back into customer service, which is a black hole at Spirit.”

Hanni estimated that her organization receives five times the amount of complaints pertaining to Spirit than any other domestic airline — budget or legacy carrier alike.

“Spirit Airlines has a history of cruelty toward their passengers, but they continue to treat them like meat in a seat because their fares are so low they are confident people will continue to fly with them,” she continued. “But the fact is people are damaged by Spirit every day and Spirit Airlines just has a culture of ‘I don’t care.’”

In Meekins' case, FoxNews.com readers overwhelmingly believe the boss got it wrong: In a "You Decide" poll with more than 100,000 responses, 8 out of 10 readers said Spirit should have refunded Meekins' fare.

Baldanza, 50, has staked his company's model for success on "unbundling" services. Customers pay extra for each additional service or amenity, including a new policy unveiled this week in which they will pay $100 for carry-on bags that go in overhead bins.

"Carrying more than one bag is not necessary for all travelers and we believe it is unfair to charge those customers for extra services they do not use -- indeed, it is the basis for Spirit's policy to unbundle services not essential to passenger transport," Baldanza told a Congressional panel in 2010.

The Miramar, Fla.-based carrier was fined $100,000 in 2010 by the federal Department of Transportation for not recording and responding to the complaints regarding the treatment of disabled passengers. In 2009, Spirit paid a $215,000 fine after the Department of Transportation penalized it for the way it bumped passengers from oversold flights and handled lost or damaged baggage.

In 2007, Baldanza laid bare his feelings about customer service in an email which he meant to send to a colleague, but accidentally hit reply all, sending the missive out to the very passenger who had complained.

“Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I’m concerned," the email read. "Let him tell the world how bad we are. He’s never flown before with us anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.”

Spirit reported a first-quarter profit of $23.4 million, compared to $7.9 million a year earlier. The budget carrier has recently expanded routes in cities like Dallas, Chicago and Denver. The airline's all-Airbus fleet currently operates more than 190 daily flights to more than 50 destinations within the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Baldanza told reporters on an earnings call this week the carrier’s average fare fell during the first quarter by nearly 7 percent to $76.65.

Asked by a reporter last month from FlightGlobal.com if the airline’s additional domestic routes versus international locales are a sign of what’s to come, Baldanza replied: “Our strategy is simpler than that. Our strategy is to make money.”

[DaKCMan AP]

I fly a lot and refuse to fly Spirit.

Their airfares are low but then they charge $30 for carry on bags. Seriously? $30 for me to CARRY ON A BAG?

[Dartgod]

I thought I saw on the news this morning that they were now charging $100 per carry on, each way.

[tredadda]

I thought I saw on the news this morning that they were now charging $100 per carry on, each way.

This is like buying a cheap printer but then spending a ton of cash on ink. After it is all said and done that deal is not that great at all.

[rageeumr]

I am totally on board with the guy not getting a refund. Ya, dude's in a bad place, but you can't set a precedent like that. People have to miss flights for all kind of reasons, that's why they offer the insurance.

I wonder what the context of the quote "That’s an irrelevant statistic" is. It's pretty damning if he's saying that customer satisfaction is irrelevant. My guess, however, is that he was actually talking about how the data for that statistic is obtained or the method in which it is evaluated. But that doesn't generate clicks.

[-King-]

ROFL How ironic. I was getting ready to make a thread about this airline.


So me and a few friends went to Vegas last weekend and my cousin was supposed to fly from Dallas to join us. He decided to be a cheap ass and fly with Spirit (first time I'd ever heard of them) but somehow missed the flight to Vegas like a dumb ass. Anyway, he was planning to just buy a one way ticket from Southwest or something so he could get to Vegas and then return with Spirit. Turns out that if you miss one flight on a round trip ticket, the entire ticket is canceled all together.

I don't understand how that can work at all. It's like if you bought season tickets for the Chiefs and missed the first game, and after that, they don't allow you to go to anymore games just because you missed the first one.

[DaKCMan AP]

I am totally on board with the guy not getting a refund. Ya, dude's in a bad place, but you can't set a precedent like that. People have to miss flights for all kind of reasons, that's why they offer the insurance.


