Spirit's fare changes are live: Here's how much you'll pay
Two days earlier than planned, Spirit Airlines has rolled out sweeping changes to its booking channels. It's offering four neat-and-tidy fare options, including a "business" fare that features access to the airline's Big Front Seat.
Log on to Spirit's website now, and you'll find the four new ticket options for flights beginning in the coming weeks: Go, Go Savvy, Go Comfy and Go Big.
As TPG reported last month, the new setup is far more reminiscent of how the largest airlines market their flights. It offers a basic economy-style ticket at the low end of the fare spectrum and more spacious accommodations, along with "extras" like bags and seat selection, at the high end of the fare spectrum.
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To be clear, Spirit isn't making major changes to its big yellow planes: The airline is merely overhauling how it presents and sells fares and ancillary items. The latter has historically been a big part of its business model.
We checked out Spirit's booking channels on day one of the new fare buckets. Here's what we found and what you should know before booking.
4 new fare options
As promised, Spirit's new setup offers four concrete fare options, which you'll see upfront as soon as you start booking a flight.
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As you can see, the four tiers are featured prominently right at the top of the carrier's booking page.
The options are:
Go
Think basic economy — or think of what Spirit has historically offered. The lowest-priced ticket, this is a stripped-down option with no frills. This means you'll pay extra for everything from seat selection to a checked bag. This ticket type outright prohibits a full-size carry-on.
Go Savvy
Think of this as Spirit's version of a full-fare main cabin ticket. You'll be able to select a standard seat for free at booking and choose to bring either a checked bag or a full-size carry-on — not both. Snacks and drinks still aren't included, though.
Go Comfy
This ticket allows you to select one of Spirit's "Comfy" seats, which feature an empty middle seat for a bit of extra space. Plus, you'll get both a checked and full-size carry-on bag, as well as snacks, drinks and priority boarding.
Go Big
This ticket type offers access to Spirit's Big Front Seat, free Wi-Fi and priority airport security, where available.
Related: Spirit Airlines becomes latest budget airline to drop change, cancellation fees
It's worth noting that some of the changes for some ticket types (like snacks, drinks and priority boarding) won't go into effect until Aug. 27.
How much do Spirit's new fares cost?
Like virtually all airline pricing, Spirit's new fares are priced dynamically. However, we found relative consistency in price differences among the ticket types.
Though there are plenty of exceptions, we found the following trends for one-way flights:
- Go Savvy is often around $50 more than Go.
- Go Comfy is typically around $50 or $60 more than Go Savvy.
- Go Big is typically around $70 or $80 more than Go Comfy (meaning around $200 more than Go, in many cases).
Take this Labor Day weekend one-way flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Orlando International Airport (MCO), for instance. The step increases follow incremental hikes of $50, $60 and $80 for Go Savvy, Go Comfy and Go Big, respectively.
Here's pricing on a September one-way from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL). The increases follow steps of $50, $60 and $70 as you climb the fare ladder.
Again, this is just a general rule of thumb; prices and price increases by tier fluctuate from one flight to another. You'll often pay more on itineraries that include a connection, like on this trip from Chicago to Austin that includes a layover in Fort Lauderdale.
Booking a Go Big ticket on Spirit Airlines
One of the most notable changes Spirit made as part of this ticket-selling overhaul was introducing a pseudo "business" fare that makes use of its Big Front Seat.
To book this, you'll be selecting the highest-priced option: $313 for this one-way flight in September from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Cancun International Airport (CUN) in Mexico. That's exactly $200 more than the Go, or basic, offering.
When selecting the Go Big fare, you'll have the chance to pick which of its Big Front Seats you'd like at no added charge.
Then, the bags page will show what's included — namely, both a checked bag and carry-on (along with a personal item, as with any ticket).
The page also alerts you to the extra items you'll receive for this all-inclusive ticket, including access to free Wi-Fi and a dedicated security lane (though if you're a TSA PreCheck member, that's probably still preferable).
Spirit's Go Big vs. domestic first class
For reference, $313 is well more than $100 cheaper than a domestic first-class seat on American Airlines or United Airlines that day on the same route; I confirmed this on Google Flights.
However, Spirit's $242 Go Big fare for an October one-way flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) actually comes in at more than a domestic first-class ticket on Delta Air Lines.
Booking a Go Comfy ticket on Spirit Airlines
Let's say you're booking the same flight from Chicago to Cancun but prefer Go Comfy instead.
At seat selection, you'll notice the blocked-off middle seat; this allows you to select either the window or aisle in the few rows where these accommodations are offered.
Like with the higher-tier fare, I'll still get access to both a checked and full-size carry-on bag.
Booking a Go Savvy ticket on Spirit Airlines
You might call this the most "normal" ticket Spirit offers.
Seat selection is included, so when you get to that page, you'll see all standard open seats listed for $0.
When you get to the baggage page, you'll see that you're entitled to a full-size carry-on and can pay $50 for a checked bag.
If you'd prefer to check a bag instead, remember that the Go Savvy fare offers you one or the other for free.
To make this change, just go back and toggle over the applicable option on the front booking page.
That change will be reflected when you arrive back on the baggage page: a free checked bag and the option to add a full-size carry-on for $50.
Booking a Go ticket on Spirit Airlines
Booking Spirit's lower-level fare is quite similar to what booking a Spirit flight has been like historically.
Let's say you're taking the Seattle-to-Las Vegas flight in October and want to go no-frills.
Just like you've found in the past on Spirit, seat selection will cost you extra (starting at $18 in this case). If you don't pay to select a seat, you'll receive a randomly assigned one at check-in.
Meanwhile, the baggage page shows that a checked bag costs $50, and a full-size carry-on is prohibited.
Bottom line
Spirit Airlines' new fare setup is certainly a departure from what customers have seen in the past. It offers four concrete bundles right off the bat instead of offering a stripped-down fare and add-on charges for all "extras" like it has in the past.
However, customers who prefer the a la carte approach can select the Go ticket and then pick and choose what they'd like included with their ticket.
It's worth noting that Frontier Airlines recently made similar changes to its fare structure and added rows with empty middle seats known as UpFront Plus; these have drawn strong interest from customers, the carrier said last week. However, Frontier does not have a spacious seat comparable to Spirit's Big Front Seat product.
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