Juliana Lieuwen

The view I had on the flight home from Florida.

A few weeks ago, I flew on the second-worst-ranked airline—Spirit. 

Spirit Airlines is known for its iconic bright yellow plane and is notorious on many different social media platforms for being unreliable and stingy. 

My experience on Spirit Airlines was not as unpleasant as many social media influencers described, but it was definitely a sub-par experience. As an avid traveler, I have flown with many different airlines: Delta, Southwest, American, and more. I had never been on a Spirit plane until a few weeks ago, and on my personal scale, it falls somewhere in the middle. 

My mom purchased our tickets to Florida for $125—most airlines are selling tickets to that destination for two to three times that price—and with the low price point, many luxuries had to be given up. We were only allowed one carry-on, no larger than a backpack, and amenities such as complimentary Wi-Fi, snacks, and drinks were not offered. If we wanted to purchase food or have more luggage, that was offered but at a very high price point. 

In my family, I have been given the title of “notorious over-packer.” I have an irrational fear of not being prepared when I am away from home, which leads me to pack anything I could possibly need. When my mom told me that on this trip, I would only be allowed to bring a backpack, I was hesitant because I did not want to be unprepared. Thankfully, I managed to fit the belongings I would need for the trip in my backpack and somehow still managed to pack more outfits than I could possibly wear in the four days we were gone. 

Once we boarded the plane and got settled, I began conversing with my sister and niece. After talking with them for a while, I realized that our plane was taking an abnormally long time to take off. There was also a pair of hyper children with an inattentive mother in the seats in front of me, informing me from the get-go that the two-hour and 45-minute flight would not be a pleasant one. 

Spirit is obviously not at fault for the annoying children on board the plane, but it did put a damper on my overall experience. Despite the fact that I had my AirPods in with my music on full volume, I still could hear the screams and cries of the kids around me. The children in the seat in front of my sister, niece, and me were banging their heads against the seat for the majority of the flight, causing anything we had on the tray tables to get knocked over immediately. 

The seats were also rather uncomfortable, and I could not find an agreeable position to sit in; because of this, I had to shift around in my seat for the majority of the flight. Aside from what is mentioned above and some mild turbulence, the flight to and from Florida was relatively uneventful. 

Had the flight been full price, my mom would never have purchased the tickets, and I would not have been able to go on vacation. Personally, I would rather sacrifice my personal comfort for a few hours and go to sunny Florida—where temperatures were up to 83 degrees—than be stuck in Michigan—where the temperature was at around 10 degrees at the time. 

I didn’t miss the free snacks and beverages because my mom packed us breakfast muffins and nuts. I was also content to sip water instead of soda, decreasing my sugar intake for the day. 

If you are looking for a luxury and relaxing flight, I would not recommend Spirit Airlines; however, if you are okay with not having access to the free amenities that are usually offered and are looking for a cheap flight that will get you to your destination, Spirit Airlines may be the way to go.