Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Written by Joe Lara


Spirit Airlines, the United States based low cost airliner, has officially made its way into the Peruvian aviation market by offering daily non-stop service between Lima, Peru and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  For frequent travelers between these two cities, Spirit's low cost travel fare provides an attractive alternative to seemingly increasing prices offered by other airlines such as American, Delta, and Chile's LAN.  Despite very attractive prices, I personally found Spirit's service to be lacking, err, spirit.

Having previously flown other  low-cost carriers such as the U.S.'s Southwest Airlines, I realistically expected some types of sacrifices in the areas of comfort and service.  Understand that a 'low cost carrier' is essentially a 'no frills airliner' where traditional services and comforts are eliminated in order to keep ticket prices low.  Everything from the drinks, snacks and baggage (yes baggage!) is not included when you purchase your ticket with Spirit.  There were no television monitors, pillows, or blankets… No problem!  The problem I encountered with my experience had nothing to do with comfort but rather with customer service.

I flew on Spirit's inaugural flight from Lima's Jorge Chavez Airport to South Florida's Fort Lauderdale International Airport on June 27th.  Talking with some of the passengers, I found that quite a few had purchased their tickets for the ridiculously low price of US$0.88!  Unfortunately, I paid quite a bit more than that though my fare was still a great bargain compared to other carriers servicing Lima and Miami.

Once seated on the plane, the first major problem surfaced: None of the flight attendants spoke Spanish.  It was a surprise since they have a Spanish website and their counter personnel at the Lima airport were bilingual.  Now I understand that this is a United States based company, but when a company expands into a foreign country it is assumed that their employees will speak that country's language.  I am pretty sure that flight attendants on an Indian based airliner providing service to the United States will speak English.  Much of my time on the flight was spent helping those seated near me who were not able to read or communicate in English.  I personally did not have a problem helping out my fellow passengers, but what would have happened had I (or any other bilingual person) not been there to assist them? 

http://filer.livinginperu.com/news/img/spirit.jpg566385

Spirit Airlines Route Map

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The second problem dealt with purchasing snacks and beverages.  Each non-alcoholic beverage was sold at US$1.00.  Not bad, but nowhere on the ticket, receipt of purchase, or preflight information given by Spirit after purchasing my ticket did it say that drinks and snacks could only be purchased by credit card.  This was a problem for many who had planned on snaking on something during the 5+ hour flight into Florida.  If you do some digging around on Spirit's website, you will be able to find their credit card only policy but it is not easy to find (this coming from someone whose livelihood is the internet).

After more than 5 and ½ hours we finally landed in Fort Lauderdale.  A loud round of applause broke to celebrate Spirit's first official flight from Lima to Florida (though I believe it was because we were close to getting out of those uncomfortable seats).  As the plane taxied into its designated gate we were informed by a flight attendant over the loudspeaker: "Ladies and gentlemen U.S. Customs authorities are apparently not ready to receive passengers from this flight at the moment.  We ask you to remain seated until agents enter the plane and take down your information."

After nearly 45 minutes of waiting on the plane, 5 Spirit Airlines administrative agents (what happened to the Customs agents?) entered the plane and began taking our passports one by one to fill out passenger information sheets needed by U.S. authorities.  According to the Spirit agents, U.S. Customs needed and demanded the information immediately.  After finally getting off the plane and enduring another 45 minute while trying to go through Customs I talked to one of the Customs agents about the situation.  The officer indicated that Spirit Airlines had failed to inform and provide U.S. Customs at the Fort Lauderdale airport with mandatory passenger information ahead of time.  He further informed that airlines are required to provide passenger information before a plane leaves its departing city.  And because Spirit failed to do this, all of the passengers, regardless of their nationality, had to wait to be called individually by a Customs officer in order to be processed as a U.S. Citizen or as a non-U.S. visitor.

To add to my woes I missed my connecting flight (on another airline) by more than one hour.  After talking to other passengers on the flight, more than half also missed their connecting flights –some with Spirit, others on different airlines.  Spirit did not apologize nor did they offer to provide solutions to problems that were caused by THEIR incompetence and unprofessionalism.
 
Luckily for me, the people over at Delta (my connecting flight to Los Angeles) were very understanding and reserved a seat for me on the next day's flight to Los Angeles at no additional charge.  I returned to the Spirit counter, and after battling with inept customer service representatives and going up the Spirit chain of command, a kind manager agreed that Spirit should foot the bill for my hotel room that night (the Hilton).  Unfortunately, people like the kind manager are not common at Spirit (at least through my experience).  I personally will never fly with Spirit Airlines again and I would not recommend flying on Spirit to anyone even if you come across an US$0.88 ticket.

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I will fly Spirit again. And you will find a new company will have such problems ...I wonder what is happening today after Spirit has ironed out some of the problems you spoke of. Hmmm I will find out this week as I am booked to Lima.

cuidate,

Roberto

Spirit is not a new company...15+years in business..they still dont know how to get it right. But hey,.88 cents what do you expect..on time service? free soda? NOT!!

