Flying to Florida? Ultra Cheap Airline Adds Flights From KCI

Spirit Airlines, the ultra low cost airline, will nearly double the destinations they serve from Kansas City International Airport when they add service to four Florida cities between now and June.

According to a press release from the airline, new service to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Pensacola and Tampa will begin on June 10. Fort Lauderdale service will be offered daily, Fort Myers service Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. And service to Pensacola and Tampa on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Additionally the airline will be increasing service Las Vegas and Orlando. Instead of offering one flight a day, they'll be offering two flights a day. Service to Myrtle Beach will also be increased.

If you're not familiar with Spirit Airlines let me clue you in. They're an ultra low cost airline. That means you can get a ticket for next to nothing. That said, everything, and I mean everything has a fee associated with it.

Spirit's passengers are allowed to carry on one personal item with their airfare. "Something like a laptop bag or purse smaller than 18"x14"x8", according to the airline. Want to bring another carry on? On the 4:11PM CDT flight from Kansas City to Los Angeles that extra carry on will cost you $39.00 if you pay for it when you book your flight, and the prices rise to $65.00 if you end up paying for it at the gate before departure.

Prefer to check your bag, that'll cost you $35.00 if you purchase that during booking, to $65.00 if you check your bag at the gate.

Can't or don't want to check in online or use Spirit's in airport kiosk to check yourself in? A customer service agent can check you in, but it'll cost you $10.00 for a printed boarding pass. Do it yourself at a kiosk and it's $2.00.

If you want a bigger seat, what Sprit calls their Big Front Seat or you'd like pick where you sit on the plane, expect to pay. Big Front Seats cost $12.00 - $150 dollars if you pay in advance. If you want to pick your seat assignment, you can do that too. That will cost somewhere between $1.00 - $50.00.

Of course snacks and beverages aren't free, booking through a reservation center isn't free, trying to get on an earlier flight on standby isn't free, and modifying or cancelling your booking isn't free.

That said, Spirit Airlines is pretty upfront about all these fees and they're not hard to find on their website. They're also honest that the earlier you choose to purchase these upgrades the less you'll pay in fees. If you pay attention and figure all this out in advance, there's a good chance you'll have an OK experience.

My friend Scotty has flown them a few times and he told me he'd fly them again for a quick weekend trip with his son. A trip that didn't require a lot of luggage, and a trip that had a flight time of a couple of hours or less. He said he'd do it if he could save money vs. other airlines.

I get it. But I have a hard time getting past what I saw at one of Spirit's gates in Minneapolis St. Paul.

A gate agent on the boarding area microphone shrilly admonishing passengers to not try to sneak on carry-on bags. Combative gate agents forcing harried, irritated passengers to pay for their extra carry on bags or checked baggage. A dude off in the corner literally layering his clothes on his body to avoid a bag fee. It wasn't Spirit Airlines that day, it seemed more like Break My Spirit Airlines. I got stressed just watching the boarding process and thanked my lucky stars I was flying another airline that day.