The Guide to Spirit Airlines Seat Selection

Spirit Airways is understood for its low fares and plentiful flights to fashionable trip locations. However due to the airline’s pricing mannequin, selecting your seat and most different companies past the ticket itself will price you further when flying Spirit.

Earlier than you e-book your ticket, right here’s what to learn about seat choice on Spirit Airways, together with the kinds of seats accessible and the way a lot they may price.

As an extremely low-cost service, the rule of thumb on Spirit is that seat choice is not free, and clients can anticipate to pay for seats on every leg of their journey.

The one vacationers who don’t need to pay a seat choice payment are Free Spirit elite standing members, who get free seat choice as one of many program’s perks.

When reserving, you'll be able to pay for seat choice and baggage as a part of a bundle. Alternatively, you'll be able to select your seats individually as a visit add-on throughout reserving or anytime after — even at check-in.

Vacationers hoping to fly as cheaply as attainable can skip paying for seat choice altogether. In that case, the airline will randomly assign them a seat at check-in.

Sure, which means you might find yourself sitting aside out of your journey companions: The airline states it might’t assure vacationers can be assigned seats subsequent to one another, even when they booked the tickets on one reservation.

Nevertheless, the airline says gate brokers and flight attendants will attempt to present adjoining seats “when attainable” for vacationers ages 13 or youthful who're touring with an grownup.

Notably, this assurance shouldn't be sufficient to fulfill the U.S. Division of Transportation’s new recommendations that airways assure adjoining household seating for no extra price.

Not like different airways which have a variety of seat sorts and courses of service, it’s fairly simple on Spirit — there are simply three choices to select from.

Spirit’s normal seats characterize the overwhelming majority of seats on the plane. You should buy a normal seat a la carte or buy it as a part of a bundle — which we’ll talk about in a second.

When you might need to equate a normal seat to economic system class on one other airline, don’t anticipate a lot moreover a spot to take a seat. As a funds airline, you’ll usually need to pay for anything you need, from soda and snacks to carry-on luggage and different companies.

On Spirit, premium seats are exit row seats that include a bit of additional legroom but additionally require passengers to have the ability and keen to help in an emergency. This implies vacationers underneath the age of 15 can’t select these seats, per federal tips.

Whereas Spirit doesn’t have a real firstclass, it does supply wider seats with extra legroom on the entrance of the plane. The airline calls the seats on this part the Huge Entrance Seats.

With eight or ten such seats accessible on every flight — relying on the plane — Huge Entrance Seat passengers rise up to 32% extra legroom when in comparison with normal seats. There’s additionally no center seat, as all Huge Entrance Seats are both window or aisle seats.

On the net, there are a number of methods to see the Spirit seating chart. You'll be able to take a sneak peek earlier than selecting a flight by deciding on “seat map” on an itinerary you’re contemplating.

When you try this, you'll be able to view seat sorts and availability on the aircraft, as proven on this instance flight from Newark, New Jersey to Orlando, Florida.

When it comes time to pick a seat whereas reserving, the seat map will present the value of every seat. When you choose a seat, a pop-up field will show the value, together with a picture and extra data, like whether or not it’s an aisle or window seat.

In the event you’re deciding on seats as a part of a bundle, you’ll select your seats utilizing the identical kind of map, however seats included within the bundle can be listed at $0.

In the case of deciding on a seat on Spirit, you have got three major choices:

• Pay to pick seats a la carte whereas reserving, or anytime up till check-in.

• Pay for a bundle that features seat choice, baggage and different advantages similar to precedence boarding.

• Skip seat choice and pay nothing. This feature will outcome within the airline randomly assigning you a seat at check-in.

Seat project costs can differ dramatically primarily based on the flight and the seat you select. Spirit advertises the value for the standard seat as beginning at $5 per flight and climbing as excessive as $200 underneath the costliest circumstances.

The worth of a Huge Entrance Seat ranges from $12 to $750 per route, and can be pricier than normal seats for the additional house. You may also lower your expenses by paying to improve to a Huge Entrance Seat on the day of your flight, however there’s at all times an opportunity there received’t be any accessible.

In TWP’s evaluation of airline seat charges, Spirit Airways is the second most costly amongst main U.S. airways, at a median of $20 per seat per flight. Spirit trails solely its funds airline counterpart, Frontier, in that rating.

With such a variety of costs, let’s see what these charges appear to be in apply. We priced out a summer season weekend journey from Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Airport in Maryland to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport in Florida, with a base fare coming in at $229 round-trip. On the leg to Florida, seat choice charges begin at $17 for the standard seat towards the again of the aircraft.

If we need to sit nearer to the entrance of the aircraft, normal seats go for $18 or $27. Exit row seats are $33, whereas the bigger, extra-legroom Huge Entrance Seat prices $110.

For the return journey, the most affordable seats begin at $20.

If we aren't paying for further baggage, and if we choose the least costly seat every method, our $228 ticket finally comes out to $265.

As an alternative of paying for seats individually, you'll be able to pay for one among Spirit’s bundles. These embody a checked and/or full-size carry-on bag, a normal seat and different companies for one worth.

Just like the seats themselves, the prices of the bundles differ by flight. And take into account you’ll have to pay for the bundle for each the outbound and return flight.

Earlier than selecting a bundle, you’ll need to determine what companies you want after which worth out the most suitable choice.

Right here’s what you get with Spirit’s two major bundles:

For our hypothetical journey from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale with a $229 base fare, the Only for You bundle prices $69 every method. The Bundle It Combo tacks on $130 every method.

So if we determine so as to add on the Bundle It Combo, we might pay $489 — which could not be such an excellent deal.

If we solely need one a part of a bundle’s choices — for instance, a carry-on bag — and don’t want seat choice or precedence boarding, it'd make sense to skip the bundle and pay for the carry-on bag individually.

Members of Spirit’s subscription-based Saver$ Membership obtain reductions on seat choice for themselves and as much as eight journey companions, together with different advantages like expedited safety entry, early boarding and ticket flexibility.

This system prices $69 for a 12-month membership, with 18-month and two-year memberships additionally accessible.

Probably the most helpful perks of Spirit Airways elite standing is the power to pick a seat without spending a dime. Spirit’s seat choice advantages for elite standing members are as follows:

• Free Spirit Silver members get complimentary seat choice at check-in and could possibly transfer to an exit row seat previous to departure without charge.

• Free Spirit Gold members get complimentary seat choice when reserving, together with exit rows. 

In the event you’re a frequent Spirit flyer, you'll be able to work towards Free Spirit elite standing by flying and on a regular basis spending utilizing the Free Spirit® Journey Extra World Elite Mastercard®. Cardholders earn 1 Standing Qualifying Level (SQP) per $10 spent on eligible purchases.

For context, it takes 2,000 SQP to achieve Free Spirit Silver and earn complimentary seat choice at check-in. Gold standing is earned when you attain 5,000 SQPs.

When flying a funds airline like Spirit Airways, it's best to go in anticipating that your ticket solely will get you a spot on the aircraft and a private merchandise that matches underneath the seat. Anything, together with selecting your seat, will price further.

When reserving a Spirit Airways flight, a little analysis and technique might help you lower your expenses. Determine your best areas of want— whether or not it’s a full-sized bag, shortcut boarding or deciding on a seat — after which evaluate the value of bundling your add-on companies or paying for them individually.

And, in the event you’re planning to fly Spirit commonly, supplementing your flying with an airline-branded bank card is a good way that can assist you attain elite standing and earn free seat choice.

(High picture courtesy of Spirit Airways)