The title of this blog is slightly misleading. Flying in style usually doesn’t include Spirit Airlines but sometimes you can get lucky. My trip to the city by the lake was for pleasure and I was dead set and doing Spirit the right way this time, no carry-on, no buying seats, no extras of any kind. I was going low cost flying all the way and determined to spend as little money as possible.
Ticket Purchase
I was a little worried flying on a Friday to Sunday, but I knew the BOS-CLE route was new for Spirit and there was a possibility of getting some really cheap tickets. I had been checking their website for weeks and about a week and a half before I wanted to go I saw the price drop to $78.50 roundtrip all in. I called up my friend Tim and just like that we were headed to Cleveland for the weekend. The times were also quite pleasing. A direct flight to Cleveland Hopkins Airport (which I will do a review of next week) leaving at 9:40am and getting in at 11:40am. Couldn’t be any simpler. Like I said before I was all in for the low-cost lifestyle and was determined to not spend a penny more.
Flight Details
Departure Airport: Boston Logan Intl (KBOS)
Terminal B, Gate B4
Arrival Airport: Cleveland-Hopkins Intl (KCLE)
Gate A2
Scheduled Departure: 09:40AM EDT
Departure: 09:57AM EDT
Schduled Arrival: 11:25AM EDT
Arrival: 11:25AM EDT
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Distance: Direct: 562 sm Planned: 618 sm Flown: 735 sm
Fare: Average: $174.76
Friday morning flights can sometimes be hectic at Logan, but seeing as we were flying after the rush, I wasn’t worried. We took Uber to the airport for $24, which is a steal compared to a Boston cab. I had printed out the boarding passes beforehand and as we had no bags to check, we headed straight to security. Without fail, there is always at least one person so unprepared for the security line it is staggerin. This time it was a man forgetting to take out his laptop, holding up the line and almost forgetting it when he was finished. Some people are just amazing.
After getting through without issues, we decided an early morning drink. We stopped at the most generic bar in Logan “Home Town Sports”. If there ever was a restaurant meant for an airport, this would be it. Generic name and can be placed in any airport in the world. Had a decent $10 Bloody Mary and notice on my ticket that our flight was boarding at 8:55 for a 9:40 flight. I didn’t make much sense and must have been a misprint. We waited till about 9:05 and wandered over to the gate.
You know it will be a good flight when nobody boards on zone 1 and 2. For Spirit those are for the people who have paid for extras but we could tell this was going to be a light flight. Sticking to my mantra of not paying for extras, I of course got a middle seat. Luckily it was right behind the exit row, so my plan was to move up asap. We boarded without issue, my backpack drew no size alarms and I snuggled in between two medium sized travelers.
Once that cabin door shut I was on the move. Hopped over the man in aisle seat and made my way to the exit row window seat. Freedom never tasted so good. To be fair this was a new Spirit A319 aircraft and the seats weren’t bad and didn’t feel too cramped. I would have had no issue flying to CLE in the middle, but nobody gives up the chance to sit in the exit row for free. My friend also moved to the exit row and got the aisle seat, we were sitting pretty for takeoff.
It’s amazing how powerful an A319 can feel with barley anybody on it. People on Spirit fly light and don’t check to much baggage or bring big carry on’s. It felt like we barley used up any of the runway and were up in air. We took off south over Boston Harbor and then turned west towards CLE. The flight was smooth as glass and barely any turbulence the whole way. The cabin crew came around quickly and I got a ginger ale, breaking the $80 dollar mark for my ticket. They were very nice and we spoke about how light the flight was and they mentioned they were surprised it was so empty. Not sure I totally believe that BOS-CLE is usually a full route but Spirit doesn’t really fly routes they can’t make a profit on, so maybe we got lucky.
The landing is CLE was extremely smooth and there was a short taxi to the gate. It was certainly one of the best $40 dollar flights I have ever taken. It is crazy to think how cheap it can be to fly these days if you really stick to your guns and pack light and don’t care where you sit. Spirit for all its bad press really isn’t that awful if you are prepared and know what you are getting into. Its won’t ever be an Emirates or an Singapore Air but if you want to go visit your friend on the cheap in Cleveland, it’s the way to go. I give this flight a 5 out of 5 in the context of what Spirit offers: Cheap fares, no frills gets you to your destination on time. Next time you are flying into CLE or BOS be sure to use the tripchi app for all your airport needs. Travel On!