Spirit Flight and Passport Fiasco
Not sure if this reply may be more pertinent as a new topic in the Airlines Forum but I wonder how many folks are being affected by this passport requirement fiasco.
Here's my story. My 18 yo son, who lives in NY, came to visit me in FL. He and I were flying for the weekend from FLL to SDQ on 7/13, 6AM flight via Spirit, but never made it. Turns out his passport expired July 1, 2007 and although he had official birth cert and driver lic, Spirit did not allow him to board without the confirmation letter (which he obviously did'nt have). So we got credit vouchers for the airfare ($301 R/T for the 2 of us). Yesterday I re-booked another flight for me only via the internet for $254.00 and applied both vouchers but the website wanted to charge me a $140 ($70 for each voucher) "administrative fee". So I called Spirit and got a rep who, after I explained my situation, said that the FLL counter rep and supervisor should not have stopped us from boarding. According to her, if the passport expiration date was within one year, Spirit at FLL should have allowed us board!! So I asked her if they would waiver the Admin fee and after talking to a supervisor, I got the full voucher credit. I am still out $25 for the non-refundable prepaid baggage that we were taking with us. But that's another battle which I will fight at the airport. BTW, I immediately called my son back in NY (he took it hard that we were not able to go) to tell him that it was not his fault.
Here's another one. This week, my brother, his wife and kids were scheduled to fly to Belgium from Orlando, FL for 3 weeks. But only the wife and kids made it because he did/has not received his renewed passport on time (application submitted in April) and he is still waiting, hoping to join them as the days go by before they return. It cost him $200 to cancel his flight plus $ difference of a new ticket, if he can find one!
You'd think with all the $ fees that this gov't agency collects that they would hire sufficient and competent people to process what is basically "paperwork" and simply communicate and inform the public what the rules are. This is one of the most inept and inefficient of all government agencies and in the past nobody has complained or cared because the constituency it supposedly serves do not yet have political muscle or power. Maybe I am being cynical but I think they purposely relish the bureaucratic red tape, slow processing, and delays to cause the helpless folks who are waiting for U.S. residency, citizenship, etc, to lose hope, despair, and perhaps give up and go back. Now that native Americans are being affected with this passport requirement, they are waking up and smelling the bitter coffee.
To end this rant, my son and I made the most of the weekend by spending it in Key West. Interestingly, all the hotels were full and I wondered how many tourists are opting to vacation in the homeland (the only redeeming economic value) rather than putting up with this passport mess.
