The big four US airlines - American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines - have by far the most capacity, accounting for 74% of US airline seats, a total of just under 73 million between them.
To be honest, there's really not that much difference in the main cabin. For me, if it's a short flight, I won't mind flying Spirit. However, on flights longer than 3 hours, JetBlue is a better option simply because of the TV screens at every seat.
Spirit Airlines Inc. (SAVE) recently faced a class-action lawsuit over some of its hidden fees — specifically the surprise fees charged to consumers for carry-on bags after booking flight tickets with a third-party company.
From a cost perspective, Spirit is hands-down the best value. In most cases, you'll save money flying Spirit even if you pick the Big Front Seat for both legs of your flight. On the other hand, pick Delta if you want more space and feel safer on an airline that takes more COVID-19 precautions.
Spirit allows passengers one free personal item, such as a purse, laptop bag, or small backpack. Your personal item must be small enough to store under the seat in front of you. Spirit requires personal items not to exceed 18 x 14 x 8 inches, including handles and wheels.
As noted above, Spirit charges for carry-on luggage. In addition, bags that do not meet Spirit Airlines' carry-on size and weight restrictions will be checked at the gate. Spirit baggage fees apply to any carry-on bags checked at the gate, which can get pricey if your carry-on counts as a second or third checked bag.
Spirit Airlines is another U.S. budget carrier that has a poor record for on-time arrivals. Although slightly better than Frontier, only 72.96% of all scheduled flights arrived on time in 2022, while 23.87% of flights were delayed and 3% were canceled.
Those familiar with Spirit's seating configurations will know that its Big Front Seats offer more than just extra legroom. While this is indeed the case, with a standard seat pitch of 36 inches rather than the usual 28, they are also wider, at 18.5 inches across.