I fly Spirit all the time to Latin America.  Their prices can't be beat but the service is absolutely horribe. There is always some kind of mishap whenever I go with them.  And you hit on a very good point.  Spirit does not require their flight attendants to be bilingual. (though a few of them are). No announcements and no safety demonstration is given in Spanish because the flight attendants can't speak Spanish! The ground crew are Spanish speaking but they are not  really employees of Spirit Airlines. For their destinations outside the USA they contract with a local company to provide ground service.

Spirit Airlines, like all other airlines, is required to electronically submit a passenger manifest to US Customs  showing names, date of birth, nationality, and passport number, 30 minutes before departure for all flights going to and leaving the USA. I can't believe that they didn't do this.  They've been flying internationally for several years now. They probably got a huge fine for that.

Despite being in commercial service for 15 years now,(before that they were a charter ailine) you still always get the feeling you are dealing with some fly-by-night company when you fly with these people.

Actually 16 and as far international is a young company ...they started thier first route non-domestic to San Juan, Puerto Rico Novemeber 2001.

All I am saying Mr SUCKS is that (especially first flight LIM - FLL) you can expect such problems . I have flown the LIM- to U.S. route many times this past 2 years. Even on AA flights I have seen the same problems(having helped many passengers speaking spanish only translation  english ) fill out their custom cards etc. Along with Delta and Lan-Peru.

 And their equipment is the youngest fleet in the Americas. Airbus A319 and A321's. And  the price is very competitve......for all consumers. Sometimes you pay twice as much and get the same problems.....not all but similar problems and pay out the culu lol.

I'll take the $$$ savings and see how it goes . GL Mr. SUCKS

Dear Joey,
Thank you for sharing, I think you have a valid complaint. For your own protection and to prevent future incidents to anyone I believe you must redirect your complaints to: http://www.faa.gov
Did you know that rule 240 applies to delays that are the airlines fault?
Ray
P.S. How much did you pay for your ticket? Looking at the website I could not find anythig cheap.

In my travels back and forth from Peru, I have found often that the attendants do not speak spanish - and that is both going to and coming from.  Seems to be about 50/50 as to whether anyone does.  I help people near me who do not speak english.

Spirits prices do not seem better than anyone elses.  I did a few trips cost comparisons for August and on, and Continental beat them every time.

Joe, ,hi. I just got done talking to Millie over at LIP.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE  give me a call.
My name is Stephen Danaher. I've been flying Lan for over 25-27 yrs now but cant take 01.34am flights anymore. I'm 59
My daughter Claudia is coming down on Spirit w/ her novio Aug 8th, and I really want to talk to you about your experience
Mine w/Lan is over. Since I live half the time in Boca Raton Florida obviously Ft Lauderdale is a lot closer for all of us. Plus, it's only 5.5 hrs. So please get in touch. How bad is Taca or Lacsa!!!
Thank you
Sincerely,
Stephen Danaher
So please call me at home, Lima 250-1174 or cell Lima 90702055

I say welcome Spirit Airlines!  Thankfully we have an alternative to the outrageous pricing that I have had to pay with LAN, AA, Continental etc.. I'm sure they will iron out the kinks in the service and any time I see greater competition I know it will be good for prices and encourage more people to travel for tourism and to do business in Peru.  Go Spirit go, now if only Jetblue would come down here...

I just wish the monopoly Telefonica has on Cable/Internet/Telephone would be broken, it's choking innovation in Peru do to the high prices and relatively low speeds/performance they offer for internet. 

The problem with the passenger's manifest was from Lima...seems like the crew in Lima were not trained enough...Spirit got a big fine for sure...Spirit airlines will give hotel and food if was Spirit's fault but if it's weather or airport related, most probably that they will not compensate. Regarding no one speaking english in the aircraft, I believe they are soon going to put a flight coordinator who speaks spanish and assist the spanish speakers in the flight.
The best of all is that nobody can beat those loooooow fares...as long as they take us from one place to the other safe is fine with me. Spitit has new aircrafts  319's and 321..are big and new planes. I do not mind paying $5 for each bag on line if the fare I bought cost me less than $200. Other airlines charge for ALL that and we end up paying a minimum of $600 for each person. I do not mind paying a dollar for a soda or a snack either..if you don't want to pay..."bring your own!!!!!"...I think we should give credit to this airline.... I believe some airlines in the US are going to start charging per bag as well....In Europe Ryan airline is the biggest airline in terms of revenue. They have 1euro flights also similar to Spirit..that is were Spirit got the idea from.
I believe Spirit has a bright future and some of the airlines are going to follow. What everybody needs to keep always is customer service...that should never go down at all.
CHEERS!

I just came home from Lima (using Spirit)

Be aware that approx 20-30 people per flight do not get their bags in Lima. I rec'd one bag after approx 5 days and the other the night before I left.

THe staff in Lima know the problem and they told me Spirit doesnt listen to them. The guy in Lima thinks the planes are too small for international. It seems that once they run out of room in the cargo hold they left over bags just dont fit. This happens night after night and I was told that they have to charter another plane to get caught up (dont know if that part is true or not)

Also the 3 hour crazy line in Ft. Lauderdale is nuts. I could put up with that part and the no drinks etc part but not getting your bags is a HUGE problem.
Miami Herald also had a sorty about the airport conditions.

