Like many frequent flyers, I try to avoid Spirit Airlines whenever possible. Spirit sells big seats at the front of the plane that are aptly named - you guessed it - "Big Front Seats." While nowhere near the full "first class" experience you'll get flying up front on many other airlines, it can be worth it for those travelers who can stand the thought of cramming into 28 inches of seat pitch. Not only is this great for avoiding taxes, but it is also awesome price discrimination (if you are really price sensitive, you can still get cheaper tickets). Yeah, they have free checked bags, but anymore their prices are not better than legacy carriers', and on many routes they're more. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details. There was no partition between the front two rows and the rest of the aircraft. In fact, on many of the routes I tested, Big Front Seats now cost $100 or more per flight. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Our picks: Big Front (row 1) or the green exit seats. And while our site doesnt feature every company or financial product available on the market, were proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward and free. I checked in on Spirit's app to avoid the $10 fee at the airport. Avoid the last row as it is near the lav. I want to be very clear I dont for a second blame Spirit Airlines for increasing Big Front Seat pricing. Yes, If people stop buying the $150 big front seats Spirit will bring the price down to below $100, Hi Trey, from what I read and understand, you are not required to do that. See more about our ethics policies here. Is the Spirit Airlines Big Front Seat worth it? Spirit used to claim that the Big Front Seat would cost anywhere from $12 to $250, while now the airline claims it can cost anywhere from $12 to $500. The current welcome offer on this card is quite lucrative. I uploaded photos of my pocketbook and picture of a target bag, which my bag was much smaller. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Last year, Spirit tightened restrictions on the size of personal items, presumably to force more passengers to pay for carry-on or checked baggage. Compare the cost in points or miles to cash, and see which option is best. I had to combine my carry on , or I would be charge $90.00. Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Related: 8 thoughts after first Spirit Airlines flight in several years. Find the right card for you. I decided to save the $31 and risk a crammed middle seat for the hour and 29 minutes. Plus, if you buy a bundle you'll also get baggage allowances and . The high annual fee is only worth it if youre taking full advantage of the cards benefits. I've flown Spirit twice recently, and while I normally have no issues in economy, I find the airline's 28-inch pitch to be insufferable. Passengers of these seats will be among the last to deplane upon arrival. Enrollment required. However, the width of these seats is slightly reduced and there is no floor storage for these seats during take-off and landing. If I'm flying with my two kids, it sometimes makes more sense for us to sit three across in less expensive seats than spend several hundred dollars more on the Big Front Seats. If you experience any anxiety, please, learn the Airbus A321 plane seating in advance Besides, do not buy a seat near an outlet if you have a phobia of flights. Supervisor very very nasty. You may not always need a larger seat to get where youre going with Spirit. Spirit . She has been published in U.S. News & World Report, USA Today and elsewhere, and has spoken at conferences like that of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Ryanair has the same 17" (43 cm) seat width as BA, and easyJet has 18" (46 cm) seat width - the difference is that seat pitch (distance) is a good 4-5" (10-13 cm) less than 'full-cost' airlines. Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Perhaps it's to save money on the cost of the seat itself, but there are so few Big Front Seats across the entire airline that the repeat comfort benefit from a one-time expense seems worth it to me. Provided by seatmaps.com. Compared to my first flight, the Big Front Seat would be 86% of the price for a flight that was 19% of the distance and 32% of the flight time. There were no fresh or hot-food items. There was 36 of pitch and 20 of width. Safe travels, I fly spirit all the time 15 - 20 times a year from Philly to Myrtle Beach and back. That being said, I can no longer in good conscience just call the Big Front Seat one of the best values in domestic travel, because thats not consistently the case. This isnt like a loyalty program being devalued without notice. The seats of the 1st row, i.e. Did not have any problems entire flight staff was very nice and courteous. He writes TPG's Points & Miles Backpacker column, so you'll more likely find him in a hostel than a Ritz, if you can find him. Here are our picks for the. