Now if there's two airlines that I get asked to
review more than any other it's probably Spirit and Frontier. They are two low-cost airlines here in the states and widely regarded over here at least as two of the worst airlines in the US. Today I am really running the gauntlet I'm taking Spirit Airlines from here in Oakland California across to Las Vegas Nevada the Party City. And from there connecting on to Frontier with a flight up to St. Louis Missouri. I have no idea what to expect so let's head inside
and figure out just what the two worst American airlines are like and whether they actually are
the worst. I don't know, we're gonna find out. First up on today's ultra low-cost trek across America was to drop my bag. Strangely Spirit charge less for check in baggage than they do for carry-on luggage, in this case $30 versus the $45 they wanted for a carry-on bag. Once I drop off my bag I got my dose of radiation and headed to the gate . Where this garish monstrosity of paint scheme was waiting for me . This one was delivered brand new to spirit in 2011 making it nine years old when I flew on it . The gate area was busy and they announced that today's flight to the party city was rammed full. Probably to be expected to be honest on an evening flight ahead of the weekend. Boarding was quite a simple process with just with just four zones. Hey there how you doing . Vegas baby. It was time to go and I made my way down the jetbridge to the neon rocket to see what delights the next 90 minutes had in store for me. The first thing I noticed was that the cabin was relatively smart . They have these thick front seats that you can pay a bit extra for but I was doing this properly and headed down to the cheap seats in the back where I'd be wedged in for the flight to Vegas. First impressions were there well it was a little bit snug . The seats weren't too bad for a short flight but the legroom really wasn't that great. There was however a decent sized tray table which is much better than the next ones I did which you'll
see later in the video . I just like to say a quick shout out to my awesome supporters on patreon. In exchange for helping to support the channel they get free merch' behind the scenes access early video access and a weekly live chat that I do every week called thirsty Thursday . Where we just have a drink and spend an hour talking about planes or anything really. You can join them at the link that's on screen now from just $5 a month. I mean it's a bit tight but it's not too bad. It's like Ryanair kind of legroom really it's only an hour and a half flight or so . So yeah let's go to Vegas baby with Spirit Airlines. oh and apparently it's a full flight as well. Before long the jetbridge was disconnected and we started our pushback . Aside from a Plane full of party loving holidaymakers a couple of rows in front was this party loving dog . Heading off to the bright lights of Vegas. I did have to laugh at this meme that was sent to me by a follower on Twitter just as we started a push back . We started our taxi and took off in a beautiful sunset to commence our flight east. Our route today took a southeast out of
San Francisco towards Fresno before heading east towards Nevada and
down into Las Vegas . Flight time tonight was one hour and six minutes
at a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet. In an age of airlines trying to stop people from drinking too much on planes spirit seems to be going in the opposite direction with a huge range of cocktails and spirits to get you in the vacation mood . The Sun went down as we crossed the desert into Las Vegas . So fast making progress now towards Las Vegas. And actually its not too bad. The leg room is a bit tight. The crew are quirky but nice, friendly. Over all so far not too bad at all. I tried to get a little rest but wasn't long before I was woken up by the on board competition . FA: Alright looks like you found it congratulations 23 bravo, that's 23B Before long the bright lights of Las Vegas appeared on the horizon and we started our descent into Party City I just like to welcome you to the Fabulous Las Vegas. Seatbelt sign is still on so stay
seated with your seatbelt fastened. Until we have reached the gate and the captain turns the seatbelt sign off . Thanks a lot. See you later. In Las Vegas you barely step off the plane before you've bombarded with slot machines and flashing lights. Joy So here at the casino with aeroplanes Las Vegas Airport . Crazy look at this look. It's like gaming machines everywhere. Brilliant . Let's go get my bag and then next leg. Spirit weren't too bad you know. I think the biggest problem with them is
all those extra fees. So lets go and get my bag. Frontier I've heard they're probably a bit worse