I agree with this. When my relatives book vacations including my grandparents they buy insurance just in case. If you choose not to then you absorb the risk that you won't go on the trip.

That being said, Spirit is AWFUL for many reasons not having to do with travel insurance.

[DaKCMan AP]

This is like buying a cheap printer but then spending a ton of cash on ink. After it is all said and done that deal is not that great at all.

Pretty much. When you add all the extra garbage they charge Spirit is not that cheap compared to other airlines. Especially when compared to other discount airlines.

[ChiefsLV]

They also set their weight limit for checked bags at 40 lbs instead of 50 like the other airlines so that they can hit up unsuspecting customers for another $25 when they check their luggage, My large suitcase comes to right around 40 lbs when packed full of clothes with a couple pair of shoes. Also they must have the minimum allowed space between seats by the FAA because my knees were pressed against the seat in front of me the whole flight. After you throw in all of their added fees, it usually doesn't make sense to fly with them. I flew them once a couple weeks ago and it will be a one time experience for me.

[Sfeihc]

Don't fly Spirit. Just don't do it.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

ROFL How ironic. I was getting ready to make a thread about this airline.


So me and a few friends went to Vegas last weekend and my cousin was supposed to fly from Dallas to join us. He decided to be a cheap ass and fly with Spirit (first time I'd ever heard of them) but somehow missed the flight to Vegas like a dumb ass. Anyway, he was planning to just buy a one way ticket from Southwest or something so he could get to Vegas and then return with Spirit. Turns out that if you miss one flight on a round trip ticket, the entire ticket is canceled all together.

I don't understand how that can work at all. It's like if you bought season tickets for the Chiefs and missed the first game, and after that, they don't allow you to go to anymore games just because you missed the first one.

That is the case with all airlines. Partly because in some cases a RT ticket can be less than a one-way.

[Bwana]

All airlines are a big pain in the behind, these days. With that being said, Spirit seems to go out of their way to get the Mickey Mouse of airlines award. I have never had the displeasue of flying with them.

[-King-]

That is the case with all airlines. Partly because in some cases a RT ticket can be less than a one-way.

Really? I'd be really surprised if a customer first airline like Southwest did that.

Edit: But what does it matter though? He bought a round trip ticket and just missed the flight to Vegas. The return ticket was already paid for so I don't understand why it would matter if he found his own means to Vegas and then used the return ticket to get back.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Really? I'd be really surprised if a customer first airline like Southwest did that.

They do.

Like I said, it is in part becuase people used to book flights from, say, LA to Miami RT @ $250. They'd board at the layover in Chicago and fly the remaining leg, whereas in some cases if you bought a Chicago-Miami ticket it would be $350. Same thing with non-stops. Sometimes a flight from CHI-MIA may be $350 one way, and less RT. This stops people doing that. As well as freeing up unused tickets from those that actually miss flights for sale.

[DaKCMan AP]

That is the case with all airlines. Partly because in some cases a RT ticket can be less than a one-way.

Really? I'd be really surprised if a customer first airline like Southwest did that.

Edit: But what does it matter though? He bought a round trip ticket and just missed the flight to Vegas. The return ticket was already paid for so I don't understand why it would matter if he found his own means to Vegas and then used the return ticket to get back.

They do.

Like I said, it is in part becuase people used to book flights from, say, LA to Miami RT @ $250. They'd board at the layover in Chicago and fly the remaining leg, whereas in some cases if you bought a Chicago-Miami ticket it would be $350. Same thing with non-stops. Sometimes a flight from CHI-MIA may be $350 one way, and less RT. This stops people doing that. As well as freeing up unused tickets from those that actually miss flights for sale.

The difference is with Southwest if you miss your flight they'll re-book you on another flight within 24hrs (standby, if necessary) for no extra charge.

[Rain Man]

I am totally on board with the guy not getting a refund. Ya, dude's in a bad place, but you can't set a precedent like that. People have to miss flights for all kind of reasons, that's why they offer the insurance.

I wonder what the context of the quote "That’s an irrelevant statistic" is. It's pretty damning if he's saying that customer satisfaction is irrelevant. My guess, however, is that he was actually talking about how the data for that statistic is obtained or the method in which it is evaluated. But that doesn't generate clicks.

