My Experience of Flying with Spirit Airlines from Los Angeles (LAX) to Las Vegas (LAS) in just $30

My name is Harry Smith, and I live and work as a teacher in Los Angeles. I planned for an unofficial college reunion in Las Vegas with some old college friends. Since it was just a one-day trip, I decided to keep it on a budget journey with the least possible expenses. I checked a flight comparison website named TravelQart and found a Spirit Airlines cheap flight ticket that costs $30 only from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. As this was the first time I was traveling with Spirit, I was happy as well as shocked at how low the fare was. It costs me more than $30 to fill my car with gas.

For those who don’t know about the carrier, Spirit Airlines is a major player when it comes to ultra-low-cost airlines in the United States. With a fleet size of 174, it has been ranked as the fourth largest passenger airline in North America and serves more than 83 locations. Spirit Airlines has its headquarters in Miramar, Florida, United States. The airline has multiple bases such as Atlantic City, Chicago–O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

Spirit Airlines have been linked with many controversies related to flight cancellations and delays, but there’s one thing we cannot ignore is the low-cost fares they offer. Despite all the concerns and the recent August controversy with Spirit Airlines, in which it canceled more than 2000 flights due to bad weather and shortage of staff, I decided to get a reservation with them. Since I had to keep the budget as low as possible, I didn’t take any additional service. My trip was just for one day as I had to return the next day, so I decided not to take an extra baggage allowance.

My flight was scheduled to depart at 12:50 PM on the day of my journey, so I reached the airport 2 hours early to avoid any hurry or last-minute rush. I did my web check-in on the Spirit Airlines official site. At the Spirit booking and check-in, there was an option to get a confirmed window seat for an additional charge of $10, but since it was a short-haul flight, I decided to save my $10 and leave the seat allotment to fate. Luckily, I got a window seat on the 20th row with my seat number as 20F.

I had previously heard many incidents of Spirit flights getting delayed for random reasons, but I guess I was lucky. My flight took off at the scheduled departure time. I had already downloaded some entertainment stuff on my mobile phone for the journey since Spirit Airlines Reservations do not offer any inflight entertainment services, such as a backseat TV screen or inflight Wi-Fi. The seats were rather comfortable and didn’t face many issues. The weather outside was cloudy, and I had a great view of the clouds from my window. The only thing that bothered me was the seat that didn’t recline. I wish I could recline the seats a bit as it may become difficult and exhausting for anyone sitting idle for an hour or two.

Spirit Airline also offers ‘the big front seat’ that is way more comfortable with wider and reclining seats. All the normal seats are in 3 - 3 placement with six seats in one row, making it a bit cramped. But for the ‘big front seat,’ the seat placement is in 2 - 2 placement and a total of just four seats in a row. You get plenty of space and good legroom. If you are a large person, you should consider getting this seat instead of the regular seats. The time passed quickly, and the captain announced that we were about to reach our destination. We arrived at the Las Vegas airport on time (five minutes early, to be precise), and I’m happy to say that I had a pleasant journey.

My final verdict on the journey is that you get for what you pay. Yes, you don’t get those super soft reclining seats and complimentary snacks and drinks and other services, but what else can you expect from a $30 flight? My journey was smooth, and I reached my destination on time. I would definitely recommend booking a flight ticket with Spirit Airline, especially if you have a limited budget.