This letter came out to customers of Spirit Airlines .. and let me tell you… this made me laugh like no tomorrow. Not only does Spirit Airlines think that we are jackasses willing to be raped for the illusion of low fees, but they go out and hire some obviously second tier, shitty consulting firm to construct their message.

We have all seen how carry-on baggage has gotten out of control. Longer security lines and boarding process, injuries due to overcrowded overhead bins, delayed flights and passenger frustration has become commonplace. (Seriously, there is a Surgeon General’s warning on the dangers of carry-on baggage, like radiation, second hand smoke and ricin. I cannot tell you all the times when I was on an airplane, that random carry-on baggage just flew out of the overhead bins and attacked me mercilessly. I once had a bottle of Scotch fly right out of someone’s bag, head straight over to the cockpit and attempted to fly the plane back to Scotland … it was a single malt – it knew what it was doing.

Carry-on baggage really slows down security lines … never mind the ridiculous policies and incompetent airport staff, but let’s add carry-on baggage to the mix)

At Spirit, we are always looking for new ways to save you money and improve the customer experience. We recently announced our latest innovation, which is designed to relieve the carry-on crisis, saving you time and money. (I didn’t even know that there was a carry-on crisis. Katrina, Haiti, Rwanda … hell the absence of a Double Down from Canada is a fucking crisis … so of course with a manufactured “crisis”, the innovation is that we will now attempt to make you pay for something that is a basic right on an airplane much like Ryanair’s plan to charge you to use the bathrooom – at least with Ryanair’s toilet charge, you won’t be experience a decrease in comfort or sanitation, since a Ryanair flight is akin to a Guatemalan chicken bus, except that the the Guatemalans won’t like to your face about it)

Our solution to the carry-on crisis:

  1. Lowered fares – reduced the fare by $10-$12 or some arbitrary number that will only be available on 4.53 seats on any given flight. Sucks to be you, if you don’t book within 3 mins of the flight being scheduled. Tough!
  2. Lower checked bag fees – lowered the checked bag fees from $40 to $30 or some other insane number anyway
  3. Give everyone a free personal item allowance - you may carry-on your own toilet paper and toothbrush, provided that you can stick them in your ass
  4. Allow customers to carry on an additional bag for a fee and give them priority boarding so they have time and space to stow their extra bag - thanks for allowing me to carry-on a bag and charging me an inflated price for my laptop bag – but we’ll let you rush on to the cramped plane to sit next to someone who needs two seat extenders. I really needed all of the 4 minutes to stow away that massive document bag that I had. Thanks Spirit … you’re the best, since I obviously have to be a bit slow to have a carry on.

Everyone Wins!

  1. We expect total prices to be lower - by total price, we mean the price that we charge you excluding the taxes, airlines fees, fuel surcharges, customer service charge, peanut charge, drinks fee. Those fees are out of our control, even though we do choose the airport that we fly out of, which corresponds to the fee structure – but don’t analyze anything, accept our word that we are the cheapest … promise!
  2. Security lines will move faster - exactly … since Spirit is the only airline in the world and no one else will have carry-on baggage in the security lines. Spirit will also change the staff, revise the boarding procedures and negotiate with terrorists on your behalf, to ensure that only non Spirit Airlines will face terror attacks.
  3. The boarding process will be smoother - see point #2
  4. Deplaning will be faster - since there will be no renegade carry-on bags to stem the flow of traffic of the plane … because the 90 seconds you saved deplaning will be added to all the time you saved while waiting 15-20 minutes at the baggage carousel to start running. Oh wait … what do you mean that I have to wait for baggage to get from the plane to the carousel …
  5. Passenger and employee safety is improved with less over-stuffed bins - see renegade carry-on baggage claims above.

What to expect for travel after August 1st:

