“There will be no further correspondence regarding this issue”

Alyse Goodstein is a casualty of the recent Spirit Airways strike. She flew from Fort Lauderdale to Punta Cana just as the work stoppage was starting, and she had to return on another carrier.

Spirit agreed to refund the unused portion of her ticket, but she thinks she’s entitled to more. Specifically, the cost of the new flight and two nights at a hotel, for a total of $1,296.

Could I help?

The short answer is: no. Spirit’s contract of carriage is clear on the issue of flight cancellations. The best I could do is recommend she contact a manager for some consideration, but that she wasn’t owed anything.

Goodstein appealed in writing. Here’s how Spirit responded:

Thank you for your continued correspondence with Spirit Airlines. It’s my pleasure to continue to assist you.

I understand your disappointment and frustration, appreciate your comments, and respect your point of view.

Although I am empathetic and regret your inconvenience, in keeping with our company policy, I am not able to honor your request for reimbursement of any additional expenses incurred.

Your reservation and inquiry have been, thoroughly, reviewed by myself and my Manager. There will be no further correspondence regarding this issue as I have, previously, clarified our policy.

If you have any additional question about any other matter, I will be happy to assist you.

Thank you for choosing Spirit Airlines.

That’s not just a “no” — it’s a “no, and don’t ask again.” So Goodstein asked me to intervene.

“I don’t think they will change their answer for me,” I wrote to her in an email. “I’m sorry.”

To which she responded,

I am so disappointed and disturbed of your response concerning Spirit not refunding our due $. Could you not give it a try to call or em them to maybe change their decision? Please!!!

Well, the last thing I want is for a reader to be disappointed or disturbed — yes, I’m a softie — so I asked my Spirit contact if she could see if the airline overlooked anything. As a matter of full disclosure, I sent her our entire correspondence, in which I had shared my doubts about the claim.

The response: “This was assisted in line with both our policies and DOT regulations.”

In other words, no.

In resolving customer grievances, there’s often a line between what a company must do, as a matter of policy, and should do, as a matter of good customer service.

Spirit did everything it had to do, according to its contract. It could have done more — much more — to make this customer happy. But it wasn’t required to.

I’ve found that some commenters and readers on this site are unaware of that line. As a result, I’m often accused of helping people who don’t deserve any assistance. People like Goodstein.

I try to keep an open mind about these cases.

Did Goodstein get everything to which she was entitled from Spirit? Yes. Did she have a bad customer service experience? Without a doubt.

Even though her case was a long shot, I was happy to take it up with Spirit.

Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?

Update (8/11): Apparently, there will be further correspondence regarding this issue. From Goodstein:

Hi Chris – I just wanted to inform you that we heard again from Spirit and they have given us an additional $200 for future flight with Spirit (Total $400) so we have ended this situation.

(Photo of Punta Cana sunrise by side rean/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • Kevin

    Spirit Airlines has made it very clear for quite some time that customer service is simply not one of their values.

    Personally, I do not pay people to disrespect me so I do not care if I have to pay triple the price, I will never set foot on Spirit. I would rather walk or swim to my destination.

  • Sara

    I’m sorry, but if Spirit had reimbursed everyone for every expense that resulted from these conditions, they’d out of business. Insurance, anyone?

  • Walt Blackadar

    A few details are missing – like what was the need for the additional two nights at a hotel – but no, Spirit didn’t do enough. Contract of Carriage be damned, if I buy a round-trip ticket, I expect to be flown round-trip. Otherwise, the services I paid for haven’t been fulfilled. As such, I’d charge-back the cost of the entire original Spirit tickets if I could.

    You could also file in small claims court for the additional costs. Interestingly enough, Spirit’s Contract of Carriage doesn’t come up on my Firefox browser this morning….can’t enforce a contract you’re not allowed to view. Any excuse will do when you’re in small claims court and the other party doesn’t show up. ;)

    As the very least, put the story out there on every web message board, blog and news site you can. From so many negative reviews, I know I would never buy a Spirit ticket. Bad press = less business. So hit ‘em where it hurts.

