SPIRIT AIRLINES:
Is it really a SKYTRAX 2 STAR Airline?
They call it the home of the BARE FARE... Yep, it's Spirit Airlines l'm talking about. Before I start with my review, I'll give you a little bit of information on this airline:
- Basically, Spirit Airlines is an ultra-low-cost-carrier headquartered in Miramar, Florida in the Miami area
- You might be thinking that Spirit is a very recently opened company- but no. This airline started off in 1964 as the Clippert Trucking Company and in 1974, the company changed it's name to Ground Air Transfer
- Then in 1983, the company went on to be called as Charter One (this was an airline, by the way)
- And in 1992, the airline brought in jet aircraft and changed it's name to Spirit Airlines.
Now let me not bore with details so let's just cut to the chase:
Like you read in my previous blog about my flight to Dallas, this blog is a continuation of that.
So after spending a few days in Dallas, we headed off to California- Los Angeles, to be exact.
Yep, you guessed it- we were flying in Spirit Airlines!
So here is my story:
Hurriedly getting up at 4.00 am while it was a freezing 6 ͦ Celsius outside, I jumped into my clothes and got into the cab waiting for us at the iron gates outside. Usually, It would take us around an hour to get to Dallas Fort/Worth International Airport. But here's the strange part: the driver knew that we were Indians, so he seriously started playing Bollywood songs! That was kinda cool- (at least for me)
Well, spirit uses the Terminal E at DFW Airport. Well, there's not much much to see here, except for a few restaurants. If you ever find yourself here, go to Panda Express- it's cool! But the thing l liked about this terminal was the fact that they actually had an aquarium!
Oh, l forgot to mention about the baggage rules of Spirit Airlines. First of all, they make you measure your bag's size and weight using special scales. They'll have a certain charge for a certain size; but if your bag is larger or heavier than those specific measurements, you're out of luck. They would make you pay extra, even if it's just half a pound!
Well, l respect the way Spirit does its boarding- they've got various zones. For example, zone 1 is for people with small kids, zone 2 is for families, and so on. I found this a good way to board because no one really follows the "priorities" rule here- I always see men sitting on the seats reserved for disabled people at the Mumbai Metro!
Finally, the boarding kicked off at 6. Our aircraft was an Airbus A321 (shown here) But another thing l found unique about this airline was how Informal it was. You could see words like 'Howdy' written on the winglets. I'd never seen that before!
Well, as we boarded our flight, one of the first things l noticed was the 'little black triangle' ln case you are wondering what I'm talking about, it's a little triangle on the top of specific rows of seats. The reason they do this is to let flight attendants know which windows to look from in case the pilots want them to do so. It would be much better than to hassle all the passengers to check out from a window, only to find out that it was the wrong one!
Another thing l noticed was that the seats were so cramped together. There wasn't really much space to put your legs. Plus, the tray tables were infinitesimal! to give you an idea, check the picture below:
I decided not to make a fuss out of it and went on with the journey. even thought the flight was like a long, tedious and monotonous haul, I decided to make the best out of it.
And as soon as we started our descent into LAX (Los Angeles Airport), l was relieved. At last!
Now I don't need to explain the rest- we got down, collected our luggage, and went towards our hotel.
But wait! Don't go away just yet! I've got one last thing to say:
Spirit Airlines uses terminal 5 at LAX. The problem is, there's not many eating options here except for one that sells bagels. So if you were planning to spend some time in this terminal, then think again- it might not be your best choice!
So, all in all, my experience with Spirit was OK, but I feel it could have been better (especially the legroom and tray tables)
By,
Nandakishor Bejoy
Is it really a SKYTRAX 2 STAR Airline?
They call it the home of the BARE FARE... Yep, it's Spirit Airlines l'm talking about. Before I start with my review, I'll give you a little bit of information on this airline:
- Basically, Spirit Airlines is an ultra-low-cost-carrier headquartered in Miramar, Florida in the Miami area- You might be thinking that Spirit is a very recently opened company- but no. This airline started off in 1964 as the Clippert Trucking Company and in 1974, the company changed it's name to Ground Air Transfer
- Then in 1983, the company went on to be called as Charter One (this was an airline, by the way)
- And in 1992, the airline brought in jet aircraft and changed it's name to Spirit Airlines.
Now let me not bore with details so let's just cut to the chase:
Like you read in my previous blog about my flight to Dallas, this blog is a continuation of that.
So after spending a few days in Dallas, we headed off to California- Los Angeles, to be exact.
Yep, you guessed it- we were flying in Spirit Airlines!
So here is my story:
Hurriedly getting up at 4.00 am while it was a freezing 6 ͦ Celsius outside, I jumped into my clothes and got into the cab waiting for us at the iron gates outside. Usually, It would take us around an hour to get to Dallas Fort/Worth International Airport. But here's the strange part: the driver knew that we were Indians, so he seriously started playing Bollywood songs! That was kinda cool- (at least for me)
Well, spirit uses the Terminal E at DFW Airport. Well, there's not much much to see here, except for a few restaurants. If you ever find yourself here, go to Panda Express- it's cool! But the thing l liked about this terminal was the fact that they actually had an aquarium!
Oh, l forgot to mention about the baggage rules of Spirit Airlines. First of all, they make you measure your bag's size and weight using special scales. They'll have a certain charge for a certain size; but if your bag is larger or heavier than those specific measurements, you're out of luck. They would make you pay extra, even if it's just half a pound!Well, l respect the way Spirit does its boarding- they've got various zones. For example, zone 1 is for people with small kids, zone 2 is for families, and so on. I found this a good way to board because no one really follows the "priorities" rule here- I always see men sitting on the seats reserved for disabled people at the Mumbai Metro!
Well, as we boarded our flight, one of the first things l noticed was the 'little black triangle' ln case you are wondering what I'm talking about, it's a little triangle on the top of specific rows of seats. The reason they do this is to let flight attendants know which windows to look from in case the pilots want them to do so. It would be much better than to hassle all the passengers to check out from a window, only to find out that it was the wrong one!Another thing l noticed was that the seats were so cramped together. There wasn't really much space to put your legs. Plus, the tray tables were infinitesimal! to give you an idea, check the picture below:
And as soon as we started our descent into LAX (Los Angeles Airport), l was relieved. At last!
Now I don't need to explain the rest- we got down, collected our luggage, and went towards our hotel.
But wait! Don't go away just yet! I've got one last thing to say:
Spirit Airlines uses terminal 5 at LAX. The problem is, there's not many eating options here except for one that sells bagels. So if you were planning to spend some time in this terminal, then think again- it might not be your best choice!
So, all in all, my experience with Spirit was OK, but I feel it could have been better (especially the legroom and tray tables)
By,
Nandakishor Bejoy
