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Spirit Airlines was scheduled to cancel more than 400 flights for a sixth straight day Friday following a “perfect storm” of operational issues that will lead to more cancellations over the weekend.
After cutting 43% of scheduled flights on Friday and over 1,700 since Sunday, Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie admitted, “It’s been a terrible week for us.”
Frustrated customers who got stranded took to social media to speak out against the beleaguered low cost airline – some vowing never to fly Spirit again.
“I just hope everyone who flew with them now sees what Spirit Airlines really is and how little they care about you since they blocked you with no explanation or refund or support (I heard say they gave a meal ticket lol), “one person tweeted.
Spirit Airlines’ woes continued into their fifth consecutive day on Friday, as the airline was forced to cut more than half of its flights on Thursday, with more cancellations to come. Customers were seen waiting in line at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Thursday
Customers on a canceled Spirit flight Tuesday morning were forced to sleep at LAX airport. Massive cancellations have taken place since Sunday
Customers stranded at Fort Lauderdale airport get angry and ask where their luggage is
Another person tweeted: “Thanks for canceling my flight. I didn’t receive a full refund and lost my hotel reservation … I don’t think your business needs a reputation negative because you’re too busy to pick up the phone. After all, since you don’t all steal, what else are you doing ??? ‘
“It’s so clear that they don’t care about their customers, these cancellations are crazy besides being the least comfortable airline to travel… SMH,” tweeted a frustrated customer.
“You all canceled my friends’ flight while they were sitting in the terminal… I hate you guys, I haven’t seen her since COVID-19. Trash Airlines, ”added the same person.
As complaints continue to flow, the airline looks to the future and pointed out that cancellations were slowing, Friday seeing the least since Sunday.
Spirit CEO Ted Christie said Thursday evening that the massive cancellations had occurred throughout July.
“We continue on our way to fly as much as possible while making progress in repairing our operation and repositioning our crews,” Erik Hofmeyer, communications manager for Spirit, told CNN. “We still have work to do, but we are now in a position to see reductions in cancellations in the days to come.”
The airline expects cancellations to continue through the weekend, but said it was optimistic that operations would return to normal by the middle of next week.
“It has been a terrible week for us, for our guests.” Spirit CEO Christie said Hello america Friday. “Everyone on the team is working really hard to try to get us back to where we want to be. There will still be cancellations over the next few days, but we can start to rebuild a full operation and then from the take out we got last week.
In a call with reporters Thursday evening, Spirit CEO Ted Christie said a combination of factors, including staff shortages and inclement weather, led to chronic delays in July. This led to teams expiring or reaching the maximum time they could legally work per day.
“We couldn’t deal with it,” he said, according to CNBC, and he estimated that the cancellations had likely affected tens of thousands of Spirit customers.
To alleviate staff shortages, the company offers double pay to flight attendants who take extra shifts and are offering accommodations, flight credits, refunds, hotel vouchers and meal vouchers to affected customers, as “each customer’s individual situation warrants,” ABC News reported.
The Deleon family say their vacation in Puerto Rico has been extended from eight to ten days. Although they were able to secure a new reservation on another return flight, the family had to spend over $ 800 on additional expenses and accommodation
But these coupons may not be enough.
Brenda Deleon told DailyMail.com that her family’s eight-day vacation in Puerto Rico had to be extended by two days – at a cost of $ 1,000 – because of Spirit.
After receiving the notification of the cancellation on Tuesday evening, Deleon attempted to contact Spirit customer service but was unable to speak to anyone.
“I called last night and was on hold for 42 minutes, but thought they were closed. This morning I went to the airport to talk to someone, but the Spirit kiosk was empty, ”she said.
Deleon called the airline’s 1-800 line again on Wednesday and was able to book the family’s flights for Friday at 2:50 a.m. But, the family still faced accommodation issues.
“Our AirBnb was booked tonight, so we looked for another home for $ 478.41 and two days of car rental for $ 342.34,” she said.
‘[Spirit said] they will only reimburse half of the travel costs, which is not an option as prices with other airlines have skyrocketed. We have to wait.
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