Hacker News Reader

I'd take spirit on a short trip where I need only a small carry on. I just don't generally need flights that fit that scenario, especially on the east coast where I prefer the comfort and ease of Amtrak. I hate airports.

I wish this country had high speed rail.

View on HN

If your small carry on is larger than 18x14x8 inches, it's an additional ~$35 to ~$60, depending on when/where you pay. This is how they make their money.

Even with this rule, it is generally cheaper than commercial flights from other carriers, except (in my experience) for extremely low price United flights that have the same stipulation.

Oh, yes...should have mentioned the 28" seat pitch. That's the other way they make money. Other airlines have 30"-32" in their economy seats.

This can’t be a significant factor. The seats per plane allowed by pitch difference is about 11% (at maximum using 28" vs 32") seats in a two-aisle plane.

Spirit base fares are often less than half what a United or even Southwest are charging for same route.

11% more seats is a pretty big deal in a low margin business.

Comparing base fares is hard when the product is so different, and Spirit isn't uniformly half the cost either. Say it's uniformly 20 to 30 percent lower. Seat pitch and bag fees (carry-on/checked) might account for most of that. Also see things like refundability.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com