Its still a surprise to most that you have to pay $10 for each bag (the first two) and that you dont get a soda (and must have a credit card)

Spirit's customer service is the worst in any industry. We will see what they do with the receipts I turn in.

I am all for saving money but until Spirit does a 2 bag embargo or priority the first two bags - things are only going to continue to get worse.

The flight back from Lima went OK

TE AMO PERU!!

jim

I just recently returned and recovered from flying Spirit Airlines to Peru. It was my FIRST AND LAST flight with Spirit. I have flown all of the major carriers to Lima in the past few years, and this was by far the worst experience ever. They should change their marketing motto: "Spirit...you don't see it coming!" at least there would be truth in their advertising. This phrase was the consensus of my fellow comiserating travelers. Since we were all treated so incompetently, we shared a bond of misery. Further, if only someone on either of our flights actually got Spirit's low, low, low fares it MAY have compensated for the frustration, but NO ONE we spoke with paid much lower than fares offered by American, LAN or Continental. In fact, when you calculate how much you end up spending on food (the only exception was water in a cup -- absolutely everything else costs money and you better have a credit card handy because they will only except plastic, no cash -- I even witnessed an elderly couple begging for and being refused a cup of coffee for the five and a half hour flight), and the amount you pay for every single piece of luggage, and heaven forbid your luggage is an ounce over 50 lbs becuse you will end up paying hundreds more, and the price/value of your time for the company's sheer incompetence, rudeness, lack-of-concern or professionalism -- I GUARANTEE you will end up paying more than if you book a flight with LAN, or American, or Continental.

And, please, PLEASE don't pay any attention to those folks that commented earlier saying Spirit is operating some of the newest airplanes in their fleet -- they were the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE planes I have ever experienced: with the exception of four "big front seats" (no leg-room, mind you), there are three small seats on either side of the plane, and I think they may have custom-ordered the planes with extra rows of seating because your knees WILL touch the seat in front of you, the seats barely recline but it won't matter because you will not be able to recline without hurting the person behind you, there is no video/movie/music capability, and somehow, they have strategically managed to fill absolutely every seat on every flight. Further, be prepared to pay an impuesto (an additional tax) upon departing which the other airlines (LAN, American, etc.) have now included in their fares (along with food, comfort, politeness, professionalism, movies, music, luggage, blankets, pillows...wow, the list goes on!). All things considered, flying Spirit will end up costing you way MORE than you think.

And don't get me started on inappropriate flight attendants. You will be lucky if any staff person on the flight speaks Spanish. On one leg of our flight, one flight attendant practically yelled at a traveler, "I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH!" and it was clear that no one else on staff did either, nor cared to help or intervene. The flight attendants and counter staff are not pleasant nor well educated to preform their jobs effectively.

This isn't even the case of the cliche "you get what you pay for" because more often than not your base airfare (without all of the additional cost formentioned) is still on par -- NOT cheaper -- than the major airlines that fly to Peru.  Unless Spirit makes major changes, please spare yourself this inevitably tragic experience.

Sorry but that sounds like a bunch of bull that someone from one of the major carriers would use as propoganda.  I just went online and could book a Spirit airlines flight to Lima for the dates I need with bags for $420. Same flight from LAN or AA is currently out of Miami for $1,350.  I'm sure I could search around and find a fare closer to $800 but not much better than that.  Also I've had my bags delayed for a couple days twice so far in trips to Lima, once with LAN and the other time with AA so it is hardly unique to Spirit.  In one case items were missing from my bag when it arrived.

So in summary: if you don't know how to use the internet, read a website, want free coffee, have unlimited money, or want champagne served in 1st class then Spirit isn't for you. If you want to save several hundred dollars then it probably is a decent option. 

Maybe it depends on when you are traveling - the cheapest fare I could find from Florida to Lima (roundtrip) from August to December this year was just over $600.

Not enough of a savings to convince me based on the reviews I read.

And as far as drinks and snacks are concerned, well, I always have a credit card with me.  And I've learned to bring my own snacks to be happiest. :)

As far as the other issues - the luggage stuff bothers me the most.  I know a lot of people have had lost luggage during there travels, but in 20 years of flying, I have not had my luggage lost even for a short time (knock on wood).

Dear Mr. Lara,

 

I believe you have an unrealistic point of view regarding Spirit Airlines that I would like to point out, more specifically: “None of the flight attendants spoke Spanish.  It was a surprise since they have a Spanish website and their counter personnel at the Lima airport were bilingual.  Now I understand that this is a United States based company, but when a company expands into a foreign country it is assumed that their employees will speak that country's language.” Wrong assumption.

 

Flight attendants are almost always speak only the language of the country of registry and English only as the universal language. I have a couple examples which I can share with you. Air France when flies to Turkey and Iran (both countries which I have flown with Air France), flight attendants only spoke French and English. However, ground crew at the counter spoke Turkish and Farsi, respectively, in addition to English. The same goes with Lufthansa which I have first hand experience flying with, their flight attendants spoke only German and English even though they flow to Tehran, Iran. However, their ground crew at the counter spoke Farsi and English.