  • Charles

    Okay, I’ve flown Spirit Airlines a few times. You fly it because it’s cheap and our trips have worked out okay (well, 2 out of 3). That said, there are a few rules anyone flying this airline should follow:

    1. Don’t book way in advance. Spirit is always changing fees, flights, and rules. If you book a year in advance you may be flying a very different airline.

    2. Check the strike lists. I usually look at http://www.travelguard.com/customerservice/strikelist/. If your airline is on that list, travel insurance won’t cover you. If it’s too much of a risk for TravelGuard, isn’t it too much of a risk for you? BTW, does everyone realize the AirTran is on that list? (And British Airways). You’ll see Spirit on that list with the end of the strike indicated. I find it strange that I don’t see the strike lists mentioned much in travel blogs.

    3. Buy travel insurance (but not from Spirit!). This is especially important if travelling to the Caribbean or other farther destinations. When you fly Spirit you take a bigger risk, you should insure against that risk. I won’t buy insurance for a flight to Orlando, but I sure would for a flight to Cancun or Punta Cana.

    4. Don’t save a buck flying Spirit! We find the Spirit regular fares get matched pretty closely by the major airlines. Don’t buy a Spirit ticket to save 10 or 20 dollars. If you’re not saving a bunch of money, fly a “real” airline.

    Simple rules to live by and you can have a good Spirit experience.

  • John R. Strohm

    It seems safe to conclude that Spirit has permanently lost a customer. Possibly more than one, as the story gets around.

  • http://www.cosmo-and-me.blogspot.com Cosmos Human

    I would take them to your local small claims court. I doubt they will show up and you will receive a default judgement against them. Or take it to “Judge Joe Brown”.

  • SirWired

    At the risk of sounding like a broken record here… insurance, insurance, insurance. As long as the insurance is purchased prior to the strike being announced, any decent policy would have paid for both the return flight and hotel room.

  • Liz

    Noone should be surprised when they get crappy service from Spirit.

    Spirit should’ve put her on a different airline to get her home.

  • Mel

    I admit I am often one of those wondering “why help this person, when he/she didn’t help him/herself by purchasing appropriate insurance?” but in this case, I’m very sympathetic to the traveler. Spirit took their money in anticipation of providing a service, and Spirit should have worked harder to make sure that its customers weren’t impacted anymore than necessary by THEIR strike. Customers had no dog in that particular fight and shouldn’t be forced to take the consequences. Maybe Spirit should have disclosed at the time of purchase in a pop up box “Hey, before you hit “submit” we feel you should know there’s a good chance we’re going on strike and you’ll be left holding the bag if we do….do you want to continue this purchase?” I travel frequently and have never heard of the “strike list” and I’m not sure the average traveler is aware of it either, although I know to check it now! Thanks!

  • Roberto

    If Spirit wanted to do the right thing here, the least they could do is pay to get Goodstein home. I mean, she bought a round-trip ticket, after all.

  • David

    It’s Spirit! What did you expect?

    In my experiene, Spirit is the absolutely WORST airline in terms of customer service. I will never, ever, ever fly them again. Think about it — when trouble happens (and eventually it will) is when you need customer service the most. And that’s where Spirit will completely and totally abandon you. In your worst moment of need.

  • Aaron

    “So disappointed and disturbed”? Doesn’t that strike you as a bit rude, Chris? I sympathize with Ms. Goodstien’s situation, but she has no right to address you as if she is paying you for a service and you owe her something. If she was that disrespectful to you — someone who was basically doing her a favor by reviewing her case — I can only imagine how she addressed the people at Spirit Airlines. I know Spirit is known for crappy customer service, but if that’s her attitude, no wonder they told her to F off.

    One of the things I like about your column is that you preach catching flies with honey, something that’s always worked for me. Don’t encourage bad behavior. Were I in your situation, I would have sent her an email just like the one she got from Spirit.

