With the start of the new year comes new years resolutions (or promises, as I like to call them). The overwhelming majority of my promises tend to focus on travel.
Recently, I made a list of 5th freedom routes that I would like to fly this year in business class. One of the flights that most intrigues me is the Houston to Manchester, UK (IAH-MAN) route operated by Singapore Airlines using an Airbus A350-900. If you’re not familiar with the types of planes that I mention in my posts, it’s ok. If you continue reading my blog, soon you’ll be saying things like “yeah…I prefer the A359 to the 772.”
Anyway, in the early 2000’s, Singapore Airlines used one plane to fly from Houston to Moscow and then continue on to Singapore. However, in 2016, they amended that route and substituted Moscow with Manchester thus giving us today’s route of Houston-Manchester-Singapore (IAH-MAN-SIN). They also began flying a newer plane (the Airbus A350) on that route.
It could be argued (as most things in life can be) but I believe you will find Singapore Airlines tends to be a favorite among aviation enthusiasts.
So How Does Spirit Fit Into This Equation???
Since I would be in Atlanta, I needed to take a positioning flight – a flight to my departure city (Houston). I began to research one-way flights only to find I had two “competitive options:”
- Fly Spirit Airlines
- Fly Delta Airlines
My main objective for this flight is just to get there. I don’t need any frills or perks, hence the reason I am considering Spirit Airlines. So here are some aspects to consider:
Spirit – low-cost airline where you pay for EVERY aspect that you “need” (including seat, water, etc)
– Fare: $15 (one-way)
– Seat: I’m not selecting a seat (again, I’m going for simplicity. I just need to get there)
– Carry-on Bag: $35
– Check-in for flight (on Spirit app) = free
– Taxes: $14.30
– Note: Fees for baggage increase to $40+ if you pay baggage fees at the airport
– Miles = ??? I have heard a million horror stories about Spirit so let’s keep it simple and not worry about whether I’m obtaining miles and focus on getting to my destination
– There is only one non-stop. If something happens, my options would include a connection city.
Delta Airlines
– $109-$116 (one-way, price dependent on selection of flight)
– Seat: you can pick your seat while completing your booking
– Carry-on bag = free
– Check-in for flight (on Delta app) = free
– Check-in for flight (at airport) = free
– Miles = I’m not flying this route for the miles. It’s an economy ticket so I’m trust they’ll only give me 10 miles (I’m joking…sort of).
– Delta has a flight leaving, practically, every 1.5 hours, all day so I have a plethora of backups.
I’ve never flown spirit but have heard horror stories about operations. One follower on my instagram mentioned that her flight was so bad, she booked a last minute bus ticket back home despite having a round-trip flight.
Surprisingly, Spirit has been #1 in on-time performance and has beat all major US carriers for the last four months straight. Yes, you read that correctly, name ANY American carrier and Spirit beat them!
On the day that I need to fly from ATL-IAH, the final prices for Spirit, Delta, and United are listed below.
The choices…$64.50 on Spirit, roughly ~$110 on Delta, and $150 on United. (United was 3x the price of Spirit hence I didn’t mention it previously.)
I trust you were able to read between the lines and came to the conclusion that I booked a Spirit ticket.
As soon, as I pushed the submit button, I had slight buyers remorse. I thought to myself “Why do I do this to myself?” I love to save money, almost to a fault…ask my wife. But I may have just taken this to a new level. I am so exited about the Singapore Airlines flight that this Spirit experience could easily ruin my whole trip.
Is it worth it? What would you do? Have you ever flow Spirit? What was your experience?
1TattedPassport 