 

So, for you to think the lack of Spanish speaking flight crew was something that you have to take against Spirit Airlines is absolutely unjustified.

the flight crew still doesnt speak Spanish and the part where this would really create a problem is in an emergency

imagine all the spanish speaking passengers trying to get off the plane in a water emergency and not knowing how to use the equip etc
and no one to instruct them in spanish

if you have'nt flown Spirit then go ahead and give it a shot - why you are so smart right?


jim

FYI: Rule 240 does not apply to Spirit airlines.

the way i see it ? 1 round trip ten scotch on the rocks and walah! 400$ left over to spend in lima! but hey i havent flown yet and i will take this objectively with fingers crossed!

good luck. this was the WORST flight/airline to/from Lima I've ever experienced...never again...never again...never again!!

Well my dad just flew on the 24 on july, and he didnt get his bags. Poor dad he didnt have a sweater because it was on the bag, hoppefuly he didnt catch the flu. i bougth my ticket for the 1st of august at $88 each way, i guess ill just try to fit whatever i can on my hand bag and buy clothes in lima. Wish me luck.

I got my tickets for 8/29/07, for what i see there are some complaints. I guess I will travel only with one handbag this time or be one of the first ones to check in my luggage-it seems that is a first come first serve basis. In any case, I rather fly from FLL than hectic Miami. I hope all these comments have been forwarded to spirit airlines. I tried to see if we could email them and there was not such option. It looks like for any complain we need to call them instead. Oh well- for 8 dollars that my ticket cost how can I complain?

My trip isn't until September 20th, and then, it is only for a week. I am planning on doing carry-on only. Even that takes some extra planning as to not hassle or get hassled by the TSA. I don't mind paying extra to check luggage, but I am not keen on paying so that the luggage will be lost!

Eduardo, Joe, Fernando:

PLEASE let us know after your trip how things went.  I'm planning a trip early next year and I'm debating if I should take Spirit/Lan/AA .  So far, I'm leaning toward NOT taking Spirit.  I'm in NY and even though I would have to pay more to fly NY-LIM non-stop using LAN, I think it might be worth it.

The lack of Spanish speaking flight attendants and the drinks issue does not bother me as much as the lost luggage would and no customer service  would.

Any way, would love to hear your opinions!

Will do!

Spirit lost my luggage somewhere between Washington DC, Fort Lauderdale, and Grand Cayman on July 23rd 2007. I've been calling every day, and still haven't heard anything back from Spirit.
Any money saved was lost in long distance phone charges and the value of my lost luggage. It took a solid week of calling before I even spoke to a person at Spirit, who was adamant they could not help me.
I'd take carry on luggage only if I ever flew with them again. I doubt I ever will though.
The planes are new, but they're airbusses and have a really weird feeling in the air. Plus they are uncomfortable.

They're called Spirit Air, because only spirits work there, no living beings!

It is still an ongoing bad experience,  worse than I could ever have imagined. 12 days and still trying to get my baggage!

Okay we had several people fly on this horrible airline and here is all that occurred.
1. two of the folks had their flight cancelled the day they flew (Sat.) and were told they either left in 3 hours or waited until Tuesday and missed their trip to Machu Picchu. 

2. We arrived and had no luggage - called everyday and everyday told it arrived - made long trips to the airport (had a driver check) and bags NEVER arrived.  We had about 40 people on our flight who did not get bags and they will not deliver them. We also met several people in the airport who were there to pick their bags up that arrived from 7-10 days ago.

3. Day we were leaving told it arrived got there early and it did not.

4. On the way home none of us could make the connecting flight with the fares they sold use just over $500 each so not free.  They told us we would be fine and then when we landed there was not enough time to check our bags after going to customs because the lines were over 3 hours long.  I group that flew in on Thursday got home instead of at 8 am at 6 pm.  The second group who arrived on Sunday were told they could not get home until Tuesday so they had to drive home.

Now the missing bag has required 22 phone calls, a form was finally sent on 7/19.  A claim was made with the Better Business Bureau on 7/20 but of course no one has called as no one cares.

I fly about 25,000-50,000 miles a year depending on the year for the past 15 years.  The entire flight was a nightmare and my family will never fly again (oh by the way they actually charged us $10 for the bag that never arrived and will not refund that amount).

Spirit has no business being in business.


On a happy note we stayed the Hotel Delfines which we absolutely loved and enjoyed every minute of our time in Peru that did not involve dealing with this airline.

Hi everybody....If you do not want to have headaches with Spirit..then check out my website for travel using other carriers:

www.celestialvacations.net (for booking)
www.celestialvacations.net (for marketing)

You can book travel, hotels, cruises, tours, rent cars, golf, purchase flowers, honeymoon registry, tickets for Vegas shows, you name it it's there!!. We have the same hotels, cruises, and planes with affordable prices. Compare us with Travelocity or Expedia.
Also, don't forget to sign up for the weekly deals.
Have fun booking your vacations with us. Any comments please drop me an email.
Thanks.

I am counting the days, don't worry that I WILL post my comments here. Although I am paying 10 dollars for the extra luggage, I am not carrying valuable stuff on them, I would worry on my way back because I am sure I will buy artisan stuff and souvenirs for work. I just wanted to ask the people that lost their luggage if they got there 3 hours before the flight (as recommended) and if they paid the insurance that Spirit offers (which I am really tempted to get after reading some comments). I hope some Spirit Airlines workers are reading this, and most important changes are being made since they just started flying to Lima since June... We shall see.

