Between raised prices and lower weight limits, fitting all the things one needs on a trip can be a pretty miserable experience.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) is known industry-wide for its generous baggage policy of two free checked bags per passenger even in the lowest fare class but, in general, going over the weight limit will cost you. A second checked bag can cost over $100 while some airlines charge as much as $10 for every extra pound of additional weight.
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In its effort to mimic Southwest’s good reputation when it comes to baggage, Spirit Airlines (SAVE) announced that it is raising its checked bag limit from 40 to 50 pounds. Built on the low-cost model, Spirit does not have fare classes of the type found on mainstream airlines but instead sells “travel bundles” in which one can pay for a wider seat and included baggage.
Spirit to increase baggage weight limits, extend validity of travel vouchers
Without such an add-on, a traveler typically pays $60 for a bag weighing under 40 pounds (that limit will now rise to 50 pounds) booked ahead of time and as much as $100 for the same bag if purchased at the last minute at airport check-in.
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The weight limit increase is part of several changes that Spirit is introducing as it attempts to win over customers for the summer and fall seasons. The airline is also extending the validity of travel vouchers given to guests as compensation for problems that arose during travel from 90 days to a full year.
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Spirit promises to ‘make affordable travel easier than ever.’ Will it deliver?
“Spirit has changed the game before and we're doing it again with this first round of initiatives that will lead the way to a new era of low-fare, high-value flying," Spirit Executive Vice President And Chief Commercial Officer Matt Klein said in a statement on the upgrades. “These enhancements provide each and every one of our guests unparalleled flexibility and peace of mind, and it's just the beginning of our pursuit to make affordable travel easier and more seamless than ever.”
At the end of May, Spirit followed low-cost competitor Frontier Airlines (FRON) in eliminating fees for changing or canceling a flight. Instead, guests can make changes online up to an hour before their flight’s departure time and pay only the difference if fares prices rise (which, in most cases, they almost certainly will as one gets closer to the flight time.)
Over the last year, Spirit has been struggling with a series of unprofitable quarters and looked for ways to bring in more passengers. After a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked larger carrier JetBlue Airways (JBLU) ' attempt to acquire it for $3.6 billion, several financial analysts have circulated rumors that a potential bankruptcy might be on the horizon.
In its most extreme cost-cutting measure to date, Spirit had earlier this year announced that it would place 260 pilots on furlough by the fall and continued trimming its flight network of anything not as profitable.
Most recently, it cut a number of flights to Florida from Atlanta, Austin, Kansas City, Nashville, New Orleans, and Salt Lake City.
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