Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Mission146 View Post

Fuck paying extra for the big seats in front! I'm flying Spirit for exactly one reason: It's dirt fucking cheap. Aside from paying for my coffee, I have absolutely no interest in spending an extra dollar with them. If you wanted to fly me out to Vegas, on Spirit, on your dime, and offered to pay for the big seats in front, I would ask you not to waste money like that.

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It's not even strictly that they are the cheapest; they are often the cheapest by miles (lame joke). Honestly, if something like Southwest was $20 more expensive for the round trip, then I would choose that over Spirit. I'm not so cheap that I'm willing to sacrifice comfort for $20...which is really $12-$14 because I'd have to pay for Spirit's coffee.

With that, when you're talking about a difference of hundreds of dollars, then you get whatever you get and you should be damn well happy with it.


The two passages above contradict each other.

First you say you aren't going to pay the moderate fee to upgrade to a big seat up front, because you want the cheapest flight possible.

Just when I'm about to respect your commitment to ultra-frugality, you throw in the fact that you would fly a better airline like Southwest if it were just a little teacher.


Ummmmm... then why not also be willing to pay a small premium to get a much bigger/better seat, and therefore a much better experience?


I don't know how tall you are, or how wide you are. Maybe you're a small guy. But I'll tell you... when I accidentally booked a discount airline in 2014 and didn't realize it (I thought I was booking mainline Air Canada, and boy was I disappointed when I found out the truth), my girlfriend who is 5'5" also complained about the legroom. So unless you're a little kid, I think you always can enjoy more legroom and a wider seat.

Daly is correct to pay the small extra premium to have the "best experience possible" on a discount service. It's a similar concept to paying a small amount extra to get the best room at a mediocre or crappy hotel.
They don't strictly contradict each other. If you called me up and said, "Hey, I can get you on Southwest instead, for a difference of $20, if you want," I'd reply, "Sure, thanks!"

If it costs something like $20 to get the bigger seat on Spirit, then that's not what I am flying Spirit for; I am only on Spirit to maximize the amount of money I save, so that's what I am going to do, aside from buying their coffee (refills are included) both ways. I'm not on Spirit because they have a bigger seat in front; I am on Spirit because they are cheap...exception to coffee, I want the cheapest experience possible because that's why I am flying with them in the first place.

We're about similar in stature, I believe. I'm 6'3" and about 235lbs. I am, however, a bit younger than you are, so I don't find sitting straight up and down for a few hours particularly bothersome. In my experience, the difference in legroom (on other airlines) isn't even that meaningful, but I never measured the dimensions or anything.

Anyway, I don't want the best experience possible; I want the cheapest experience possible. If I didn't want the cheapest, then I wouldn't be on Spirit---paying for anything extra defeats that purpose. The only reason that coffee is an exception is because the coffee is probably cheaper (or as cheap) as anywhere in the airport; of course, if I buy it in the airport, then I am in no position to avail myself of a refill once I am on the plane.