than Spirit. We will soon find out that's going to find out . I headed down to the baggage claim and grab my bag before trying to find out where on earth I have to go to get my next fight across to St Louis . Right so bag got. I've got to find somewhere to go now for my next flight. Which apparently is a D gate . But I've no idea. Where D gates is because there's not really any signage. It's not really built for connections Vegas to be honest. So there's the problem it's in another terminal that's why I can't find it. And I've got to take a train to get there . Ok lets go . Right. Down to the gate for my flight with Frontier. Boarding in a few minutes. Have to say I wasn't really feeling it by this
point. I'd heard such terrible things about Frontier and to be honest by this point I wasn't looking forward to stepping on board this next flight in any way whatsoever . Oh God why am I doing this ? Can I just go home? There was a flight to London leaving in about an hour ago with Virgin. Why can't I just be on that. As the gate area filled up stressed gate agents started shouting instructions at people and I just wanted the whole thing to be over. (Gate agent) This flight has not stated boarding yet. ( Gate agent) We do have about a 20 minute wait to get a mandatory security search done. (Gate agent) As soon as that is complete we will get you guys boarded and out of here as quickly as possible. Finally it was time to get on board and
get out of this hell on earth. I headed down the jet bridge to get on board the Frontier A321 that'll be taking me to the midwest. Frontier seats at the front have extra leg room but they are still in a 3/3 configuration Just like the rest of the plane . I paid the extra for the hand baggage on frontier as I had a tight connection in St Louis. And they didn't want to risk having to wait around. Frontier's airbuses isn't quite as crushed as spirits and although the seats don't recline they are set to a pre reclined pitch which actually makes them pretty comfy. They do have these comically small tray tables though and well not alot else . In fact they're probably the most basic seat that I've ever seen on a commercial flight. It's a little basic but the legrooms good. Certainly better than Spirit but the seats are just essentially a metal frame. Everything Look at this tiny tray. Well this is decent Boarding's complete and we're ready to go. And I've got an entire row to myself. Sweet! FA: There is a flight attendant in front of each of your sections . I'm in charge of A. Hi A! You may move around in A if you want to but your already separated pretty good. FA: B there is somebody waving to you B you can move around in B C - y'all are the fullest and I am so sorry
but we cannot move you forward for weight and balance purposes. That's the only reason we can't move you around to weight balance Weight balance for take off. Weight balance for ride. Weight balance. Thank you Alright ladies and gentleman we need 20
volunteers 20 volunteers to move forward you gotta be the faster you don't get to go. So if you want to move forward I need 20 people to rise right now and move . I only see one There's two Like y'all are complaining that you are all sitting together now I'm giving you an opportunity to move . This crew are so funny its amazing I'm loving it But look An entire row to myself . Crew "Alright here's a question and answers portion of your flight for those who are still awake" "First question everyone likes to ask. Is here at Frontier if we have Wi-Fi ?" "No-Fi. But we will do so emotional support high-five in the air for any of your withdrawal symptoms" Number 2 do we happen to have pillows
and blankets. No You must cuddle with the one you love, the one you brought and the one you
have permission to touch. Key phrase permission to touch. Touch somebody without permission on
this plane we have friends in St. Louis that'll give you a new house , three hot square meals a day and a new wardrobe. I hear orange is the new black Number three. Do we have a place to
charge electronic devices No The only thing we're gonna charge on this plane is your debit and credit card. For your snacks , your drink and your happy hour purchases. That's right it's always happy hour on frontier. We would have a double happy hour Whoop whoop Most of y'all are going to sleep We gonna watch you sleep. All right everybody sit back relax enjoy your flight. Cabaret act complete we started our taxi out to the runway to get out of Vegas. It was interesting to see an RAF tanker parked up that had been in Nevada for a military exercise that was taking place. Our route tonight then took us east out of Vegas to cross Arizona, Utah , Colorado and Kansas before commencing our descent into St Lou Missouri. Flight time tonight was 2 hours 47 minutes at a cruising altitude of 39,000 feet. So airborne from Las Vegas on the A321 and it's really nice is nobody else on board I mean I'm just laid out flaked
