Customer service? Sorry, there’s a fee for that.
Spirit Airlines recently made the quiet announcement that it will no longer offer its fliers a toll-free customer help number. Instead, the airline is switching to the not-free 801 area code.
This tacks on yet another charge to the airline’s already outrageous fee list.
According to a 2013 report by the marketing firm IdeaWorks, Sprit only came in one behind JetBlue for being the airline to make the most revenue from fees – and that was out of a sample of 50 carriers.
We’ve rounded up some of the craziest fees on Spirit’s long list of charges. Here are some of the more ridiculous ones:
1. $35-$100 for a Carry-On Bag
If you didn’t get the memo that you have to pay for a carry-on at Spirit, you will be paying $50 at the kiosk. If you had warning, the fee for a carry-on bag is $35 before check-in. If you somehow make it past the kiosk and all the way to the gate with your carry-on, it will cost you a whopping $100 to bring it on the plane. Ouch.
2. No More 1-800 Number
The airline’s change to the 801 area code--which is near Salt Lake City--will likely only affect customers calling from a landline, at about $0.05 to $0.18 per minute, depending on the phone plan.
3. $199 to Sit Near the Front
That’s right, to have a seat near the front of the plane will cost you nearly $200 per seat. And we’re not talking fresh baked cookies and champagne in first class. This is just a seat with a little extra legroom that is closer to the cockpit.
4. $3 for Bottled Water
Let’s imagine for a moment that you’ve been in an aircraft for 8 hours and are getting a little parched because security didn’t let you bring your Gatorade through the gate. Well, hopefully you’ve got some money to burn because a bottle of water isn’t cheap, at least on Spirit. At $3 a bottle, you may have to start rationing your fluid intake, or just drop an extra $3 and buy a beer instead.
5. $10 Charge for Printing Your Boarding Pass
We know how much of a struggle it is for airport agents to do the grueling work of printing out a boarding pass. Thankfully there is an added fee to compensate for their tasking labor. Note: this is sarcasm. There is no way that it could possibly cost $10 for Spirit to print a boarding pass, unless the thing was gilded and autographed by Elvis.
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