Two days earlier than expected, Spirit Airlines rolled out sweeping changes to its booking channels. The airline offers four neat and tidy fare options, including a “business” fare with access to the airline’s service Large front seats.
Head over to Spirit’s website now and you’ll find four new fare options for flights starting in the coming weeks: Go, Go Savvy, Go Comfy, and Go Big.
EQUAL TPG reported last monthThe new setup is more reminiscent of how the biggest airlines market their flights. It offers basic economy tickets at low prices and more spacious accommodations, along with “extras” like baggage and seat selection, at higher prices.
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To be clear, Spirit isn’t making major changes to its big yellow planes: The airline is simply revamping the way it presents and sells its fares and ancillary items. Ancillary items have historically been a big part of the airline’s business model.
We checked Spirit’s booking channels on the first day of the new fares. Here’s what we found and what you should know before booking.
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4 new fare options
As promised, Spirit’s new setup offers four specific fare options that you can see right when you start booking a flight.
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As you can see, the four fare classes are prominently displayed at the top of the carrier’s booking page.
The options are:
Go
Think basic economy — or what Spirit has historically offered. It’s the lowest-priced, no-frills option. That means you’ll pay extra for everything from seat selection to checked baggage. Large carry-ons are completely banned.
Be understanding
Think of this as Spirit’s version of an all-inclusive main-cabin ticket. You’ll be able to select a free standard seat when you book, and choose to bring either a checked bag or a large carry-on bag—not both. Snacks and drinks aren’t included, however.
Go easy
This ticket lets you choose one of Spirit’s “Comfy” seats, which feature an empty middle seat for a little extra space. Plus, you get both checked and large carry-on luggage, as well as snacks, drinks, and priority boarding.
Go big
This ticket includes access to Spirit’s Large Front Seats, free Wi-Fi, and priority airport security, where available.
Related: Spirit Airlines becomes latest low-cost carrier to eliminate change and cancellation fees
It’s worth noting that some changes to certain ticket types (like snacks, drinks and priority boarding) won’t take effect until August 27.
How much are Spirit’s new fares?
Like most airline fares, Spirit’s new fares are dynamically priced. However, we’ve seen relative consistency in the price difference across fares.
While there are many exceptions, we notice the following trends for one-way flights:
- Go Savvy is typically about $50 more expensive than Go.
- Go Comfy usually costs about $50 or $60 more than Go Savvy.
- Go Big is typically about $70 or $80 more expensive than Go Comfy (which means it’s about $200 more expensive than Go in many cases).
For example, take this one-way Labor Day weekend flight from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Orlando International Airport (MCO). The incremental increases are $50, $60, and $80 for Go Savvy, Go Comfy, and Go Big, respectively.
Here are one-way fares in September from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL). The increases are in increments of $50, $60, and $70 as you go up in fare.
Again, this is just a general rule; prices and fare class increases will vary from flight to flight. You’ll typically pay more for itineraries with connecting flights, like this trip from Chicago to Austin with a stopover in Fort Lauderdale.
Book Go Big on Spirit Airlines
One of the most notable changes Spirit made in this ticketing overhaul was the introduction of pseudo-business class fares using Big Front Seats.
To book this ticket, you’d choose the most expensive option: $313 for a one-way flight in September from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Cancun International Airport (CUN) in Mexico. That’s $200 more expensive than the Go or Basic service, to be exact.
When you choose a Go Big fare, you will have the opportunity to choose the Big Front Seat you want at no extra charge.
The baggage page will then show what’s included—namely, both checked and carry-on baggage (along with one personal item, as with any ticket).
This page also informs you of the extras you’ll get when you purchase this all-inclusive ticket, including free Wi-Fi access and a dedicated security screening lane (though if you’re a TSA PreCheck member, that’s still preferred).
Spirit’s Go Big vs. Domestic First Class
For reference, $313 is $100 cheaper than a domestic first class ticket on American Airlines or United Airlines on the same day on the same route; I confirmed this on Google Flights.
However, Spirit’s $242 Go Big fare for a one-way October flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) is actually more expensive than Delta Air Lines’ domestic first-class fare.
Book Go Comfy on Spirit Airlines
Let’s say you book the same flight from Chicago to Cancun but prefer Go Comfy.
When selecting a seat, you will see that the middle seat is blocked; this allows you to select a window or aisle seat in some rows that have this service.
Like the higher fare, I was still allowed to bring both checked baggage and a large carry-on.
Book Go Savvy on Spirit Airlines
You could call this the most “normal” ticket Spirit offers.
It includes seat selection, so when you go to that page you’ll see all available standard seats listed for $0.
When you get to the baggage page, you’ll see you’re allowed one full carry-on bag and can pay $50 for a checked bag.
If you want to check luggage, remember that Go Savvy fares give you one of two services for free.
To make this change, simply go back and toggle the applicable option on the front-end booking page.
That change will be reflected when you return to the baggage page: one free checked bag and the option to add a large carry-on for $50.
Book Go on Spirit Airlines
Booking Spirit’s low-cost fares are quite similar to previous Spirit airline fares.
Let’s say you’re flying from Seattle to Las Vegas in October and want to take a simple flight.
As you’ve seen on Spirit, seat selection costs extra (starting at $18 in this case). If you don’t pay to select a seat, you’ll get a randomly assigned seat at check-in.
Meanwhile, the luggage page shows that a checked bag costs $50 and full-sized carry-ons are prohibited.
The last line
Spirit Airlines’ new fare setup is certainly a change from what customers have seen in the past. The airline offers four specific packages at the outset, rather than offering discounted fares and adding fees for all the “extras” like it did before.
However, customers who prefer a la carte service can choose a Go ticket and then choose what they want to include with the ticket.
It is worth noting that Frontier Airlines have recently made similar changes. into the fare structure and add in empty middle rows called UpFront Plus; these have attracted great attention from customers, the carrier said last week. However, the Frontier doesn’t have as spacious a seat as the Spirit’s Big Front Seat.
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