  1. We have introduced PENNY PLUS™ fares available to our $9 Fare Club members** that are 1¢ each way plus fuel, taxes and fees*. If you are not already a member, click here to join. (Pay $35 for the privilege of looking at a $9 fare that is only applicable if you’re going to fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday to a most undesirable location … and of course, you better not return on a Sunday night …)
  2. We have lowered checked bag fees for $9 Fare Club members. A family of four checking four bags round-trip will save $80. Double the cost of being a $9 Fare Club member. Another reason to join now. Click here to join. (Oh we didn’t tell you that checking in 4 bags will cost you $160 to start, although if you didn’t pay the $35 fee, we would have charged $240, so we are indeed saving you money. That’s like a 400lb woman is light compared to an elephant – in the end, they’re both fucking heavy)
  3. You can bring a FREE personal item onboard, such as a purse, briefcase, backpack or laptop computer. Other exceptions are: assistive devices, medicine, umbrella, outer garments (coats, hats, wraps), camera, car seat/stroller, infant diaper bag, reading material for the flight, or food for immediate consumption. God forbid you have food and a laptop – then we have to charge you .. obviously “carry-on baggage” will also be defined to include excess body fat? Since someone weighing 180lbs be charged to carry on a 20-lb bag, when someone weighing 300lbs is going to be charged for a 120 lbs excess luggage charge.How about this Spirit Airlines .. why not weigh me at check-in and then offer me a price to fly? Wouldn’t that be awesome, efficient and make more money for you. Obviously, then you would change your routes to only to service cities with lower Asian and Indian populations to maximise your profit.
  4. If you choose to bring an extra carry-on bag, you may do so for $20 if purchased online as a $9 Fare Club member or $30 online, at the airport ticket counter or kiosk for non-members. If you choose to wait until the gate to pay, the fee will be $45 which is not preferred since it will slow the boarding process. So the idea is that if you decided that at the last minute that you needed extra food, medication or tampons, then you’re going to pay an extra $25 for that decision. That makes sense! Thanks Spirit Airlines!”Oh, you want to wear clothes at your destination? That will be another 90 dollars.”  
  5. Shorter, faster security and boarding lines. Less frustration while boarding and deplaning. Fewer delays. (See above points about faster security, renegade carry-on luggage and delays)
  6. Happier customers that pay less! <insert vomit>

See you onboard soon! We’ll keep working to improve your experience and lower your fare.

Ben Baldanza
President and Chief Executive Officer
Spirit Airlines

Hey Ben … ummmm … fuck you and your airline.

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rishiray

Rishi Sankar is a PeopleSoft HRMS Project Manager and Oracle Solution Architect. Over the past 10+ years, he has managed to combine his overwhelming wanderlust with a desire to stay employed, resulting in continuing stints with 2 major consulting firms. He documents his adventures around the world on "Ah Trini Travelogue" with pictures and stories from the road/tuk-tuk/camel/rickshaw. You can follow him on Twitter at @Rishiray and on Facebook. He doesn't like Chicken Curry but loves Curry Chicken and is always trying to find the perfect Trinidadian roti on the road. He also doesn't like cheese and kittens ... and definitely not together. E-mail from his blog is appreciated like a 35 yr old Balvenie at rishi@rishiray.com
  • kay sankar

    hey, what brought that on…u real real vocal..

  • Jim Bast

    DO NOT FLY SPIRIT AIRLINES!!!!!
    Here is my letter to the shittiest airline in the world. –
    Words can’t tell you how unhappy I am with Spirit Airlines right now. I have a lengthy complaint and story to tell you and I should not have to compose a long letter and submit it through your website in order to get this resolved. Due to the fact that you do not provide a customer service number and your agents at the ticket counters keep passing the buck, I have no other choice. Here is the first experience I have ever had as a customer with your company.
    On Monday March 29th I departed on flight 372 to Detroit where I was due to connect with flight 711 to Las Vegas where I was heading for a wedding. Upon arrival in Detroit, a Spirit Airlines representative announced that the Las Vegas flight had been oversold and that Spirit was willing to offer 2 free round-trip tickets to anyone willing to give up their seat and fly on a later flight, also Spirit would have us stay at a nearby hotel for the night. This sounded like attractive idea to me so I asked the Spirit representative if there was a flight in the morning. The representative told me I could be on a flight to Las Vegas around 7:00 A.M. the next morning. I informed him that I NEED to be in Vegas in the morning in order to be ready for a wedding that starts at 4:00. He said no problem. I asked again, to confirm that we were clear. He confirmed that he would get me on a flight first thing in the morning. OK, so I ask, what about my luggage? Your rep said it would be secure and waiting for me in the Las Vegas airport at the Spirit baggage service room and that I could just pick it up when I arrive at the airport. Wonderful! I’m in.