    Aaron

  • Joe Farrell

    Spirit is a cargo carrier – in their case the cargo loads itself. They exist to operate aircraft – they do not exist to provide a customer service experience. They and Allegiant are exactly the same – if you know going in that you are simply self-loading cargo you will have a satisfactory travel experience.

  • http://www.roamingtales.com Caitlin @ Roaming Tales

    In 2007 I lived in London and spent Christmas in New York. Our British Airways flight home in early Jan was cancelled (the crew was ill) and we couldn’t get another flight with them for several days. Fortunately we were staying with friends and the pound was high, so this didn’t cause too much additional expense – though if we’d been in a hotel it would have been another story. However, it did mean we had to take more time off work and use up valuable leave days, which wasn’t great.

    We had travel insurance but I also contacted BA. They gave us a £200 flight voucher as compensation for our inconvenience. This was on top of and separate from anything our insurers might reimburse.

    It wasn’t just a case of good customer service. Airlines in Europe are legally required to provide compensation when they cancel services. And this is as it should be. Commenters here are saying that Spirit would go out of business if they did this, yet European airlines, even the budget ones, remain in business despite governments mandating greater consumer protection.

    I don’t understand why people here are so quick to default to “oh well, they should have had insurance”. Insurance is a great thing but it’s not the only thing. It doesn’t absolve airlines or travel providers generally of responsibility.

  • Ed

    Well, check Spirit airlines off of my list of airlines to fly! Lucky for me, they don’t fly out of my local airport!

  • Bob

    I have flown Spirit before because they were cheap. However it was for a domestic flight. I would never fly them internationally.

    Maybe Congress needs to enact a law that states if an airline flies people to an international destination, they must provide a way back. They cannot just wash their hands and leave them stranded, Period. And fine them $10k per passenger if they do. This way it is financially better for the airline to do the right thing.

    If you are stuck in the US, at least you have some other less expensive options if need be like bus, train, or renting a car; even if they take a little longer to get home. I would think that there would be a rule in place that if you fly someone out of the country, then you must get them back and a contract of carriage should not be able to relieve them of that responsibility.

  • Cory J.

    I think Spirit did all that they could, based on their strike position and the number of travellers that would have required assistance. They were very polite in their response, and your initial correspondence must have been polite and cordial. That this individual continued to whine and plead for you to continue to intervene was disrespectful to you. No is no lady, get over yourself and understand your contract of carriage. If you weren’t so cheap you would have taken insurance coverage. You’re stuck with a bill like plenty of other people were. Spirit would have been bankrupt had they paid for everyone’s changed flights. Do I believe that any of the carriers Contract of Carriage are reasonable and fair to the traveller, certainly not; they favor the airline quite heavily, traveller/purchaser be darned.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Caitlin @ Roaming Tales – “Airlines in Europe are legally required to provide compensation when they cancel services. And this is as it should be. Commenters here are saying that Spirit would go out of business if they did this, yet European airlines, even the budget ones, remain in business despite governments mandating greater consumer protection.”
    - – - – - – - – - — – —
    These government regulations are passed through to the consumers via higher fares. No airlines or any business as a matter of fact are going to eat the costs of a government regulation for the long-term. I went to Orbitz to check the fares for a direct flight from LAX to LHR and BA had the second highest fare…the fare was $ 119 higher than the lowest fare (three airlines had the lowest fares).

    There are 227 seats in BA’s World Traveler Class (i.e. Economy), that is a potential revenue of $ 27,013 per flight (227 x $ 119) or a potential revenues $ 81,039 per day since BA has three direct flights from LAX to LHR. Of course, this is based upon every seat being sold.

    The fare for FC in BA was $ 4,541 higher for the 14 seats so we are talking about $ 63,574 (14 seats x $ 4,541) or $ 190,722 per day. The fare on LH for FC was the same as BA.