I'm glad somebody else said this, because that was my thinking, too. Stinks for him, but hey, life stinks sometimes.

That said, it sounds like this airline is pretty bad. The fact that they have more than double the complaints of any other airline is enough reason for me to not fly them. I get tired of airlines' sleazy behavior, and I wish everyone wouldn't make cost the only criterion for selecting an airline. That's why service is so bad.

[Strongside]

Sounds a lot like Allegiant air. They fly out of smaller airports and only fly on certain days of the week. I have literally flown from Springfield, MO to Vegas round trip for less than $100. I just jam all of my shit into a carry on bag and decline to 'purchase' travel insurance or an assigned seat. If you're traveling light, small airlines are the way to go.

[DaKCMan AP]

Sounds a lot like Allegiant air. They fly out of smaller airports and only fly on certain days of the week. I have literally flown from Springfield, MO to Vegas round trip for less than $100. I just jam all of my shit into a carry on bag and decline to 'purchase' travel insurance or an assigned seat. If you're traveling light, small airlines are the way to go.

No. It's not like Allegiant. I've flown Allegiant a few times from Clearwater to Knoxville and back ($80 RT after fees). Allegiant is cheap. While they do charge for extras beyond the ticket, it still remains CHEAP. Spirit charges exorbitant fees for bags and treats customers like trash.

Allegiant >>> Spirit

[Stewie]

I thought I saw on the news this morning that they were now charging $100 per carry on, each way.

This is true unless you book your flight online and know exactly how much luggage you're going to carry on. Then it's only $45 each way. If you miscalculate or don't book online it's $100 each way. Completely ridiculous.

[Rain Man]

This is true unless you book your flight online and know exactly how much luggage you're going to carry on. Then it's only $45 each way. If you miscalculate or don't book online it's $100 each way. Completely ridiculous.

That kind of stuff drives me crazy. Plus, it seems like the airline would have increased turnover because the employees are arguing every day to get another ten bucks or whatever. Who would want to be the customer-facing employee in a setting like this?

In theory, I like the concept of paying ala carte for every service. If I don't need a carry on, don't charge me for it. If someone else wants to pay for two, let them. Food? Movie? Charge me. Extra two inches of leg room? Charge me. But the key is that it has to be predictable, and it has to be my decision. Surprises are really bad in this situation.

[Nzoner]

Marketing possibility?

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[Bob Dole]

Flew Spirit from Dallas to Vegas in March. You definitely get what you pay for.

[DaFace]

This is true unless you book your flight online and know exactly how much luggage you're going to carry on. Then it's only $45 each way. If you miscalculate or don't book online it's $100 each way. Completely ridiculous.

I guess I don't understand the reasoning for charging for carry-ons. Checked bags make some sense since they have to have someone handling it the whole way, but the only cost to the airline for a carry-on is the moderate amount of extra weight (which results in a little higher fuel costs). If anything, it seems like it should be more like $10 than $100.

[Deberg_1990]

When the airlines added the baggage fees 4 or 5 years ago, they said it was because of fuel costs. Why didnt the fees disappear once the price of fuel dropped??

[King_Chief_Fan]

I guess I don't understand the reasoning for charging for carry-ons. Checked bags make some sense since they have to have someone handling it the whole way, but the only cost to the airline for a carry-on is the moderate amount of extra weight (which results in a little higher fuel costs). If anything, it seems like it should be more like $10 than $100.

bag fees created a mess with carry on....the stuff I see people carrying on is ridiculous.

[The Franchise]

I have never heard of Spirit before.

[Bump]

Nope, I won't spend my money at any place when they treat their customers like shit. We are the one's making them rich, fuck that shit. But I refuse to fly anyways with all of the bullshit you have to go through now. Haven't flown in over 10 years and I used to fly quite frequently.

[DaFace]

Huh. I'd never even heard of them before, but they don't seem to be THAT much cheaper than the competition. I randomly picked a flight from DEN to LAX in mid-June just to check, and they were only about $15 cheaper. And since I have to carry SOMETHING with me...I think I'll stick with Southwest.

[Chiefnj2]

"Spirit racked up 8.27 complaints per 100,000 passengers in January, while United finished a distant second-worst, registering 3.5 complaints per 100,000 fliers"

I find those numbers incredibly low.

