Spirit to add FLL-CTG service before summer

deathnova says on Apr 14, 2008, 18:28:

Sucky or not i'd really be quite skeptical to trust my international travel plans to a discount airline.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

nueva york bombero says on Apr 14, 2008, 19:19:

I'll give them one shot. If they fok up, never again.
My friend flew them and said it was OK, but definitely "no Frills".

0 funny, 0 helpful.

nine inch nails says on Apr 14, 2008, 20:33:

Please correct the header to match the link, FLL-SAT.

I'm actually taking this route end of May to go back home and re-visit central Texas. Anyone know a 6th St. downtown Austin, TX? I do. Fun fun.

I'm going to visit Taco land also (SAT). I'm goin to a goth club and St. Mary's St. I can hear the tequila shot whistles already.

get down, get down. are you afraid of the boogie monster?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

deathnova says on Apr 14, 2008, 20:41:

The article discusses FLL-CTG.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

slguy says on Apr 15, 2008, 00:21:

ooops.. sorry..

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gorgonabob says on Apr 15, 2008, 05:26:

theres a girl at the hostel at the moment who works in banking in the Cayman Islands and she told me she and her friends are constantly flying between the Caymans and Ft Lauderdale on Spirit and they have never had a serious problem... when are they coming to Medellin!!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

nine inch nails says on Apr 15, 2008, 06:52:

I saw a Spirit coming in for landing last night at FLL in cross winds. Man this guy or gal was all over the place even less than 2 mi. to the runway. Must of been 3 cross overs trying to correct B4 finally lining up good enough. Must have been a rookie pilot or coming back from somewhere fun...

get down, get down. are you afraid of the boogie monster?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

slguy says on Apr 15, 2008, 07:11:

I''ve flown them several times (DR, Lima) w/out problems - once I got on the plane.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

0 funny, 0 helpful.

static says on Apr 15, 2008, 07:42:

I flew them to Lima. No problems at all.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Pappassito says on Apr 15, 2008, 08:12:

Sorry,NNN, St, Mary`s St hasn`t had a good vibe for a few years now.. If you`re coming to San Antonio this month,however, Fiesta cranks up the 18th thru the 27th... Lots & lots of events and parties.. Lemme know if you`re in town.. I`ll buy you a `rita.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

toneloc24 says on Apr 15, 2008, 08:50:

Rubito - According to the DOT approval, the FLL-BOG service wasn't scheduled to start until the end of the year, at the earliest, and IF Spirit is still in business. LOL!!! Joke, sort of. Low cost carriers are seriously taking a beating right now.

The FLL-CTG route is under the Open Skies agreement. No other airline to date has taken advantage of this agreement, and for good reason, fuel prices are way too high. Would be interested to see how this route develops and how long before the plug is pulled.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

jonas says on Apr 15, 2008, 08:55:

But wouldn´t high fuel prices favor a low cost carrier? People trying to avoid rising fares? With so many Colombians living in that area they should have a pretty good market. And I hear they are opening a Spirit-LDV in Cartagena, a low cost establishment so to say.

What I have, I do not want to lose, but Where I am I do not want to stay, but those I love, I do not want to leave, but those I know I no longer want to see, but Where I die, I do not want to go;I want to stay where I have never been

0 funny, 0 helpful.

docwilliam says on Apr 15, 2008, 10:40:

They will be flying to Bogota soon. My brother just completed his sims, for Bogota. (Captain for Spirit)

"There's no time to panic"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

docwilliam says on Apr 15, 2008, 10:54:

And by the way, Spirit uses Airbus aircraft, the damn things fly themselves. The Pilot does not regain 100% control of the jet until 50 feet from landing. The aircraft is real nice, but it is a nightmare in bad crosswinds (as the pilot does not have 100% control until reaching 50 feet above the runway) NOT MUCH TIME FOR MAKING CORRECTIONS!
So if there is a "heavy" crosswind and the approach looks like SHI#, chances are its because it is an Airbus. They are not designed for good Pilots, they are disigned for computers.

"There's no time to panic"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

panthdave says on Apr 15, 2008, 15:30:

Yep only CTG for Spirit....They fly Panama City and Lima already.....Good prices though wish they went to MDE...

panthdave Miami

0 funny, 0 helpful.

toneloc24 says on Apr 15, 2008, 16:32:

Jonas - When fuel costs (oil) were budgeted at $35, the low cost carrier model was great. Now that oil cost approx. $114, that's no longer the case. They're in the same boat as every other airline. And with nothing further (costs) to cut, they run out of options sooner than the larger airlines. Hence why 4 low cost carriers have ceased operations or filed bankruptcy in the past month alone.

Docwill - Your brother needs to ask about the wind adjustments surrounding Bogota. 50 feet from the runway??? At 7000 ft above sea level??? LOL!!!! I've sat on planes where within 45 minutes, the pilots had to change runway directions 2-3 times due to the changing winds.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

BillBigD says on Apr 15, 2008, 19:03:

Not quite the same boat. Labor costs are much higher for nondiscount airlines.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

panthdave says on Apr 15, 2008, 19:16:

Well with fuel once fuel reserves run out for the airline there in big trouble like Southwest there reserves are gone now and paying current prices for fuel..Spirit must have a heavy supply of reserves to keep prices low along with Air Tran....but once that runs out...they will have no other choice but to raise prices...I would really like to know how the fuel purchasing agents for the airlines price out fuel... for future business..

panthdave Miami

0 funny, 0 helpful.

toneloc24 says on Apr 15, 2008, 20:04:

Well, we'll see. But as I stated, 4 low cost carriers have gone belly up in the past month. Nothing to sneeze at.

While I don't see Spirit, JetBlue, and AirTran joining them, they will pull the plug on unprofitable routes and non-cost-effective routes sooner than later, much sooner than the major airlines, who can just shift smaller planes onto those routes.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

BillBigD says on Apr 15, 2008, 20:58:

But remember all the legacy airlines besides American and Southwest were bankrupt with most lower fuel costs. It has been also said the US AIR merger isn't going well

0 funny, 0 helpful.

toneloc24 says on Apr 15, 2008, 22:27:

The US airline industry as a business model is a complete joke. We can start and end with that. 9/11 allowed a few of them the opportunity to restructure their operations after years and years of inefficient operations and mismanagement. The high fuel costs is now putting a tremendous strain on even those revamped operations.

For instance, Delta shifted a lot of larger planes from domestic routes to be used in the more profitable international market. One reason was fuel consumption. Another was preparing for a larger international push into Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. Believe it or not, the Latin America market is way more profitable than the European market. The domestic market is stagnant and fading away from the legacies. The LCCs have made their point. The legacy carriers are now only defending their turf within reason. Delta opted to co-exist with AirTran in Atlanta, but when JetBlue tried, they chased their ass outta here. Domestic routes are now mostly operated by smaller planes, which leads to fewer seats available for those routes. So even now, it's basically a break-even operation domestically. High fuel costs screw up best laid plans. So....they merge with Northwest. And now Continental's looking for a dance partner. LOL!!!

The USAir merger was doomed to fail when they announced the merger without any agreements with the pilots. That and the fact that operationally, they had no clue what they were doing.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

docwilliam says on Apr 20, 2008, 18:25:

Hi toneloc24,
I meant 50 feet above the runway, it does not matter what the altitude of the runway/airport is, the formula is the same. Pilots' do not change runways while descending from 50 feet above the runway, there is not enough time.And I was making ref. to airbus.

"There's no time to panic"

0 funny, 0 helpful.