This is copy of the letter sent to spiritair in february
on monday feb. 5th my partner and I were flying on Spiritair from Tampa, Fl to Cancun, Mexico.in Tampa, we were told that they couldn't check in us and our baggage to Cancun since we had two different reservations: one from Tampa to Ft. Laudardale and the other one from Ft. Lauderdale to Cancun.instead we were told that we would need to pick up our baggage upon arrival in Ft. Lauderdale and check in again for our flight to Cancun. I asked why it was not possible for our luggage to be transferred from one flight to the next seeing as how we were not changing airlines. The supervisor (Cindy) replied "the computer won't let us do it". I again questioned why it was not possible for our luggage to be transferred to our second flight because after all it was the same airline and she said "but if you pay us $50 we can make the change".
At that time another employee approached and said "It is $75.00 per person to be charged for checking you and baggage to Cancun or you will need to de-plane in Ft. Lauderdale, collect your luggage, and check-in again for your next flight". We replied, "No Thank you" When we arrived at Ft. Laudardale we picked up the baggage and went to check in. We arrived at the agent 45 minutes prior to the flight departure time and were told that international flights closed the check in with 1 hour prior to flight time. We were told that we could not make the flight. I asked why we had not been informed in Tampa that we were not going to make the conection on time since their was a one hour cut of time to check-in and re-board the plane? We received no answer at all.
We asked if it was possible to let us check in and send the baggage on the next flight but they said they wouldn't do that. We called the 800 number and they told us that they could send us on the next flight which will be Tuesday (Feb. 6th) and change the return flight for Saturday (Feb. 10th) for a cost of $350.00. I said "No thanks". As a result, I had to cancel our hotel reservation in Cancun. I was charged a $120.00 fee for this cancellation.
I called the airlines and requested a return flight to Tampa and they was informed that everything was booked for Monday and for Tuesday. The only seats available were in Business class and I couldn't afford to spend more money so we rented a car and come back home (Tampa) after a nightmare experience courtesy of Spirit Airlines. On Tuesday February 6, my partner called the 800 number to request a credit or a voucher. He was told that missing flight is referred to as a "lost ticket". Upon explaining the circumstances of why we were not aboard the plane (not permitted to board) the customer services representative said rudely "No, missing a flight is a lost ticket". When he (my partner) asked why we weren't told in Tampa when we informed the representatives there that when we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale we were going to de-plane, collect our baggage, check-in, and re-board and checking -in that we would not have enough time to do this the customer service representative hung up the phone.
My partner called the 800 number once again and was told by a lady that she couldn't do anything. She stated "We lost the ticket and we didn't get "any money back"". After reading the agreement I have with them and the emails they sent us with the confirmation for the flight, I can find nothing that states "the computer won't let check in to final destination when you have two different reservations but if you pay $75 per person it is possible".
Also, there is no place on the email or agreement before paying for the ticket that it states the international flights close 1 hour prior to the flight. If I was aware of this I would have either paid the $150.00 for both of us (I would have been forced to pay this fee because we had 1 hour 10 minutes between flights and it is impossible to de-plane, collect your luggage, check-in, and replane in 10 minutes. Keep in mind that we only had 10 minutes not 1 hour 10 minutes as the check-in station for international flights closed 1 hour prior to the flight AND WE WERE NEVER TOLD THIS!) or I would have made other travel arrangements.
Spiritair caused a mess of what was supposed to be a wonderful 2 year anniversary celebration. It is so needless and that is my frustration. If their Customer service representatives had informed us at the outset than none of this need happened. But no. We were met over and over by rude people that ignored us, were unwilling to accomodate us or help us or even talk to us. We were even hung up on by their 1-800 number representative!
As a result of SpiritAir, we had to cancel our hotel reservation in Cancun and pay a $110.00 fee, pay Spiritair flight money totaling $496.00, and pay $76.00 for a rental car and drive 5 hours to return home to Tampa. Many aggravations, frustration with Spiritair agents and customer service employees for two days were experienced and no one has ever helped us. We have had to pay $550.00 for another last minute vacation to have some relaxing time. Spiritair wont reimburse us or give us any voucher at all.
I just need to know about Spiritair's business practices. They advertise wonderful rates and than catch you like this. They need to be straightforward and others need to be warned about them. I would appreciate anything you could do to look further into this situation. Other airlines issue vouchers and I understand if a penalty is assessed but Spiritair is very sneaky and slipshod and definitely needs to be investigated regarding their business practices. Thank you.
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