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Spirit Airlines attempts to collect a cancellation fee off flight 1549 passengers

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Jan 19th 2009 at 4:30PM

OK folks - it is no secret that airlines use fees and rules to increase their bottom line. If they mess up, you lose, if you mess up, you lose. Either way, the airline always manages to come out on top. And never has that been more clear than in the case of Rob and Jeff Kolodjay.

Rob and Jeff were scheduled to fly from La Guardia to Charlotte on a Spirit Airlines flight. When that flight was canceled, they were rebooked onto US Airways flight 1549.

Of course, we all know what happened next - naturally none of that can be blamed on Spirit, but when Rob called them to cancel his return tickets, the company representative insisted that he charge them a $90 cancellation fee.

That's right - even after being put on a flight that ended in the water, Spirit stuck to their rule books and demanded more money.

Of course, all worked out in the end when the story hit the press. Once Rob told his story on the local Fox news affiliate, Spirit Airlines issued a full refund. It's amazing what a bit of really bad PR can do.

Fox61.com, via Consumerist.com

Filed under: Airlines, News

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

pk franklin Jan 19th 2009 7:36PM

That is typical Spirit, a sad excuse for an airline, the botom rung of LCC

DJ Jan 20th 2009 1:44AM

Is anyone truly surprised by this?

CommercialDarwinism Jan 22nd 2009 10:21PM

I would not advise anyone to spend more on a ticket from Spirit Airlines than they can afford to lose due to their likely eventual bankruptcy. Having served as the Nat’l C/S Manager for a (former) Division of a prominent Fortune 50 company, I can tell you unequivocally that a strictly enforced corporate policy of opportunistic commercial predation upon one’s customer base will rapidly erode the commercial viability of the business – regardless of pricing and/or company reputation. Like many other customers, Spirit Airlines got me once. Like the vast majority of the customers of my former employer – I’ll never give them the chance to do it again.