I've never had problems with LanPeru or American Airlines (I prefer the last one) and I think LAN is charging only 400 (with taxes) to travel to Lima these days, I read it on www.elcomercio.com.pe
Oh well, everybody WISH ME LUCK!!! if everything goes well I will continue traveling on Spirit because the "driving" to Miami could be even worse than the 5 hour trip to Lima ...

well thats what happens when u fly cheap!

I have to concur with you Martha. Nevertheless I have to say that I am also tired that because there is not much competition to travel to Peru, Lan and AA do whatever they want with the prices. I travel at least twice a year to Peru along with friends, and let me tell you traveling from Miami Airport is an experience on its own. Trust me, if AA or Lan would offer tickets from Fort Lauderdale I wouldn't mind pay more. It seems to me that the major problem so far is the luggage... and if there is a problem on my upcoming trip I will just take my carry-on next time and problem solved.

Thanks for all of the comments, both against and in favor of Spirit.  I can only offer insight on my experience and just hope that Spirit learns from its mistakes.  However, as I monitored the comments over the past month or so, it seems like they haven't done much to change.  If you do decide to fly with Spirit, please take the necessary precautions.  I personally saw how inept customer service agents turned their backs on people in need.  And let's get one thing straight folks, if your customer needs help - you help them.  Regardless of the price they may or may have not paid for their tickets. 

 Hi guys, i'm glad that we have such a airline as Spirit! Let me ask you guys, if you can afford to fly with other airlines and pay more, why you don't? You can believe me that you will have the same problems with almost all of them!
 I'm very glad for your population that couldn't fly befor with other airline because of an expensive fares, but now they CAN! So please don't fly with Spirit, if you can afford to purchase ticket from other ailrines! Leave the seat for  people who can't  fly with  other airlines.
  Go Spirit , and thank you for  your fares! And thank you gays in advance!

I WONDER IF THE SAME INCOMPETENT SERVICE GOES INTO MAINTAINING THEIR PLANES.   I dont care if their flights are .10 cents
I will not tolerate this type of service or attitude from ANY CARRIER!
I refuse to fly Contental for the same reasons and I am from Houston.
The Carriers from U.S. seem to have forgotten the meaning of service as most big business in the U.S.   Maybe its rubbed off from the current administration.

All the time I fly Continental even tough if the price is higher but I fly better and more comfortable, but one day I will fly Spirit as long it takes me to somewhere I would fly.
just remember YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY!

The price is not the only factor.

Jet Blue & Southwest Airlines (both discount airlines) are loved  by their loyal customers, while US Air & Northwest Airlines (both full fare airlines) are universally hated. 

All good points here, but I think the comments were targeted to the new flights departing from FLL to Lima. I am counting the days, two more weeks and I will let you guys know.

FOLKS , SPIRIT SUCKS BIGGER THAN BIG TIME, THEY ARE HORRIBLE
MY DAUGHTER CAME DOWN LAST FRIDQAY NO LUGGAGE FOR HER
EVERYDAY NOW FOR 6 DAYS THEY KEEP LYING. MY POOR DAUGHTER AND B-FRIEND WENT TO CUZCO ON MONDAY WITH ONLY HIS SUITCASE
THEY SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO FLY TO PERU
YOU´D HAVE TO BE INSANE TO FLY THESE CRETINS
MIKE

Hey Big Whiners...

Don't fly Spirit...you get what you pay for. Leave room for people like us who can't afford the legacy carriers.
You should hear what the Pilots and Flight Crew have to say about you! Wearing sweatpants and jeans on a flight...chewing your gum like a cow out loud...putting your dirty shoes on the cloth seats, spraying lord knows what all over the bathrooms...no manners! Gone are the days people dressed nicely to fly....
Now you get people expecting meals for a a fare under $200. Spirit is no more than a Public Bus...it's what the public has demanded. And hey...you fly an American plane, you'll get all English....it's the language of the civilized traveling community. Try flying Continental to Italy...listen to what language that flight crew speaks!

I flew to Lima from Ft. Lauderdale almost a month ago, my suitcases arrived 3 days later. The employees in Lima tried to be as helpful as possible (imagine having to face each night 30 or more angry passengers that have just found out their suitcases have not arrived). They definitely need more people working the counter at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, it was a total nightmare...I arrived at the airport 3 1/2 hours before my flight...I waited almost 3 hours to get checked in.
On a more positive note, I had no problems on my flight from Lima to Ft. Lauderdale.

Well the only reason why we are commenting (I don't think we are whining) is because we want to know what to expect. I agree with you that you get what you pay for. I am just waiting for somebody to post a comment without the luggage being lost.. that would upset me. But as I said before just go with a carry out and problem solved.

On the sad note. MY CONDOLENCES GO TO THE POOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BUT THIS MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE - south of Lima.
I know Lima has not been affected but it is just sad.

