Murf's Trip to DFW: Part 1 - Spirit...or the lack there of

After packing most of my stuff in my carry on bag the night before, I sat down at the computer to check in via Spirit's website and to get my boarding pass. It was within the 24 hours prior to departure so when I couldn't find the button to press to check in (and even after going to the website via the e-mail that I had received earlier in the day), I called the customer service number that I finally found after about 15 minutes of searching their website and then finally Googling it and discovering a website that has all the 800 numbers for all airlines. I pressed 1 for English and then waited through all the options until I got to press 6 which was pretty much for miscellaneous items.

After pressing 6, a man with a very distinctive Indian accent answered and asked for my name. I gave it to him and he then asked what I could do for him. I told him that despite it being within 24 hours of departure time, I was unable to check in. I stressed that the link or button that was necessary was not there. He then asked me something which between his thick accent and the background noise on his end, I had him repeat about 3-4 times before realizing that he was asking something about the browser I was using. I knew that wasn't the issue and told him as such. He then said something else that I couldn't understand and after making him repeat it 3-4 times, at which point I was getting frustrated, I finally caught on that that he was asking for my confirmation number. He then told me to speak up since he was getting some static on the line so by this time, I was clearly yelling which made Big A come to see what was going on. Eventually he told me to check the website again in an hour. I hung up never so frustrated but yet feeling good that I could yell at him for more than it being due to my impatience with his thick accent and his reading from the Spirit Customer Service notebook binder I'm sure was in front of him. At the end of the conversation, I got the sales pitch about applying for the Spirit American Express card and even though I didn't quite understand the two questions about it, I knew I was safe in just saying no.

Afterwards, I gave it a couple of hours before trying it again and lo and behold, there was the necessary button for me to check in which then went smoothly.

At the Spirit gates in Detroit when I was departing, I was confronted with a lady at booth along the walkway to the gates again pushing the Spirit American Express card. Again, I said no thanks.

The flight to Dallas with a 2 hour layover in Chicago went smoothly. However, on the way back, I was confronted with the same issue with not being able to check in within the 24 hours of departure so I called the 800 number again. This time, I went a different route and tried the technical support. Again I pressed 1 for English and was presented with a man with a thick Indian accent. After hanging up with him, I realized that he didn't ask me for my confirmation number like the previous one did so I called back and went back to Option 6 and spoke to an Indian woman. Much like the person who I talked to when I flew out, she asked the usual stuff but then threw in that it might be due to heavy traffic on the website (I still don't think that was it) and to try again in an hour and then she tried to push the Spirit American Express card on me which, even though I still didn't understand what their second question was, I still declined. Lo and behold, an hour later, there it was and I was able to check in and print my boarding pass. I'm not sure but I have a feeling this may have been a candid camera-type thing and I will be featured on an upcoming episode of 'Outsourced' on NBC.

I'm not sure what I did to get tagged with Zone 1 (maybe it was my window seat...maybe it was my carry on bag) but for all 4 flights, I was at most the 6th person on the plane since they called Zone 1 or people that need extra time boarding first. I wasn't nearly as cranky when arriving in Dallas as I was when arriving back in Detroit. I'm not sure if I grew taller during my 4 days in Texas or if suddenly the leg room of 18A is less than what was found in 17A (which was where I sat during the Chicago to Dallas route) but I discovered that Spirit has a metal rod through the top of the pouch on the seat in front of me. I'm a bit long-legged to begin with and there was nothing I could do to get comfortable where that metal rod wasn't pressing right against my patella. On top of that, the water that I had purchased when I blew the last bit of my dough at the "newstand" in DFW when departing didn't not fit in that pouch. I've always been able to stuff whatever I needed in it so I wouldn't have to worry about semi-bending over while seated to try to get my backpack under the seat. When did they start doing away with elastic and inserting metal rods?!?

On the flight from Dallas to Chicago, the flight attendants became the pushers of the Spirit American Express cards. I heard one of them talking to a girl behind me about it and the free miles that you get when you sign up and the other future flight perks. The first year there is no annual fee. After that, it's $59.99...but she could cancel it before then. I kept thinking to myself "Doesn't opening and closing credit card accounts affect your credit score?!?" not to mention just remembering when the year is up before they charge you that annual fee. She ended up getting one, unfortunately.

In Chicago, I had a 4.5 hour layover so I made myself at home in one of the more open areas (whomever said that O'Hare was one of the busiest airports in the world has never been out to BFE where the two Spirit gates are located as shown in my photo) and started to read the book I bought. I thought 4.5 hours would fly by. It didn't.

Eventually I boarded again and because I picked the same freakin' seat as the previous flight, again met up with my old friend - the metal rod. This was a tad bit more bearable since the flight was only about 52 minutes long. Also I discovered a great way to get your mind off of a metal rod pressing into your patella - turbulence. I think I may have actually prayed on the first part of that flight. According to the guy behind me, the Detroit to Chicago flight is rarely smooth. It made me wonder why...until we bounced more and I returned to praying and asking God not to kill me while sitting next to an irritating Jamaican woman who blatantly had her Kindle on during take off and is chewing gum that smells like that horrible St. Joseph's baby aspirin that I was forced to take as a kid and which still resonates with me and is the basis of my dislike of fake orange flavored things.

As you can see since you are now reading a new blog entry from me, I guess it wasn't my time. The only thing I am left wondering is...if I had pressed 2 for Spanish when calling the Spirit Customer Service number, would I have understood the person better? For the record, I don't know Spanish.