Gotta love Spirit Airlines' sense of humor

[Adam]

Via e-mail:

[scott]

Niagara Falls Airport is nowhere near Toronto.

That's like saying Orlando International Airport is in the Tampa area.

[phillygirl]

Niagara Falls Airport is nowhere near Toronto.

That's like saying Orlando International Airport is in the Tampa area.

Meh...it's not that far away, and if you're making a full trip out of it, it makes some sense (for $29). My first Niagara trip we drove to Niagara first, then headed over to Toronto. It's a wonderful loop.

[Adam]

Heh!






Gotta give their marketing department credit for seizing on public events and acting on them immediately. Guerrilla marketing at its finest.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Has anyone here ever actually flown with them? Experiences? HRH is going to Cancun with a friend next year and we have to figure out flights. And what airlines even go to Cancun.

[Adam]

Has anyone here ever actually flown with them? Experiences? HRH is going to Cancun with a friend next year and we have to figure out flights. And what airlines even go to Cancun.

I've never actually flown on Spirit as they don't serve Nashville, but I've put several people on them before.

Spirit is not quite the original "nickel and dime" airline, because that distinction goes to RyanAir, but they're certainly the first in the U.S. They usually have pretty low fares, but you pay for everything beyond that: checked bags, carry-on bags, assigned seats, etc. They even charge to print your boarding pass at the airport. There is effectively no cabin service: they will sell some drinks on the plane (at an inflated price, of course), and you can buy things like crackers and peanuts, but that's it. As noted above, none of the seats recline, even "the big front seat," which is effectively about as wide as a business class seat across the bulkhead row, with no middles. At the end of the day, they're still usually relatively inexpensive, but not as cheap as it would appear on the surface. Additionally, I've gotten reports that the airplanes themselves really just aren't all that clean. and all of that.

Anyway, Spirit probably isn't really a viable option for HRH, as their schedule from Oakland to Cancun pretty much sucks: an overnight connection flight (six and a half hour layover in Dallas, and DFW likely will not let her stay in the airport overnight, so she'll have to get a hotel) going to Cancun, and a fourteen-hour, two-connection odyssey on the way back. Less than ideal for a teenager, and likely worrisome for a parent.

She's almost certain to be much better off either taking United non-stop out of SFO, or if that's either not practical or too expensive, then a single-connection on Delta, American, whoever out of SFO, Oakland, Sacramento, or (if you just have to) San Jose.

From the spring through the summer, there are lots of pretty cheap charter flights available to Cancun as well, though these pretty much all depart from east of the Mississippi. So you'd have to get HRH to, say, BWI or Newark or Nashville or Atlanta, and then she'd be able to take a straight shot from one of these places, but obviously you're going to want to have somewhere for her to go in these places: Gramma's house or Aunt Beatrice or whoever. BUT, if you were planning a trip back East anyway, it might work out well enough to incorporate that into her Cancun trip.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

I've never actually flown on Spirit as they don't serve Nashville, but I've put several people on them before.

Spirit is not quite the original "nickel and dime" airline, because that distinction goes to RyanAir, but they're certainly the first in the U.S. They usually have pretty low fares, but you pay for everything beyond that: checked bags, carry-on bags, assigned seats, etc. They even charge to print your boarding pass at the airport. There is effectively no cabin service: they will sell some drinks on the plane (at an inflated price, of course), and you can buy things like crackers and peanuts, but that's it. As noted above, none of the seats recline, even "the big front seat," which is effectively about as wide as a business class seat across the bulkhead row, with no middles. At the end of the day, they're still usually relatively inexpensive, but not as cheap as it would appear on the surface. Additionally, I've gotten reports that the airplanes themselves really just aren't all that clean. and all of that.

Anyway, Spirit probably isn't really a viable option for HRH, as their schedule from Oakland to Cancun pretty much sucks: an overnight connection flight (six and a half hour layover in Dallas, and DFW likely will not let her stay in the airport overnight, so she'll have to get a hotel) going to Cancun, and a fourteen-hour, two-connection odyssey on the way back. Less than ideal for a teenager, and likely worrisome for a parent.

She's almost certain to be much better off either taking United non-stop out of SFO, or if that's either not practical or too expensive, then a single-connection on Delta, American, whoever out of SFO, Oakland, Sacramento, or (if you just have to) San Jose.

From the spring through the summer, there are lots of pretty cheap charter flights available to Cancun as well, though these pretty much all depart from east of the Mississippi. So you'd have to get HRH to, say, BWI or Newark or Nashville or Atlanta, and then she'd be able to take a straight shot from one of these places, but obviously you're going to want to have somewhere for her to go in these places: Gramma's house or Aunt Beatrice or whoever. BUT, if you were planning a trip back East anyway, it might work out well enough to incorporate that into her Cancun trip.

They're going down for Hydra Fest, so factoring in a trip back East isn't in the cards. It's a measure of how much HRH loves Fallout Boy, Panic! at the Disco and New Politics that she's willing to get in a germ incubator with all those other people to fly down there at all (the event is a gift from a friend, but we have to arrange the flight). She doesn't mind airplanes, if only they didn't have PEOPLE on them.

[Adam]

They're going down for Hydra Fest, so factoring in a trip back East isn't in the cards. It's a measure of how much HRH loves Fallout Boy, Panic! at the Disco and New Politics that she's willing to get in a germ incubator with all those other people to fly down there at all (the event is a gift from a friend, but we have to arrange the flight). She doesn't mind airplanes, if only they didn't have PEOPLE on them.

$465 on AeroMexico out of SFO, single connect at Mexico City. It's pretty unlikely that you're going to get much better than that, honestly. It's a red-eye out of SFO to Mexico City, but she's young. Builds character.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

$465 on AeroMexico out of SFO, single connect at Mexico City. It's pretty unlikely that you're going to get much better than that, honestly. It's a red-eye out of SFO to Mexico City, but she's young. Builds character.

I'll check it out. Thanks!