I used Spirit once (Guatemala to Miami I think) and it was fine, but I’m generally easy to please. I pack light so didn’t get dinged with any extra charges and IIRC there was slightly less leg space, but it was fine for a 2-3 hour flight (I’m 5’11", so YMMV if taller). I’d use it again.
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Just do Spirit, it’s not that bad.
I fly it or Frontier a couple times a year when the value and timing is right. Just make sure you adhere strictly to their carryon and checked baggage rules (a 2-day trip to LA should fit in a small carryon just fine).
Yeah I landed on booking the Spirit flight.
Compared to my normal flying which included an 18-month old, flying Spirit Solo is gonna feel like a spa day!
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Flirting with road-tripping from LA to Baja Mexico over the holidays, interested in experiences with such, towns to target, etc. Would like shortest distance from LA as possible and beach-ish. Will have the dogs with us if that matters. I’ve read enough to make me feel like this is not a dangerous thing to do (the trip in general), but please enlighten me if that’s mistaken.
@suzzer99 you probably have some advice to offer.
Fiance (well, GF back then) and I did this over Thanksgiving 2021. In terms of sketchy Mexico stuff I’ve experienced this never passed a 2/10.
We stayed in Rosarito and it was pleasant but not like a Florida beach experience at all–pretty cold and not that pretty. Nicer as a rocky coastline than a beach coastline. Guadalupe has a bunch of wineries but we didn’t poke around too much. Went to a hot spring recommended by a guy at a gas station which ended up being a total fool’s errand to get, miles of driving over horrific roads in a sedan then walking a couple miles into the wilderness without cell reception to get to a muddy hot spring roughly the size of my bathroom. In retrospect it’s kind of amazing she said yes to marrying me after the ridiculous stuff I have put her through.
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I flew Spirit and it wasn’t bad at all. They seemed a lot more professional and buttoned up then most of the major airlines.
Baja is really safe. I’d stay in Ensenada and maybe take some trips into the wine country in the interior. There are beach resorts along the coast around Ensenada, which sounds like what you want rather than a hotel in town.
You could also take a day trip down to La Bufadora (big blowhole) just to see some countryside. San Pedro di Mortir National Park might also be a nice day trip. They have condors and sometimes snow. The beach is going to be super cold btw - just like LA.
If you want to go further down Baja gets really interesting imo. - the craziest cacti and Dr. Seuss boojum trees. Bahia de Los Angeles on the Sea of Cortez is incredible. The beaches further south around Mulege are the best though. But that’s like a day’s drive from Ensenada at least. Just mentioning for others/future.
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I flew Spirit once, no issues.
Spirit feels like the nut low when it comes to how long it takes checked baggage to get to the carousel.
As someone mentioned, your Spirit experience is wholly based on your attitude going in.
Buy the ticket expecting Delta and you are in for a rough ride.
Buy a ticket expecting to participate in Airline Squid Games where your adversary’s sole motivation is to extract maximum value from you and you’ll probably feel fine.
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How does Spirit compare to RyanAir? They sound the same to me.
My experience with ULCCs is that there’s not much of a difference from other airlines for my purposes (I don’t need the in-flight entertainment, I bring snacks and a water bottle when I can remember)…so long as nothing goes wrong. Airlines like Frontier (where I have elite status) and Spirit can be painful if you have a delay, cancellation, or other problem. I only do direct flights on them.
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That’s kind of what I was thinking. Most flights wholly within Europe are pretty short. So RyanAir isn’t a big deal for me. I’d likely feel the same about travelling within the US or (depending on where in America I am) trips to Mexico/Canada.
If I was old or travelling with kids, I can imagine ULCCs sucking balls. But the last time I flew domestically within America, JetBlue was pretty kickass for a ULCC.
EDIT: JetBlue not ULCC. Technically, LCC. Whatevs.
Frontier has some sort of kids fly free deal on some days, so if dates and routes fit your needs, it can be good for travelers on a budget.
Oh geez that has to suck for people on those flights without kids. Just a choir of crying babies.
Thank God for noise-cancelling headphones.
My only Spirit flight, 10-12 years ago, their website glitched when I was selecting seats and let me pick the big front seat for free. So I think they’re great!
Friendly reminder to always check southwest for domestic.
Southwest is ridiculously expensive every time I check, and you still don’t get to pick your seats.
I just flew round trip Burbank-Phoenix on Southwest for $150 all in. Fri-Tues.
Seat assignments weren’t important to me. Also, they let me check 2 bags for free!
I just took Spirit round trip to Vegas for $102 a month ago.
The 100$ bag fee was absurd but they were so disorganized leaving Albuquerque, they didn’t even remember to charge me. Leaving LV was awful and the Spirit area there was wildly confusing and busy.
It’s the Greyhound in the sky. I’d do it again, especially packing lighter in the Summer.