This site made me laugh. And yes.. I do agree these is a site to comment so that people can learn from each other. But I must say the whinning over ridiculous things is OUTRAGEOUS! Makes me laugh that people whine over paying $1 US for a soda (oh poor baby had to use your credit card). Or for snacks. :-(
Another thing... Thank God for English speaking crew, we do live in the U.S. and it is a U.S. crew and a U.S. company. So other countries that want to go to the U.S. should learn English! Does that make sense?? HAHA...

Now as for luggage lost... that is something that happens in every airline. And if you look up information for any other airline for complaints you will find the same thing.
So if you want to save anywhere from $200-1000 stop whinning and pay the $1 US for your soda, bring your snacks and be more prepared by bringing your own traveling pillow and sweatshirt. If you tend to get cold in the car when the A/C is on... you bring your sweater, right? Same things applies. PEOPLE... USE COMMON SENSE.

YOU DONT PAY ENOUGH MONEY TO WHINE!!!

If you have extra money... then yes go to another airline and pay $200.00 and plus to get your free soda and free checked baggage.

And the times I've flown Spirit, I have seen both decent and ghetto people that travel. And its' always the ghetto people that are the complainers for paying for a soda... etc.

I have seen on a flight from NY to FLL, pax jumping from seats, to exchange seats... like I said you have both classes.

But in end... Since this is a PERU website. My thoughts are with the victims and with the country. I hope you/they have the strength to survive this catastrophic disaster.

 

Liz, here's some advice... Before you start mocking others, make sure you brush up on your grammar and spelling.   It'll help readers focus on your argument rather than your shortcomings.

This is not intended to be an insult to you, but instead a wake up call.  After all you are the one who wrote "Thank God for English speaking crew, we do live in the U.S. and it is a U.S. crew and a U.S. company."

Well said Alan! Someone needed to bring her back down to Earth.

It is pretty clear now that Spirit has a serious problem with their luggage handling, ground crew(s). A problem that is far greater than any of the other airlines, budget or not. We didn't know about this earlier.

Other budget airlines that operate out of the USA do not charge for beverages, and, if they do, they accept cash. They do not lose luggage, either. There is going to be a learning curve for everyone.

The author (of the story above) wrote about flying on the inaugural flight to Lima. Now we know that the initial kinks have not been worked out, either for the passengers or for Spirit (they are relocating their pilots to FLL).

It is one thing for an airline to keep fares low by eliminating luxuries; we can bring our own pillow, carry on our own luggage and be prepared to buy our beverages with a credit card.

It is an entirely different matter for an airline to not staff their check-in counters sufficiently, to book connections on their own airline that are impossible to make and for luggage to be lost in record numbers.

The only way that Spirit will improve things is if these problems are brought to the public's (and potential customers) attention.

By posting comments here, it ensures that Google's webcrawler will pick it up and this information can be easily found in a search. This may help nudge Spirit into improving their customer relations.

If this sounds like whining, you are free to disregard it.

Read this before you check luggage:

http://www.spiritair.com/documents/SpiritAirlinesClaimLetter.pdf

Cortect on the rule 240 not applyiong.  Degregulation made that rule obsolete 20 years ago. (Prior to spirit even dlying commercially)  Certain airlines honor the "spirit" of that rule still, but as for it being a US DOT "rule", you need to ralize that it is no longer enforcable as it has been defunct.

     I reserve the right to criticize any business that deals with the public.
     There is no reason why anyone should have to wait 3 hours to get on the pane.   There are a number of people that are not able to stand this long due to their health.    There ARE SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM if Spirit will give it some serious thought and be a little creative.
      THERE IS A PROBLEM or there would not be so many complaints.
There is no excuse for loss of baggage other than poor mgmt.
      They should have worked the bugs out before they went into operation.   Those people that like this poor service in order to save a dollar are within their rights to defend Spirit but if they want to continue their flights, they need to realize that public openions are the only hope to make this airline get its act together.
      Contental overloads their planes and makes the customers suffer.
I have to carry my computer with me and I dont want my carry on bag being thrown in the luggage areas due to the fact that any computer is delicate and sensitive to rough treatment.   I dont have this problem with LAN.
      I will continue to tell these carriers about their shortcomings in no uncertain terms.

A friend of mine just came out to visit Lima using Spirit.   She did concur the seats were uncomfortable, but overall said she had no problems at all with delays, or lost luggage. 

Her perspective was that it was far from a luxury experience but for the price she got ($300 round trip) she now had the ability to purchase another flight in October so she can attend a reunion party with her former classmates.  With the LAN/AA etc. prices she could only afford one trip since she also takes her son.  So she is very happy to put up with the minor inconveniences for the chance to see friends and family more often thanks to Spirit's low prices.

I keep flying CONTINENTAL personally it is the best. No matter what they say.
Every airline has its problems like delays, cancellations but Continental outstand these problems.
Love Continental!

IVE USED MANY DIFFERENT CARRIERS AND IVE FOUND THE THE AMERICAN CARRIERS HAVE PUT SERVICE AND COMFORT ON THE BOTTOM SHELF AND ONLY CARES ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE [PROFITS]
LIKE MOST OTHER BIG COMPANIES IN THE US.   I AM FROM TEXAS AND KNOW THAT IF CONTENENTAL AND AMERICAN HAD SOME SERIOUS COMPETITION WITH DIRECT FLIGHTS TO THE MID WEST, THEIR PRICES WOULD GO DOWN LIKE IN ALL OTHER COMPETITIVE MARKETS.   EVERYONE IVE SPOKEN WITH THAT HAS FLOWN LAN AND CONTINENTAL AND LAN HAS PREFERED THE SERVICE AND COMFORTS OF LAN.