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. I decided to take it, intent on finding a way to make the flight a bit more tolerable. Review: Spirit Airlines A321 Big Front Seat (FLL-AUS) onemileatatime.com - Ben Schlappig 6h. However, these sears are a little narrower than standard and have no floor storage during take-off and landing. I bet $30 each and we got the seats assigned the night before the flight. I could have also avoided this by checking in online and printing out a boarding pass, which also would have allowed me to use the baggage drop kiosks instead of waiting in a line like this one: When flying Spirit, you should always check-in before coming to the airport. Spirit has 218 seats on their 321's and this is with only 1 or 2 rows of "big front seats". But, since thats just too easy of an answer (and prices seem to have recently increased), Ill be slightly more nuanced. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the baseline A320 and entered . Spirit seems to fill the planes from the back to front and by getting our seat late at the airport we usually sit in the first 10 rows. 10. Best card for premium perks while traveling, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, The Business Platinum Card from American Express, Norse Atlantic adds 4 more US routes from London Gatwick, Sams Club Mastercard review: Good earnings if you have a Plus membership, The complete guide to flying to London on points and miles, Spring break deal: $29 one-way flights to Florida. I upgraded to the emergency row on Spirit Airlines on the Airbus A321. $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. If no seat preference is made, one will be randomly assigned at the airport or during online check-in. This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. 14 rows are located in the second section. If you need to ask for the adapter, feel free to ask for help from the crew. 145 capacity. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. However, if your budget can accommodate the added cost of a Spirit Airlines Big Front Seat, your back and perhaps your mood will probably thank you for the extra investment in the journey. Thankfully, for those looking for a more comfortable Spirit experience, theres an option to upgrade from standard economy class seating: the Big Front Seat. So its just something to be aware of as you think about the overall value proposition of the Big Front Seat. Luckily, I was traveling with just a personal item, so I avoided all of this. The Spirit A320neo has economy seats with 28 inches of seat pitch, which is the least amount of space for US domestic carriers. Flying on a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo. And people will continue to pay it because of halo effect and the general flying public are way more ignorant of things like this than are the readers of this blog. So keeping that cash safely tucked in your wallet can sometimes make sense. Spirit's A321 offers two rows of "Big Front" seats which are larger seats at the front of the cabin. Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Missing an armrest? A comparable first or business class flight on a major U.S. airline would cost you 50,000 miles. Plus, exit rows are three seats across, meaning theyll still feel more cramped. A offer is as good as what people are willing to pay. But here they almost looked bored. The Big Front Seat gets you 36 inches of pitch, a whole 8 inches more than economy. The Deluxe Spirit Airlines seats are located behind the Big Front seats and are not as comfortable as the latter. These seats are available to passengers at an additional fee. Simply upload a screenshot of your itinerary under "add photos" above, or email a copy of it to [emailprotected] Verified reviews are given more weight in airline rankings than unverified reviews. You can expect a comfortable seat with more legroom but it may not fully recline on domestic flights. The economy seats, which I rode from LAX-OAK, had an insufferably small 28 inches of legroom. It's also worth noting that in Spirit's new frequent flyer program, you now earn 12 to 20 points per dollar (depending on your status level) for ancillary charges such as Big Front Seat assignments. They are 20.9 inches wide, enough for the average person's convenience. spent most of the last 15 years backpacking through 100+ countries. sometimes as low as $20 each way, normally about $40. These seats are available to passengers at an additional fee. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners. Also, the tray tables were minuscule. Customers who require a seat belt extension may not occupy any seat equipped with an inflatable seat belt. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. The task was to book a flight from Chicago to the Bay Area five days in advance. How do you want to study today? In fact, the seats on Spirit planes are only 174 plain economy seats in most cases. Better than most - has extra legroom; no underseat stowage; traytable in armrest means narrower seat. Alisha McDarris is a freelance travel writer and photographer. , aka Mommy Points, ran the Mommy Points site for families who want to travel more for less using miles and points for seven years. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. 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