There's one thing about charging carry-on baggage fees, and 3$ for a bottle of water immediately after serving complimentary pretzels... and there is another thing about Spirit Airlines making the idiotic decision to fly into O'Hare during a severe storm with tornado's touching down in the Chicagoland area ( http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...-kankakee.html)
Flight Number : 400 from Ft. Lauderdale to Chicago (O'Hare)
Date: June.5.2010
What happened:
As the plane was making its approach towards O'Hare the plane was dipping/rising and going through severe storm turbulence. I'm not talking rollers or vibration... I'm talking about the type of turbulence that makes you wonder if you're going to make it. I looked outside and noticed a few lightning clashes. I wasn't the only one on edge. All passengers on the plane didn't say a word, you could just feel how tense it was in the cabin. As we approached the pilot decided to turn on the emergency exit lights for some reason. I don't know if that is standard procedure upon landing, but it caused a bit of stir. The plane eventually touched down, but started to fishtail as a last gust of wind decided to push the plane off center. Everyone started clapping out of relief once we all realized we made it. Luckily, the pilot got us through safely. If the pilot wasn't on their game, the outcome may have been different. All blame rests upon the Spirit Airlines traffic control to let the pilot leave Ft. Lauderdale. Didn't anyone check the storm forecast in Chicago and the 3-4 hour forecast for the storm on Doppler radar??? I soon found out a tornado touched down south west of Chicago and severe weather had moved through Chicago (read the above article).
If anyone from Spirit Airlines is reading, please don't try to cut costs above safety. You could have easily delayed the flight 1-2 hours in Ft. Lauderdale. Yes, you would have had irate customers in Florida for the delay, but you would have lost a lot more if anything had happened.
Definitely not flying Spirit Airlines again.
|