I agree in my experience having flown all the majors into Lima, LAN has by far offered the best service and comfort (flying primarily through Los Angeles) in my case.  Tom, sounds like you are familiar with how AA has resisted all efforts for the lower priced airlines like Southwest to be allowed to fly into DFW in Texas which in my opinion has kept prices artifically high there.  It's a sham.  

On the other hand if Spirit can clean up their lost baggage and delays I would happily sacrifice a little comfort for a half price fare.  I also wish some of the better low price carriers like Southwest or Jetblue would start flying here.

  AMEN ROB H.
  A LITTLE COMPETITION WOULD DO WONDERS AND THATS A PROVEN FACT.   GREED RULES WHEN IT COMES TO MOST LARGE COMPANIES.
SOME OF THE LARGE COMPANIES IN PERU COULD LEARN A LESSON OR TWO LIKE THE LOCAL PHONE COMPANY.
   I ADMIRE SPIRIT FOR THEIR ATTEMPT TO COMPETE AND HOPE THEY PAY A LITTLE MORE ATTENTION TO THEIR SERVICE, THEY WILL RULE THE SKYS.

The danger of hitting "reply all":

It is clear that Spirit Airline's problems start at the top with the CEO.
Check out this accidental response to a Consumer's letter:

From: Ben Baldanza [mailto:Ben.Baldanza@SpiritAir.com]
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 1:02 PM
To: Christy; Martin Harrison; Tony Lefebvre; John Prestifilippo; Pasquale Nunnari
Subject: Re: Complaint

Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.

full story at: http://www.elliott.org/archives/2007/08/thats_not_the_s.php

    I WOULD SAY THAT baldanza's ATTITUDE PRETTY WELL TELLS THE STORY.   MAYBE THEY DONT CARE WHETHER THEY OFFER QUALITY SERVICE.   I WOULD SUGGEST THEY INCREASE THEIR FARES 10% AO THEY CAN OFFER SOME SERVICE.   THEIR PRICES WOULD STILL BE THE BEST DEAL BY FAR AND THE PR MIGHT DO WONDERS.   MAYBE FIND SOME EXECS THAT KNOW HOW TO ACCEPT AND DEAL WITH THEIR CRITICS IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER AND GET THEIR TAIL OUT OF THE DOOR WAY.

Thanks for the additional information on Spirit's bad business practices Joseph...  Let me help others get to the other Spirit report by placing the direct link here (link).

I MADE IT FROM LIMA TO FLL today!!!... I have to say I was concerned because of all the postings. First the FLL airport and Spirit counter need to be revamped... I was literally outside with my luggage waiting to check in, I was there 3 hours before departing on a Wednesday afternoon. The time was getting close and I was getting worried, all of a sudden they decided to call all Lima passengers and that was it, I was ready to fly ( still worried for my luggage though since I had two big suitcases). The flight was smooth, the seats are not confortable but I paid only 78 dollars round trip (can't beat that). It is true, you need a credit card to buy chips ($2) and sodas ($1), they were out of tostitos and cheese. In Lima it took me only 10 minutes to check out, IT WAS AMAZING the organization there was way better than FLL's it was literally in and out... and the same happened to come back, although FLL's was fast to check your luggage on my way back. There are people now speaking English and Spanish at the flight so maybe they hear your comments. I have all my luggage and I am pleasently surprised of my first experience with Spirit. I guess your best bet is to get there 3 hours in advance and have a nice dinner before the flight.

Several of my friends came via Spirit this past month, fares ranging from $78 to $200 round trip.  None of them had any problems with luggage etc. and reported a very good experience.  No one seemed to like the pay for food but when asked if they would rather pay a traditional carrrier $300-$500 and get food they all said "no way" I'll fly Spirit again.  Sounds like they have ironed out the major problems experienced during the initial flights.

sounds  like they are going the right direction

My aunt also came to FLL from Lima and got back yesterday with no problems whatsoever.

Unfortunately they have not ironed out their problems. They instituted some kind of "embargo" against LIM and only allow 1 checked bag to return to LIM per person even though my in laws flew in with 2 per person (paying double since their online pre-purchase system seems to be perpetually down). Spirit had both phone and e-mail contact information for us but did not notify us of any change of policy or institution of a luggage embargo. Speaking with police on site because the SpiritAir "supervisors" were refusing to give their names, two officers relayed that they had been receiving complaints all day long. The SpiritAir representatives were even resorting to childish tactics such as hiding their nametags to prevent the acquisition of their names for the purpose of escalating the issue. My sentiments echo those of the original author, even if we had gotten the tickets for $0.88 for my inlaws, the treatment they were put through would not have been worth it. We unfortunately paid in excess of $300 per ticket although the exact sum escapes me right now. How we are going to get their 2nd bag (per person) to them remains a mystery.
It is absurd that they are not allowed to return to their home country with the same luggage they arrived with.
Anyone considering flying with this airline should be well informed and forewarned of the kind of treatment they will receive. I have been flying for nearly 30 years and have never experienced anything like this. Problems have occurred over the years but the airlines have always made things right for the customer, much like the authors description on his connecting flight rescheduling even though it wasn't their fault. I suspect some of the extremely positive comments on here may have an affiliation with SpiritAir. There were no satisfied customers in sight today at the actual ticket counter.