[DaFace]

"Spirit racked up 8.27 complaints per 100,000 passengers in January, while United finished a distant second-worst, registering 3.5 complaints per 100,000 fliers"

I find those numbers incredibly low.

Probably formal complaints rather than casual complaints to an employee. I doubt they track complaints that aren't directly to corporate.

[DaKCMan AP]

Nope, I won't spend my money at any place when they treat their customers like shit. We are the one's making them rich, fuck that shit. But I refuse to fly anyways with all of the bullshit you have to go through now. Haven't flown in over 10 years and I used to fly quite frequently.

Flying really isn't that bad. It's mostly people who don't fly often who find it to be a hassle. I've averaged 1 round-trip flight (3-4 legs) per month over the past 5 years. I get in and out of airports quickly and easily and rarely leave for the airport more than 90mins prior to my scheduled departure.

[gblowfish]

If all the people who were pissed off about this sent the Vietnam guy $1, he'd get his money back a thousand times over.

And Spirit is stupid. They've done waaaaaay more damage to themselves than a $200 ticket. Way more.

[Donger]

Flying really isn't that bad. It's mostly people who don't fly often who find it to be a hassle. I've averaged 1 round-trip flight per month over the past 5 years. I get in and out of airports quickly and easily and rarely leave for the airport more than 90mins prior to my scheduled departure.

Having elite status really helps, though, especially with security times. And with the cost of checked bags. I think my airline charges $20 for each checked bag, but I get them free (although I only ever check bags when we travel as a family and the wife brings everything in the fucking house with her).

[Donger]

I think I'll stick with Southwest.

Frontier, DaFace. Frontier.

[DaKCMan AP]

Having elite status really helps, though, especially with security times. And with the cost of checked bags. I think my airline charges $20 for each checked bag, but I get them free (although I only ever check bags when we travel as a family and the wife brings everything in the fucking house with her).

Absolutely. Although certain airports don't have/honor the priority security lines. I rarely pay for checked bags (free on Delta & Southwest), usually get priority boarding, and sometimes priority security lines.

Even if I didn't get some of the elite status perks just knowing what to expect and being prepared eases the process. The people that get flustered are those who don't fly often or travel with kids and don't know what needs to be taken off/out in security or how to expedite the process.

[Rain Man]

I flew out to California last week (more on that in the next post), and there was a couple checking in ahead of me who was going to Brazil. It was presumably a long trip, because they had something like 8 suitcases packed to the brim.

Okay, 8 suitcases. And these were big, several most likely being overweight. I couldn't hear the exact amount, but it was over $400 in baggage fees.

Now let's assume that they're coming back. That's another $400+.

I was watching it unfold, and it occurred to me that there's a point at which you shouldn't take any bags, and just buy all new clothes once you arrive. Granted, it was a couple, so there's two people to buy for, but $800 to $900 will buy a lot of clothes.

[Frosty]

Never heard of Spirit. Thanks for the warning. I think I'll stick with SWA, Alaska or Delta.

[Frosty]

I was watching it unfold, and it occurred to me that there's a point at which you shouldn't take any bags, and just buy all new clothes once you arrive. Granted, it was a couple, so there's two people to buy for, but $800 to $900 will buy a lot of clothes.

True. i try to travel as light as possible.

Besides how much clothes do you need in Brazil anyway?

[Rain Man]

As a side airport story, here's how my trip to LA went last week.

Showed up at the Denver airport. I had tickets on Alaska Airlines (shrug). Seemed like a good deal. I go there to check in for the 11:15 flight. They say there is no 11:15 flight. I show them my itinerary. They say it must be code-shared. There's no other airline listed on my itinerary, and there's no flight on any airline leaving at 11:15. In the meantime, I get a flight notification on my phone that the 11:15 Alaska Airlines flight is scheduled to leave on time. Eventually we go to American at her urging and discover that our 11:15 Alaska flight is actually an 11:40 American flight. Weird.

There are only two people there, and one of them has a problem client. We are the fourth group in line, and everyone in front of us has a problem. The problem client takes up one of the agents for 40 minutes. The other one takes the first-class passengers whenever they show up, and every time she finishes with one, another shows up. It takes us 45 minutes to check in our bags.

