Spirit Airlines Is Gone — Here’s Why Cheap Flights Are Getting Harder to Find
Value-driven travelers are still adjusting to the demise of Spirit Airlines. It has been almost five months since the budget airline folded, leaving travelers with fewer options when looking for cheap flights. The overall upward trajectory of flight prices is amplifying the loss of this ultra-low-cost carrier. Here is a closer look at the void left by Spirit's shuttering, as well as how you can still find hidden deals.
Spirit Airlines' Demise Has Left a Hole in the Budget Travel Category
Air fares are trending 23% higher than this time last year, according to David Krauter, CEO of flight deals site Going. Krauter also noted that Thanksgiving prices are running roughly 13% higher year-over-year. Holiday airfares are coming in about 11% higher.
So what is a budget-conscious traveler to do? Many travelers are simply staying home. Spirit had the market cornered on last-minute flight deals, meaning many of those options have disappeared.
A survey from travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth.com found over 10% of travelers would reconsider a trip because of the overall increase in prices. In addition, almost a quarter of travelers have reported scaling back a trip this year due to cost concerns.
JetBlue and Frontier have tried to fill the void left by Spirit. Aviation analytics company Cirium notes that other airlines have been able to replace Spirit's capacity completely on 104 routes, while capacity had been at least partially replaced on 95 of the routes by August.
Joshua Sheats, host of the podcast Radical Personal Finance, recently said that he misses the ability to pick and choose what options to purchase when booking a ticket with Spirit. “If you wanted to travel cheaply, you could travel on Spirit very, very inexpensively. If you wanted all of the perks that you get with a full-service carrier, you could go ahead and purchase those perks,” said Sheats.
Sheats said that he now flies a mix of airlines. “If I have a direct flight, just point-to-point, where I don't need the reliability of the network that a full-service carrier has, I'll use a low-cost carrier,” he said. He went on to say that “If I have multiple connections and I'm worried about travel disruptions or delays … I will choose a full-service carrier because of that stability, knowing that they might have another flight or two that same day to get me on where I need to go.”
Lastly, Sheats said he is beginning to lean more on train travel for his trips. He notes that while Amtrak's service network is far more limited than what you find with air travel, there are fewer surge pricing concerns.
Spirit's Demise Leaves an Accessibility Gap
Well-traveled Americans report that low-cost carriers such as Allegiant and Frontier offer a similar price advantage as Spirit did. However, Spirit really shone when it came to accessibility for those traveling with disabilities.
Tisha Savage, CEO of the nonprofit Crowns for Change and founder of Revolutionary Pageants, specializes in traveling with disability. As a person suffering from psoriatic arthritis herself, Savage said that she appreciated Spirit recognizing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program. This program advises people with invisible disabilities to wear a sunflower as a way to discreetly inform others that they may need extra time or accommodations.
“I feel like every single agent or employee I ever came across with Spirit knew what it was immediately. You didn't have to explain yourself,” said Savage. She went on to say that “Now with other airlines, they have no idea what it is. They think you just are wearing a (sunflower) lanyard for fun on your trip … In my experience, it's been pretty cold and no one's really helping you with overhead bins.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over one in four American adults have a disability. This means that there is a significant need for airlines to be proactive about recognizing that disabled travelers will need extra accommodation.
How to Find the Good Deals
While there is no doubt that Spirit's exit from the skies has translated to a lack of affordable airfares, there are still deals out there if you are willing to put in the work to find them. Sheats recommends using online services such as SkipLagged, Skyscanner, Kiwi, and Google Flights to find the best deals.
As has always been the case, you will save more money if you are able to be flexible with your travels. All of the flight aggregate sites make it easier than ever to compare prices and dates with just a few clicks. Savvy budget travelers also know that it is often less expensive to book two one-way tickets on different airlines than traveling round trip on a single carrier.
Lastly, do not wait too long to book if you have a specific date that needs to work for you. Although the best deals are often found at the last minute, this only works if you can be flexible with your dates and destinations.
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