Wow, that's pretty bad stuff.  I've had similar experiences with Continental but not nearly as many and as severe.

I was looking for info on Spirit because LAN will no longer accept forgein credit card purchases online via the Peru site.  This is where I could find round trip tickets to/from Arequipa for $80-100 each.  Now they are forcing me to goto the USA site to buy tickets inside Peru just because my credit card is from the USA.  This US lan.com site charges over $322 per the same tickets that are $80-100 in Peru!  It's outrageous!

When I emailed Lan.com about it, they just quoted me the same thing over and over again, 'goto lan.com USA'.

I guess Spirit is quite a bit worse, so that won't be an option.  I am able to get decent tickets with travelocity.com for LAN and still able to pay with my US credit card.  I just wish the people at Lan.com weren't so imcompetent.  I guess it's more important to have good customer service in the airport and on the planes than on your website though...

I always fly Lan , one of the best airlines,  I feel sorry that MarkD60 didn't get his luggage yet.

I just flew Spirit for my LAST time. They have ZERO customer service and seem very unconcerned about retaining repeat customers. My flight was canceled from FLL-LIM and the reps up to the Supervisor were incompetent and absolutely rude! They refused to reimburse me for my expenses for the cancellation which totaled over $100. I should have bought the ticket on LAN which was $100 more than Spirit at the time of comparing and purchasing tickets.

Spirit does have flight attendants that speak Spanish since it's inauguration, but the attendants are very unprofessional, just like the rest of Spirit.

There is a reason Spirit sells a travel insurance at the time of online purchase. They expect the insurance to compensate for their errors. If you want to get your money back, you can sue Spirit in U.S. Small Claims court, one woman won over $1,000 after Spirit left her stranded in Detroit. Spirit didn't take the time to show up to court and the woman won by default.

In Travel Policies there is a link titled "contract of carriage." This gives you Spirit's disclaimers.

Personally, I think Spirit should be banned from Peru. Their planes are terrible and are NOT new like they claim, their advertising is misleading, and their organization is DISorganized! Sometimes LAN has prices a $10-$100 more than Spirit, you're better of taking LAN. Even Avianca has comparable prices and even though they have a lay-over in Bogota they're much more comfortable to fly. They also have flights to Ft. Lauderdale.

Spirit is the WORST airline I have ever flown! They deserve to go out of business or be excessively fined by the federal government!

I am planning on flying out to Lima from Miami sometime soon and was wondering HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU GUYS GET THE 88 CENTS FLIGHT??

I've flown between the US and Peru at least 30 times...American, LAN, and Spirit.  Spirit is usually half the price, plus they fly out of Fort Lauderdale which is a much easier airport, IMO, than Miami.  $400 round trip on Spirit versus $700 - $800 on the other guys makes it an easy choice. 

Spirit has always been on time, the flight attendants courteous, and their planes are all less than two years old.  The flight between Fort Lauderdale and Lima is usually smooth and on time (unlike LAN and American).  Never a luggage problem, either.  Give me a low price, and keep your TV, blanket and soft drink. 

Added bonus - when you wait at Jorge Chavez for the flight from Peru to Florida, you get to hear the Peruvian counter personnel say "Phart La-di-da" several times.  Classic.

Anybody hear anything when Spirit is going to fly into Chiclayo ?

The only thing I found was this on a google search..

Spirit Airlines to add 10 new Fort Lauderdale- Lima flights.
--------------------------------------------------------
1 May 2008 Spirit Airlines will be authorized to have 20 weekly flights Fort Lauderdale - Lima and ten Fort Lauderdale - Chiclayo (Lambayeque) flights..

For some reason I can't copy and paste the URL and the above into this thread ?

You can find the link to the above doing a google search for the following by searching - Spirit Airlines , chiclayo , Peru , May 1 2008 ..

singlefather

..

I've flown to Lima from Orlando, FL four times in the past year on Copa Airlines. I've paid between $430-$550 r/t including taxes each time. You get a 'free' hot meal on every flight, 'free' beverages, including beer and wine. You can check two bags and one carry one, for free. flight attendants are all bi-lingual, freindly and attractive!

Copa hubs all flights through Panama, which is only a minor inconvenience. I've never had a layover of more than an hour and never a delay more than 30 minutes. Their fleet are mostly late model 737's although their seats are small and close together - not as comfortable as LAN. Counter service and telephone service personnel have always been freindly and efficient.

I've flown LAN, which is excellent but pricey and AA which is crappy and pricey. I've never flown Spirit. For the price and quality of service, I heartily recommend Copa.

Have to agree with you Kevin.  Copa has good fares, first rate service, and even the food was good.  I've flown them three times, and like you, never a long layover in Panama and always right on time (or early).