    The fare for BC in BA was $ 253 higher for the 52 seats so we are talking about $ 13,156 per flight or $ 39,468 per day.

    The bottom line is the BA is passing along the costs for these regulations in the form of higher fares. I have worked for a few large companies with vast international operations…the HQ for one was based in Europe. There was a government regulation department at these companies and when there was a new regulation that cause an increase of cost of doing business, these costs was incorporated in the cost of goods sold thus our prices went up.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    If Ms. Goodstein was driving her own vehicle on vacation and they had car problems causing them to miss a night in the hotel (i.e. a pre-paid non-changeable non-refundable reservation; it was past the cancellation deadline, etc.), would she ask GM, Ford, etc. to pay for the night? Things do happen in life and that is why you purchase insurance to cover a portion of the risks that you are not willing to assume.

    Back in 1989, I was at a corporate meeting in Miami. The travel agency for our company booked tickets for most of the attendees (around 100) on Eastern Airlines because the fares were dirt cheap. It was the consensus among us that the reason was the fare was so low because a strike was pending for that weekend.

    They went on strike on Saturday. I called Eastern and was told that our flights will fly on Sunday regardless of the strike. On Sunday, I went to airport at 5:00 AM in the morning. Eastern was still telling passengers that they were going to fly, were going to take of the passengers, etc.

    My employer told everyone that they won’t reimburse tickets that we purchased on our own to get home. I walked over to the Delta counter and purchased a ticket for $ 225 on a flight that left at 8:00 AM. Did I want to pay the $ 225? No but I value my time and I didn’t want to spend the whole day or etc. at the airport which was crowded with people. It turned out that several of my peers spent the day and night at the airport and didn’t get home until Monday.

  • MVFlyer

    I think this underscores what the union wants to do: force the airline to lose revenue and passengers to create more leverage for themselves. They don’t give a hoot about the passengers, either (like Spirit itself). Don’t they realize, however, that this is a self-limiting prophecy–they will lose some number of the passengers, possibly forever? And without pax, they don’t have jobs? This is what happened at the old Eastern Airlines–management and the unions had such a bad relationship that the unions went on strike, and the airline had no choice but go out of business. Many of those folks who lost their jobs never worked in the airline industry again…is this what the Spirit unions want?

    From Spirit’s point of view, I can understand why they won’t pay for this passenger’s hotel, etc…they can’t afford to set the precedent, because if all of their pax did this, they’d be out of business. And small claims court isn’t necessarily the answer–even if you win, you have to collect, which isn’t easy.

  • Teresa

    This is an example of why the US desperately needs a law like the EU’s Regulation 261. If Spirit was an EU airline, they’d be responsible for getting the passenger home and for providing “care” during the intervening period — accommodation and meals. They might have to pay passengers a penalty fee. EU airlines had to be dragged kicking and screaming into this, but they are dealing with it, although there are legitimate questions about the extent to which the rules should apply during events like volcanic eruptions. Airline travel in the US would be a much improved experience if a similar rule were adopted. EU 261 is written in fairly plain language and you don’t have to click through lots of screens to find it.

  • Concerned flyer

    @Arizona Road Warrior: BA is more expensive because the cost of living is higher in UK. Salaries are higher, equipment costs more, and fuel is more expensive. But at least their domestic employees don’t have to pay through the nose for health insurance.

  • Christopher Elliott

    I’ve had to moderate a few comments on this discussion. This is a forum on travel and consumer advocacy, not politics, and I have a firm policy about hate speech. Come on, folks. We’re better than that.

  • Lisa S

    I have never intended to fly Spirit, and the strike and resulting poor customer service, simply confirms that I made the right decision long ago.

    @Joe Farrell: I liked your very accurate description. Perhaps your advice will help others who travel Spirit.

  • Bradley

    Me thinketh that many fail to understand many thigs here.

    Plane and simple the airline and I have entered into a contact. If the airline breaches such contract then they owe for the damages. Spirit, through their own actions, caused the breach and therefore should be liable for the damages that they caused.

