After years of being a loyal Southwest customer, I switched to Spirit Airlines this year.
That’s not because I stopped liking Southwest Airlines. Rather, it was actually a combination of factors created, at least partially, by the Covid pandemic.
First, after Southwest extended its loyalty program benefits for a year, I still lost my A-list status because in the post-pandemic period I simply had fewer reasons to fly. In my busiest travel years it wasn’t difficult to rack up 25 qualifying one-way flights, but in a year when the world wasn’t functioning normally, it became impossible.
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Also, when I went to book with Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Get a free report flights over the past year, I often found that my options included having to make a stopover. That’s an added hassle that the airline made worse by changing the price of Wi-Fi from $8 for a full day to $8 per flight segment.
It’s not exactly the extra $8 that bothered me, but if I have to make a connection and drag my bags from one plane to another, then the airline really shouldn’t nickel and dime me.
Still, Southwest was overall my preference even once I lost my A-List loyalty status. Spiritual Airlines (SAVE) – Get a free report It was never really an airline I considered until it offered a brief promotion where it sold me top-tier “Gold” loyalty status for $100.
Getting that promotion required you to have high-level status with a hotel or another airline, which you had with a hotel chain as an American Express Platinum cardholder. But once I paid for the upgraded status I got many benefits, including no baggage fees, free carry-on luggage, priority boarding, and most importantly, free upgrades to exit row seats.
It was that last benefit that turned out to be the most valuable, something I wouldn’t realize until I had a flight where, due to a late change in my plans, I couldn’t secure an exit row seat.
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Spirit and Frontier Airlines sacrifice their comfort
After realizing that my flight from Las Vegas to Fort Lauderdale not only had a layover but also left very early in the morning, I opted to change to a later direct flight. I initially reserved a middle seat in the exit row, the only seat left in the exit row, and then opted to move to a regular seat in the aisle.
It’s worth noting that while I could lose a few pounds, I’m not a tall man. I generally say I’m 5′ 8″, but that’s a bit rounded. Sitting in a regular seat on Spirit was uncomfortable, to put it mildly. That’s absolutely intentional.
Big-ticket airlines have sacrificed comfort in order to fill more seats on their planes, Spirit and Frontier Airlines. (ULCC) – Get a free report have a distance between seats of 28 inches. That’s the worst among major airlines and well below the 31 inches offered by Southwest.
In practical terms, the very tight seats were uncomfortable and there was no real way to fully extend your legs. And when we reached cruising altitude, working was almost impossible as I couldn’t fully open my medium-sized MacBook.
On the plus side, neither Spirit nor Frontier allow passengers to recline their seats. If that were possible, it might be difficult to read a book or look at your phone. It’s one thing to feel uncomfortable. It’s another thing to have a five-hour flight that, for me, was nearly impossible to work on, and for others, it would be impossible to watch a movie or show on their laptop.
Spirit and Frontier have sacrificed everything for price. That’s not as noticeable from the exit row seat, which has about four inches of extra legroom. However, from a normal seat you realize that both airlines do not care about your comfort or whether you can work or entertain yourself during the flight.
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Instead, both Spirit and Frontier simply want to offer the lowest price possible while sacrificing everything else. It may be worth it for some passengers, but others may choose to spend a little more in exchange for a more comfortable experience.
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