Ouch! Spirit vouchers are just about worthless
DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER:
We recently took our two young boys on their first plane trip to Colorado for my 40th birthday with Spirit Airlines. Our overall experience with the airline went well. The planes were on time, not too terribly uncomfortable, and staff were pleasant.
However, on our return flight home, the plane from Denver to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was full. When we checked in, the ticket agent asked us if we would be willing to give up our seats and take the next flight. As an incentive, the airline offered us a flight out the next day, a hotel for the night, a $28 voucher for dinner at the airport and the most exciting incentive: a free flight for all of us, anywhere that Spirit flies, as long as we book the flight within 60 days. We accepted with no hesitation.
Now we have contacted the airline on at least six occasions by telephone and even gone to the airport to try to utilize our vouchers. The most recent attempt, I was on the phone with an agent for two hours trying to book a date and a destination. Every date and destination that was worth a trip, given the children’s school schedules, was blacked out. We tried everything. The only opportunity was a short trip to Boston for the weekend, and when I went to book it, the taxes were over $600. I was so upset and felt completely duped by these supposed “free” tickets.
I wrote a letter to Spirit explaining our situation, and the airline responded with new vouchers with an extension on the booking date. Excited and hopeful, I once again attempted to plan a trip and was met with the same limitations and frustrations as before. I don’t feel that the airline should have told us that we would have free tickets anywhere it flies and then not honor them. — Jill King-Fernandez, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
ANSWER: Spirit should have warned you that seats were subject to availability, that you would have to pay taxes on the fare and that the vouchers expired in two months. By your account, the airline cautioned you only on the last item. Most airline vouchers last a full year, not two months, which means Spirit’s vouchers might be difficult to use. That’s something you should have considered before accepting the offer.
Let’s talk about overbooking for a second — also not a Spirit-specific problem. Virtually every airline sells more seats than it has available, expecting that some passengers won’t show up. But when everyone does, airlines have to start asking for volunteers. Here’s a tip: Don’t take the first offer. Under federal law, if you’re
entitled to cash and a seat on the next available flight. And that cash can easily be turned into an airline ticket. (By the way, Spirit should never use the word ‘’free” to describe the vouchers you received. If you have to pay money to use it, then it isn’t free.)
After you contacted Spirit, it agreed to issue less-restrictive vouchers — a reasonable response from the airline. Even then, you say you couldn’t find an available flight. That’s when you turned to me.
I think a brief, polite email to an executive at Spirit might have helped fix this. I list their names, numbers and emails on my consumer-advocacy site: elliott.org/company-contacts/spirit-airlines/. I contacted Spirit on your behalf, and it worked with you to find an available flight for your family.