    Buying an automobile is NOT a contract. It is the purchase of a product. Totally diffent circumstance.

    It is time that we stand up for our CONTRACT rights. Airline policy has no bearing and that right. What if the airline had a POLICY that stated that once you purchase, no refunds will be given for any reason, even if they fail to delover. Would anyone really accept that?

    Insurance? I don’t buy insurance for an action of a party I am in contract with. They are contractually bound to deliver. Insurance is for events that are outside of the airlines control and outside of my control. No-refundable vs refundable tickets are a form of this insurance. I pay a higher price for a ticket that is refundable if I think their is a chance that I may need to change or cancel this ticket. I buy a non-refundable ticket if I am willing to take the chance that I may need to cancel and NOT get my money back. Thta is the insurance. The airline still entered into a contract to carry me and their failure to do so is not what I insured against. Maybe if they offered another type ticket with an even lower fare then I might buy thta ticket. The airline then insured against their breach by “buying” insurance from me.

    This all boils down to a CONTRACT is a CONTRACT and who gives a hoot what is POLICY. POLICY is only for guidence to low level employees to interact with customers. It is NOT a contract nor does itmake it leagl.

    Brad

  • David Z

    Plane and simple the airline and I have entered into a contract.

    Not meaning to necessarily argue, but a question there would be “what part of the contract do you want to enforce?”

    Various contract lawyers have since drilled into my thick skull that contracts define one another’s responsibilities, relationships and limitations. As Chris noted, Spirit’s CoC spells out a limitation for this scenario.

    (While I’d elaborate more, let’s just say I kinda don’t want to give Spirit or any airlines any funny ideas. They probably know, though.)

    Obviously no one has to personally agree with or like their terms, although one “legally” agrees with them the moment they purchased one of their tickets. Of course, that legality can always be debated in a court of competent jurisdiction…whereever that is.

    Beyond that, unfortunately it’s a matter of opinion (and somehow enforcing it) of whose responsibility should be for what.

  • Barbara

    I’d never fly Spirit, but I’m beginning to think I should never fly again, ever. I have the sneaking suspicion that if Ms. Goodstein had purchased travel insurance, we’d still be reading of her flight plight, only her complaint would not be about Spirit, but about the travel insurance industry for denying her claim. There are so many corporate loopholes nowadays designed to strangle the consumer, and not just in the travel industry.

    I also think that Ms. Goodstein was being manipulative toward Chris in telling him she was “disappointed and disturbed” in his declining to contact Spirit on her behalf. Entitlement has become a particularly prominent syndrome in America lately…it’s a sort of emotional obesity brought on by not realizing how fortunate we are for the overall standard of living in America (although I know there are serious exceptions).

  • John Baker

    @Brad .. You’re correct you entered into a contract. The terms of that agreement are located in the CoC. By purchasing airfare from Spirit, you agree to those terms. The terms of the contract specifically limit their liability in this situation.

    Both parties are bound by the terms of the contract, you can’t decide that you don’t like the terms after the fact. Their policies are merely means in which they enforce the terms of the contract upon you. Don’t be upset that they want to hold you to the terms you agreed upon (even if you never read them).

    So I ask, what part of the CoC did they violate? My understanding is they fulfilled their obligations to a tee.

  • The Good Doctor

    Good work, Chris – you got her $200 more than she otherwise would have received! And it’s not just a strike that strands Spirit’s passengers, but their lack of spare aircraft during normal ridership loads. Two of my co-workers were stranded in the midWest because Spirit cancelled a flight and couldn’t get a replacement plane there for a couple of days.

  • Shirley Garcowski

    Wow, I should have contacted you when Disney refused to address my concerns, after following procedures and emailing or writing various individuals as time elapsed (I didn’t email/write to everyone all at once!). I got the same kind of response–we have addressed this issue and that’s that. Good for you and your reader.