Spirit Airlines starts charging up to $45 for carry-on baggage

by Scott Carmichael on

Today is the day that Spirit Airlines implements its new pay-to-carry-on baggage rule. The change was announced back in April, and even a grilling by Congress has not been enough to make them change their mind.

What this means to Spirit passengers is simple – if you arrive at the airport with carry-on baggage, and you did not pre-pay, you’ll be charged $45 for a single bag in the overhead compartment. Exceptions are made for the following items:

Umbrella, Camera, Infant Diaper Bag, Assistive Devices, Outer Garments (Coats/Hats/Wraps), Car Seat/Stroller, Reading Material, Food for the flight

So – if you make the mistake of showing up for your flight with a bunch of bags, you’ll easily burn through a nice chunk of your vacation money, long before you even arrive at your destination. As usual with airline fees, Spirit claims they lowered all their ticket prices to offset these new charges. If you fly Spirit, now may be the time to invest in a Scottevest jacket.

The entire Spirit Airlines baggage policy is described on their site.

Spirit Airlines to Congress: paying for overhead bins helps the poor

by Tom Johansmeyer on


You just don’t need to take your bags on vacation, said Spirit Airlines CEO, Ben Baldanza. He’s told Congress that his airline, which brands itself as a “super-low-cost” carrier, actually makes it easier for the proletariat poor to take to the skies, even if it does require that they plop down $45 to stuff a carry-on into the overhead bin.

In a sense, it does. If you choose not to check a bag, that’s $5 bucks shy of half a C-note you’re tucking back in your wallet, but the cheap tickets can run a tad costly if you go with all the up-charges, according to a report by ABC News. So, the poor are all set as long as they exercise some restraint, it seems.

According to Baldanza, “We are certain that Spirit’s decision to unbundle services not essential to the transportation of passengers, has enabled more passengers to fly at lower cost.” He added, “Indeed given our low fares, it has allowed many to travel who otherwise simply could not afford to do so.”

So, what’s next for Spirit? I’m guessing that cake will be served on every flight, for a fee of course, which the airline will gladly let the poor eat.

New Spirit Airlines promo invites you to check out the “oil on our beaches”

by Scott Carmichael on

The cheeky ad designers at Spirit Airlines are at it again – after their “Muff Diving”, “DD” and “MILF” promotions, their newest stunt invites you to check out the “oil on our beaches”.

In this case though, the oil does not show the BP spill, but scantily clad women covering themselves in “Best Protection SPF 50″ sun tan lotion.

The promotion is actually not bad – and offers $50 off a variety of flights ($25 off each way), but as usual you’ll want to pay close attention to the fine print and other details of the promotion.

And of course, this promotion wouldn’t be a Spirit Airlines promotion if it didn’t create some major controversy – their PR department has had to issue a statement explaining that they are not mocking the oil spill, but pointing out that there are still plenty of beaches that are not impacted. Whether or not that was their actual intent, the promotion seems to be working, because it got our attention!

Spirit Airlines strike continues – 600 flight attendants furloughed

by Scott Carmichael on

The two day strike at Spirit Airlines turned into a three day strike, and then into a five day strike. And with no end in sight, the airline just sent its 600 flight attendants some bad news – they are all furloughed.

The move means these staff members will be without a pay check until the 500 Spirit Airlines pilots reach an agreement on their new contract.

The pilots are currently talking with the airline at an “undisclosed location”, but it is pretty clear that the airline is ready to play hardball. It also makes the pilots look like the bad guys, even though they are just trying to fight for what they (claim they) deserve.

The airline has been on strike since June 11, and is most likely losing millions – they usually carry 10,000 passengers a day, and without that revenue, it’ll take quite some time to catch up. The current talks involve the airline, the pilots union and the National Mediation Board.

[Image from Getty Images]

Spirit Airlines grounded by pilot strike – UPDATED

by Scott Carmichael on

Spirit Airlines has found itself grounded this weekend, after contract negotiations with their pilots failed to result in an agreement.

The pilots have been negotiating for four years – and Spirit claims they have offered a 30% pay increase over the next five years, along with several other perks.

Sean Creed is the head of the Spirit Airlines pilot group within the union, and had the following to say:

“No one wanted this strike-certainly not this pilot group. We have sacrificed so much to see this company prosper. Now we are sacrificing our paychecks until we get a contract that reflects our contributions to this airline,”.

As of right now, the strike should end this evening, and all flights will resume as normal tomorrow.

UPDATE: The strike has been extended through Tuesday June 15 2010.

Passengers on canceled flights will be issued flight credits along with an additional $100 Spirit Airlines credit. More information on the strike can be found here.

It has been five years since the last strike at a major US carrier when mechanics and cleaners went on strike at Northwest Airlines. The last major pilot strike was back in 1998 – once again at Northwest Airlines. Of course, it could always be worse – British Airways just got out of their third batch of strikes in under a year.