    The rep takes my info and gets me on a shuttle to the airport hotel where I later find that he has put me on a U.S. Airways flight at 7:05 am. Awesome! Great! Wait a minute. What? The flight he just put me on will take me from Detroit all the way east to Pennsylvania where I will lay-over for three hours before heading to Las Vegas and arriving around 2pm. That’s just less than 12 hours of travel time when you include getting to the airport to check in and get through TSA checks. That is not exactly what I had in mind when we talked about an early morning flight to get me out to Vegas with enough time to make the wedding. OK, very crappy, but in the end I’ll just be very very rushed to make it to the wedding.
    I make it to the airport in Detroit early, board my flight etc. 12 hours later I arrive in Vegas. Worn out and tired from my LONG voyage. I walk down to the baggage area and locate my bags. The only problem is that they are LOCKED IN YOUR BAGGAGE STORAGE AREA! And guess what’s better than that? Someone from another airline that shares the baggage service room with Spirit said you don’t have Spirit Airlines representatives at the airport until 7 or 7:30 pm! I walk all over the airport looking for a rep from your company. NO ONE. Not at the ticket counter not at the baggage office. NO ONE, anywhere. I am now getting very angry so I call the Spirit reservations line and get someone that knows nothing and can’t give me a number to customer service because that doesn’t exist. I finally found a corporate number 954-447-7965 at your empty ticketing counter. Ya, that number is useless as well. Why even have a number by the way.

    So here I am, in the Las Vegas Airport, wearing the same clothes I’ve had on for two days, with about an hour till the wedding and everything I have, my suit that I had just paid to have pressed for the wedding, my toiletries, everything, is locked in your luggage room. So, infuriated, I took a cab to the MGM, checked in and had to spend $ 192.42 in their outrageously overpriced lobby store on a pair of khaki pants and button down shirt, that while they were expensive, were definitely NOT dress clothes. I barely made it to the wedding on time, frazzled, irritated, very angry and way under-dressed. After the service, on the way to the reception, I called the hotel and asked them to try to get in touch with your company to get my bags. They were unable to reach anyone with your company. I called reservations again and they told me they knew nothing but suggested I go back to the airport to get my bags. I ended up having to leave the reception dinner early to go get my bags or risk not having any clothes for another entire day. It cost another $40 in cab fare to take me to the airport and back just to get my bags.
    I am very very very angry with your company. What are you prepared to do to remedy this situation?

  • http://www.abandonthecube.com Lauren

    Yet another reason why I don’t fly………..seems like airlines just DONT care.

  • Rishi

    Well Lauren,
    This is just another reason not to fly with spirit!
    I still have to fly for work every monday and thursday morning … but definitely not with Spirit :)
    Rish

  • Loc

    With spirits strike 16 out of the 32 people my not make it to my wedding. Fuck spirit

  • Fly Smart

    ahhhhhhhhh….hold on a second…I didnt even get passed the first couple of sentences and the word “wedding” came to light. Sorry guy, but if you are going to a wedding I would think that you would have flown a real airline. Like anything in life, you get what you pay for!! That cheap ass fare got you cheap ass service….I don’t go to Outback Steak House for a good steak!!…..So that was you’re mistake!!..

    ….oh snap, it’s gets better…..then you decide to gamble your seat away for some free flights later….REALLY? You deserve that LONG flight for being a dumbass!! It’s obvious you cared less about this wedding and more about yourself…I guess you told your wedding buddies it was all the airlines fault…..just because a deal sounds good, doesnt mean it’s a good deal.

    And if you are asking, I don’t work for Spirit….but when I travel to important events, I pay the extra amount and fly real airlines with better service.

  • Bill

    im with you completely
    worst fucking airline i have ever encountered. jesus i cant fucking stand that
    i have to pay $60 to bring my CARRY on back from the bahamas
    fuck the CEO too his fat nerdy ass is trying to increase his paycheck by charging more for everything involving their service
    whats next, a charge to use the bathroom or recline your seat?
    there are places where corners can be cut and money can be saved but this is ridiculous
    the letter issued by that faggot is actually insulting especially the capitalization of the word FREE involving the purses, laptops etc.
    fuck spirit.

  • Rishi

    completely agree :)
    they are just absolutely terrible

  • LETS DO IT!!!

    Jim Bast
    You probably got the tickets dirt cheap and on top of that you wanted to get 2 more free tickets. You were just being a greedy asshole.. In this case you got what you paid for…You made the volountary choice to give up your seats DOUCHEBAG..and you expect an agent to have known all that info from another city’s airport…but spirit is still a shitty airline but it’s priced accordingly so shut the fuck up and stop complaining.

   
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