flat here on my seats and it's really comfy. Well not that you can really see it. But even when you sit up it's not too bad. The seats are kind of pre reclined. So for me there's bags of legroom. Its really nice. I'm trying get some sleep now ahead of the arrival into St Louis and to see how we go. I woke up as the Sun was starting to rise in the east and we were starting our descent down into St Louis. Good morning I actually managed a little bit of sleep on his flight A couple of hours at least. Not the most comfortable but it was alot better than being sat upright anyway. So now we're on our descent down into St Louis Missouri Good morning ladies and gentlemen welcome to St. Louis. Local time is 6:43 a.m. It's been an absolute pleasure watching you sleep this evening or this morning. Please have safe travels home. If St Louis is your home, welcome home. If you're here on vacation be safe. And enjoy your day. Thank you for choosing Frontier airlines . So then folks here is the important bits how much did my little jaunt across the US cost. Well let's start with spirit. The base fare was just $56. The seat reservation cost me $11 and the bag was $30. Giving a total price of $97 or £87 for a flight
of 407 miles. United Airlines from San Francisco to Vegas cost £68 with a carry-on included making spirit £10 more expensive than United. Frontier were just $3 more on the base fare for a flight at over three times the distance at 1,300 miles But their fees for extras were extortionate $31 for the seat reservation and a whopping $42 to take your hand baggage onboard. Meaning that the seat and the bag costs more than the price of the flight. But even with these expensive extras
their total fare was just $132 or £106. A quick search showed United on the same route was £14 more expensive at £120 with a carry-on. But that does include a change of plane in Denver. It's pretty clear to me that by the time you've paid for a bag and a seat reservation the low-cost options of spirit and frontier aren't that much cheaper than the mainline airlines. But on the other hand they
don't offer any less than the mainline Airlines. For instance you still have to pay for food just like on the main lines. I did find this service onboard to be perfectly acceptable. The crew were really nice the seats weren't too uncomfortable even for someone of my height. And on frontier the seats
are positively amazing for the economy. A fixed reclined and brilliant idea and
gives you a lot more room and most importantly I travelled 1,700 miles across America for less than £200. So just why do people hate on Spirit & Frontier. I honestly came no closer to finding out on this trip. I'd love to hear your thoughts down in the comments why do you think these airlines have such a bad name? A big thanks to Surhshark for sponsring this video. Surfshark have VPN provider. A VPN is a tool that encrypts your connection to the Internet meaning that you always safe when connecting to public Wi-Fi. When you connect to public Wi-Fi you could be sharing your data with anyone. When it's turned on surf shark encrypts all the data sent by the internet so that no one can see your passwords , private messages , steal you photos ,videos or any other sensitive data. As I travel around the world certain web sites are blocked in some countries. Even your favourite youtuber is
blocked in China. Surfshark allows you to access all the same sites that you use at home. Surfshark also allows you to unblock content. Whenever I'm traveling I like to stay connected to home and carry on watching my favourite TV shows. But sites like BBC iPlayer are blocked outside the UK. Surfshark allows me to connect to a UK server and then appear as if I'm in the UK meaning I can still
watch British TV. Surfshark is available for all of your devices there's an app for Mac ,Windows , iOS ,Android and many more. And if you use the link down below with a promo code of Noel Phillips you get an 83 % discount of membership with Surfshark and an extra month for free. Well that was pretty disappointing to be honest. Not the airlines they were absolutely amazing. Disappointing that I couldn't really find anything to moan about. Frontier were just incredible. Really really good. I mean even if the flight had been busy I know it was perhaps not the best example to show the amount of space because it was an empty flight. And there's probably gonna be a lot more people on it normally. But even in the normal seats if it's busy you've got loads of legroom there. Really comfortable those semi-reclined seats are pretty comfortable indeed. And it means you don't get people laying back into your lap or anything it's really good. So thumbs up for Frontier. And Spirit again. People told me they were one of the worst airlines in America but they were just like amazing as well. Even though it was a busy flight it was a bit packed but not too bad all in all. So here then in St Louis Missouri on this freezing cold morning but a good morning. Because I've had a good flight. Let me know what you think to Frontier and Spirit down in the comments below. I mean it's the hate they get warranted? Let me know in the comments below. Also let me know what your worst airline is that you've flown on before here in America I'd love to hear that. In the meantime as always thanks for
watching take care and I see you next time.