We go to LA, do our thing, and get ready to come back. This is at LAX, which is a large airport.

So first, we return the rental car. We take the 15 exits and turns to get there, see the sign, and as we approach we realize that there's a curb between us and the entrance. You had to switch lanes to get on the correct side of the curve before you could even see the sign. So we have to circle and try again.

Then we go to the airport. Our tickets say, US Airways operated by United Airlines. So which terminal do we go to? We say, well, it's a US Airways flight, so the rental shuttle takes us to Terminal 2, where we stand in line only to be told that we have to check in at United.

Which is Terminal 7.

So we go outside, wait for a while, and catch a bus to Terminal 7. United checks us in, and we go to the security gate. Some airport employee says, "No, you have to go upstairs. We're limiting this to only first class passengers."

There's one elevator that has about 50 people waiting to go upstairs, so we walk another quarter-mile and find an escalator. We go up, and the security waiting area is blocked off for some reason or other, so they have an impromptu line set up. Which extends outside the airport. And since we're on the third floor, that means that it goes out onto a pedestrian overpass from the parking garage. So we're standing there in the sun and the wind, with cars whizzing by below us loud enough that it's hard to talk.

Our plan was to get there early and have a nice lunch. From the time we hit the rental car exit to the time we got to the gate? 2 hours and 5 minutes. We ended up buying McDonald's as we headed to the gate.

[Rain Man]

True. i try to travel as light as possible.

Besides how much clothes do you need in Brazil anyway?

Pretty much just a thong.

[Donger]

As a side airport story, here's how my trip to LA went last week.

Showed up at the Denver airport. I had tickets on Alaska Airlines (shrug). Seemed like a good deal. I go there to check in for the 11:15 flight. They say there is no 11:15 flight. I show them my itinerary. They say it must be code-shared. There's no other airline listed on my itinerary, and there's no flight on any airline leaving at 11:15. In the meantime, I get a flight notification on my phone that the 11:15 Alaska Airlines flight is scheduled to leave on time. Eventually we go to American at her urging and discover that our 11:15 Alaska flight is actually an 11:40 American flight. Weird.

There are only two people there, and one of them has a problem client. We are the fourth group in line, and everyone in front of us has a problem. The problem client takes up one of the agents for 40 minutes. The other one takes the first-class passengers whenever they show up, and every time she finishes with one, another shows up. It takes us 45 minutes to check in our bags.

We go to LA, do our thing, and get ready to come back. This is at LAX, which is a large airport.

So first, we return the rental car. We take the 15 exits and turns to get there, see the sign, and as we approach we realize that there's a curb between us and the entrance. You had to switch lanes to get on the correct side of the curve before you could even see the sign. So we have to circle and try again.

Then we go to the airport. Our tickets say, US Airways operated by United Airlines. So which terminal do we go to? We say, well, it's a US Airways flight, so the rental shuttle takes us to Terminal 2, where we stand in line only to be told that we have to check in at United.

Which is Terminal 7.

So we go outside, wait for a while, and catch a bus to Terminal 7. United checks us in, and we go to the security gate. Some airport employee says, "No, you have to go upstairs. We're limiting this to only first class passengers."

There's one elevator that has about 50 people waiting to go upstairs, so we walk another quarter-mile and find an escalator. We go up, and the security waiting area is blocked off for some reason or other, so they have an impromptu line set up. Which extends outside the airport. And since we're on the third floor, that means that it goes out onto a pedestrian overpass from the parking garage. So we're standing there in the sun and the wind, with cars whizzing by below us loud enough that it's hard to talk.

Our plan was to get there early and have a nice lunch. From the time we hit the rental car exit to the time we got to the gate? 2 hours and 5 minutes. We ended up buying McDonald's as we headed to the gate.

LMAO

Fly Frontier to John Wayne next time.

[Rain Man]

LMAO

Fly Frontier to John Wayne next time.


I love John Wayne. That airport's great, and we use it a lot. Unfortunately we were going north this time. I was trying to get into Burbank or anywhere else, but got seduced by the low fares into LAX. My mistake.

[Imon Yourside]

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