Ok.
So EWR to Miami, $335 with Spirit, plus $35 for one carry on is $370
EWR to Miami $360 with JetBlue, $0 for one carry on, total is $360.
When I am stuck in an airport for hours with wife and kid, I can easily spend $120 on food and drinks. Sometimes I pretend that I can go for hours without eating or drinking but then that is when some of the luggage handlers disappear.
Subtract -35 USD because I bought a bag specifically to use when traveling on
Spirit.
One personal item is included in my airfare. It goes under the seat in front of me.
Thu Aug 18
Spirit
SDQ to LAS one way 460 USD
Jet Blue
SDQ to LAS one way 608 USD
Quick math that I learned in elementary school tells me that is a: 148 USD difference (I used a calculator)
or a 24.342% discount (I used an app called Percentage Difference for that calculation)
It should also be noted that I have used that special bag I bought just for travel on Spirit on more than just one occasion and it has more than paid for itself by not having to pay bag fees of any type.
I travel by myself. That means I ride by myself, eat by myself, drink by myself and interact with anyone I want by myself.
Free man living.
When stuck in an airport on a layover or a delay...I explore until I get tired then I find a place to chill out and entertain myself by people watching, watching the TVs the airports have playing in the lounges, read (I have a nice Fire 10 for that), swipe on my cell phone or work my whatsapp. I rarely get bored. I hate to travel. So I do everything I can to make the time pass pleasantly. Even if things go smoothly. My objective is to arrive at my desired destination at at some point safely.
Since I spent close to 75% of my time in travel mode during my work life...I think about travel differently. Especially when I have to pay my own freight and wait in lines like everyone else does. No more being escorted onto the plane or arriving plane side to leave. No more meeting the pilot and being upgraded to First Class or asked to sit...yes sit IN the cockpit with the flight crew. No more getting a priority roll out while everyone else at the airport holds while the plane I am on leaves. No more being met plane side and having the customs officials waiting for you when you arrive.
Yes, life is quite different for me when I travel now. And I would rather pay money to enjoy my time at the destination I arrive than for the flight to get there. 🤪
If
Spirit could get me where I need to go when I needed to get there...I had no problem climbing into those tiny seats.
If the merger goes through. That will just leave the Jet (Rob) Blue along with the other top four and Copa as my personal options. But hey, I am happy for the people who are making money holding Jet Blue stock and for whom Jet Blue served well. But I am not either one of those groups.