Why you should never, ever book with Spirit Airlines

Otherwise known as "Why Spirit Airline sucks balls," or "Why I hope Spirit Airlines goes out of business."

I was going to get into the back story of why I even booked with this ridiculous company, but then I decided it wasn't worth your time to read. Short story: It was cheap (so I thought).

Yes the initial airfare was cheap. I don't need all the frills and first class accommodations when I fly, especially when fares are supposed to be so cheap, so I was fine with booking a cheap fare for a very short flight.

But then you had to pay for a seat assignment (I read somewhere you don't actually have to do this, but their website makes it seem you do). And then you had to pay to CARRY ON a bag. $30 to carry on, $45 to check. I chose carry on. And then, after that, there were the taxes and fees and this and that and the other. And all of a sudden, two one way flights from LAS to LAX that started at $40 each were $277! Needless to say, I was already feeling gypped by Spirit before we even went on our vacation.

Then, they fucked me over even more - when I went to check in for our flight home from Las Vegas yesterday, there was an innocuous looking window that popped up that said "flight status: canceled."

That's right, folks! They canceled my flight. WITHOUT ANY REASON GIVEN.

I called the number on said innocuous window, and of course, got someone in India. Now, I have nothing against call centers in India, per say. But when this person told me that Spirit would put the amount I had paid towards a new flight, but I would still be responsible for any taxes or fees above the cost of my old flight, I about lost it.

After asking for a supervisor and being put on hold, I was told that they would cover my new flight completely. But the next flight I could get on was Monday, not Sunday. Which didn't help me, because they had promised to get me home on SUNDAY. And also, they weren't going to pay for our hotel room because we would be stranded in Las Vegas for another night.

After asking for a supervisor again and being put on hold again, I was told that they would give me a full refund but I would have to book with another airline if I wanted to find a flight yesterday.

And after THAT? They asked me if I wanted a Spirit Airlines credit card.

At which point, I may or may not have used foul language and hung up.

Long story short (too late?), we rented a car and drove home.

And now, if you ask me, Spirit owes me the $200 it cost me to do that. Something tells me that's not going to happen.

My travel tip of the day? NEVER, EVER BOOK ANYTHING ON SPIRIT AIRLINES.