Category: Spirit Airlines

The Details

• Flight: NK564
• Aircraft: A320neo
• Class: Big Front Seat
• Seat: 2A
• Route: San Diego International (SAN)-Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
• Distance: 1,815 miles
• Duration: 3hrs 52min
• Departure: 1:40PM
• Arrival: 7:01PM

The Preflight

I was returning home to Chicago for our dogs 6th birthday after four days family in San Diego for the Christmas holidays. I booked this one way ticket on Spirit with an upgrade to the Big Front Seat and priority boarding (group 2) for less than the price of a economy ticket on either American or United….

Since I collect boarding passes, I paid $10 for airport check-in. 

Spirit Airlines departs from Terminal 1 at SAN. Terminal 1 is where low cost carriers depart, such as Southwest and Frontier, while Terminal 2 is where most other airlines depart. These two terminals are only connected land-side with an outdoor walkway.

There is no TSA PreCheck at Terminal 1, however the airport was relatively empty and I was through into the terminal within five minutes.

Next to our gate there was a Southwest B737-800.

The inbound flight from Chicago was on-time unlike the last time I flew Spirit. Our bird was a brand-new A320neo, registration N916NK, delivered to Spirit in Sept 2019 making her only three months old.

Boarding was smooth, efficient, and prompt at 1PM. Group 1 was reserved for passengers that had purchased carry-on luggage and Group 2 for those who purchased early boarding.

The Flight

Spirit Airlines offers a total of eight Big Front Seats aboard their A320s in a 2-2 configuration across two rows. In addition, there are 174 standard economy seats. This aircraft featured Spirits newest Big Front Seat that was designed by HAECO Cabin Solutions and introduced in Sept 2019. There was 36″ of pitch and 20″ of width. The cushion was made of memory foam and was much more comfortable than the previous iteration of the Big Front seat. Each seat is also “pre-reclined” and not adjustable.

Since this plane was relatively new, the cabin felt very fresh and did not have any signs of wear and tear.

There were no power ports and no IFE screen. Between the two seats was a shared cocktail table.

I was originally seated in 2A but the passenger in 1A needed a seat which could accommodate a seat belt extender and so we swapped. Even in the bulkhead seat there was plenty of legroom.

Each seat also had a small bi-fold tray table with a drink holder.

It was fairly flimsy.

We pushed back five minutes early at 1:40PM and quickly made it to the runway 27 without delay. Enjoy!

The take-off was incredibly scenic with views of the Pacific Ocean and downtown San Diego.

It became dusk quickly and soon turned into night.

Spirit does not offer any complimentary in-flight service even for those sitting in the Big Front Seat. I decided not to get anything to drink or eat.

We had a very low visibility landing at Chicago O’Hare and missed out on the great city lights of downtown Chicago.

As usual for O’Hare we had about a 20 minute taxi from the runway to our gate making one full lap around the airport. We arrived at Terminal 3 which is also co-habited with Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. Thanks for the ride!

Spirit’s Big Front Seat is probably one of the best deals in commercial aviation domestically. To be able to sit in the comfort of a seat similar to American or United’s Domestic First class product for less than an economy ticket on those carriers is truly a bargain. I look forward to purchasing a Big Front Seat in the future!

The Details

• Flight: NK564
• Aircraft: A321
• Class: Big Front Seat
• Seat: 1A
• Route: San Diego International (SAN)-Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
• Distance: 1,832 miles
• Duration: 3hrs 26min
• Departure: 4:41PM (delayed 2hrs 39min)
• Arrival: 10:06PM

The Preflight

Spirit Airlines departs from T1 at San Diego International Airport. T1 is the old part of SAN which is where most of the low cost carriers at based at including Southwest.

Our flight was supposed to depart at 2PM local time but the inbound flight from Chicago was delayed. We ended up departing two hours and 40 minutes late. Our bird N680NK, an A321, was delivered brand new to Spirit in November 2017.

Boarding began with those passengers who had purchased priority boarding or the Big Front Seat.

The Flight

Spirit Airlines features eight Big Front Seats aboard their A321s in two rows of 2-2. Each seat has 36″ of pitch and are 18.5″ wide. The seats are pre-reclined and do not recline any further. I was seated in 1A the bulkhead row. In the bulkhead was a small literature pocket

Besides a bi-fold tray table and shared drink table there were no other features in the seat. The seat itself was fairly well-padded and there was a comfortable headrest.

After a brief taxi to the runway we blasted off for Chicago O’Hare. There were some great views of North Island Naval Air Station and downtown San Diego.

Also some views of Naval Base San Diego and the ships of the Pacific Fleet.

Being a low cost carrier, Spirit Airlines does not offer any complimentary inflight service. Flight Attendants did pass through the cabin taking orders from their buy-on-board menu. I decided to try the infamous BuzzBallz mixed drinks. For $17, I got two BuzzBallz and one large snack (M&Ms).

We were treated to a gorgeous sunset while crossing over the middle of the country.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and we touched down around 10PM local time; three hours after our scheduled arrival time. We taxied for about twenty minutes before pulling into a gate in Terminal 3 at O’Hare. Thanks for the ride!

Overall, Spirit Airlines offered a very competitive seat for a fraction of the cost compared to the traditional full service carriers. Despite the three hour long delay, I had an enjoyable flight. I love the Big Front Seat and it represents an excellent deal.