Spirit airlines has been in the news a lot recently. They have been aggressively expanding and adding destinations. Their competitors have been doing the same, and are pitting legacy carriers to offer basic economy fares. Spirit is known as one of the pioneers in the Ultra Low Cost Carrier model. They were the first airline to offer ultra-low fares in the US. They have recently decided to shrink their carry on allowance on flights.
Spirit Airlines New Carry-on Baggage Size
Lucky, from OMAAT, reports that the new change is going to place Spirit sub-par with their competitors. The airline is changing their carry-on bag size from 16x14x12 to 18x14x8. By doing the math, this comes out to 2,688 cubic inches before. Now, the new total is 2,016 cubic inches. That is a reduction of 25% size. This is not shocking, given how often Spirit has tried to squeeze extra revenue from passengers. The new rules are set to start on April 4, 2017.
The interesting fact is that the size is on par with other airlines basic economy allowances. If you buy a regular economy ticket on, say, United, you are still allowed larger baggage. If you buy a basic economy fare, your carry-on must not exceed 9x10x17. A similar phenomenon occurs with American. For reference here are the sizes
American: 18x14x8 – 2,016 cu. in.
Spirit: 18x14x8- 2,016 cu. in.
United: 9x10x17- 1,530 cu.in.
Kings of Up-Selling
Spirit Airlines is the king of upselling to their customers. They offer extra large seats, food, baggage, seat assignments, all for a price. If your carry-on is too large, they will charge you for that too. It baffles me how an airline can find so many ways to upsell everything except the seat. I suppose it is what many consumers want, given how successful they are. We will have to see what happens when basic economy starts competing with them.
Something I find inconceivable is their $9 Fare Club. Not because it is meant to be very cheap, but look at the prices. It is cheaper to become a first time member, than to have it renewed. The prices are $59.95 for initial membership, and $69.95 for renewal. If anything, it would make sense for them to have it the other way around. Oh well, there is literally no one who can truly understand Spirit I think. A list of all the add-ons you can find on Spirit is here.
Landing Thoughts
I flew Spirit once and the experience was terrible. I was only around 15 years old, and it still ranks as the worst flight I have ever taken. Prices were reasonable, however, for the segment, but I did not know how much upselling there was. The airline has the least seat pitch in the US, and possibly on par with the worst in the world. They market their larger seats as “Big Front Seat” and their economy as “Deluxe Leather”. If you are looking for the cheapest fare, and are only traveling with a backpack, then Spirit is for you. For all other situations, you are probably better off with Southwest or a legacy carrier.
What do you think? How do you feel about Spirit’s new baggage policy? Do you think this change will drive customers away?
“The prices are $59.95 for initial membership, and $69.95 for renewal. If anything, it would make sense for them to have it the other way around.”
Why would that make more sense? Every single “membership” I’ve ever seen, i.e. Costco, Gym, etc. that offers a discount offers first month/year free or half off or similar. I’ve never once seen a membership that charges MORE for the first billing period, as you are suggesting. Their way, discounted first billing period, is absolutely the normal standard way that virtually all membership clubs work. (Psychologically, people need to be enticed to sign on via a discount – they don’t need to be enticed to stay, most customers will reflexively renew unless you really tick them off.)