Douche of the Week: Spirit Airlines

By RU Rob

I have been following the story of how Spirit Airlines jilted 76 year old Marine Veteran Jerry Meekins out of a refund after his physician forbid him to fly.  The thought crossed my mind that Spirit Airlines could potentially earn Douche of the Week honors, but after listening to Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza spew nothing but complete horse-shit, I am convinced that the real douche here is Baldanza.

The story goes something like this: Mr. Meekins has terminal esophageal cancer.  He had pre-purchased a $197 flight from Florida up to New Jersey to visit his daughter who was having surgery.  Mr. Meekins was told by his doctor that he couldn’t fly due to his medical condition.  At first, Jerry sought a refund for the ticket but was denied as he did not purchase “flight insurance” on his ticket.  Jerry then requested that the ticket be transferred over to his daughter so that she could come visit him in Florida.  This too was rejected by the doucherifous customer service department.

Well, we Veterans don’t exactly like to be told no without any good reason.  So Jerry went and protested the decision of Spirit at the Tampa International Airport with a few of his friends and from there it caught fire.  He may be 76, but this Marine still has a lot of fight left in him. A Facebook page titled “Boycott Spirit Airlines” was created and as of this writing has over 30,000 “likes”.

Then, in a move to make his Airline appear even douchier, CEO Ben Baldanza had to go and open his cock-holster comparing Mr. Meekins situation to a homeowner with no policy calling up an insurance company after his house burns down.  Really, fucktard? There is a fundamental difference between someone who has not paid a cent for services and someone who has.  Benny-ha-ha, you are a prime example as to why our economy is in the freaking grave, you don’t give a rat’s-ass about your customers.

I have flown Spirit Airlines before, found their aircraft to be disgusting, their staff unprofessional and their attitude towards their passengers horrible.  It really doesn’t surprise me that they would stoop to this doucherific proportion. Upon doing a little research on Spirit Airlines, it would appear that I am not the only one who feels that way.  Skytrax, the world’s largest airline review site, has Spirit Airlines rated at 3.1 stars out of 10.  That folks is pretty damn shitty.

If it weren’t for the fact that there are safety regulations in place I am sure that Spirit Airlines would pack bodies into an aircraft like Drill Sergeants did to trainees during basic training.  Standing nuts-to-butts in the back of a cattle car where there is always room for one more.

Spirit Airlines leads the US carriers in complaints against them by almost double that of the nearest competitor.  When asked why the entire country believes that the douchey behavior of Spirit Airlines triggers so many complaints Baldanza again opens his bull-shit-spreader and compares the Airline industry to a restaurant  saying “if…out of every 100,000 customers, 8 of them said they didn’t like your menu, would you change your restaurant?” No, dumb-ass I wouldn’t but I sure as hell would at least listen.  For every rule there is an exception, did you not learn that in douche-school?

Just so you know, Spirit Airlines has been fined by the FAA in the past for customer service missteps, and is the king of hidden fees.  For example, Spirit is currently mulling the idea of charging $100 for carry-on luggage and also doesn’t even offer complimentary glasses of water on their flights; that will cost $3. Spirit is also the only carrier in the United States that does not offer active duty service members any sort of discount or relief from baggage fees when they are traveling on official orders.  WTF over?

So, Mr. Balls-on-chin (sorry, meant Baldanza) and Spirit Airlines, I hereby sentence you to Douchebagistan.  Seeing as how many douchetastic nominations we have seen lately, we will need a comparably crappy carrier as a currier for our crusty curmudgeons!

Ranger Up Nation, why don’t you head on over to the Boycott Spirit Facebook page, give them a liking and leave a note that Ranger Up sent you to support by fire.  Copy your posts in the comments below and I will give a T-shirt to the snarkiest one!

 

 

24 Comments

1. 

   Chad

   May 4, 2012 at 8:16 am

   Can he be douche of the week, every week, until they go bankrupt?

   Reply
2. 

   Robert

   May 4, 2012 at 8:28 am

   I would never fly on this trash airline anyway, but I doubly wont now!

   Reply
3. 

   Kelsey Renee

   May 4, 2012 at 8:31 am

   Done and done Ranger Up!

   “hey, Spirit Airlines: you’d think that with all the military does for your stingy asses, you could minimally save them the baggage fee – especially while on orders. oh, sure, they can go fight for you to have the freedom to be a douche bag but instead of giving them a discount youd rather exercise that “right”? I personally hope the next time a group of soldiers is flying out, they walk right by your check-in desk and flip you the bird. If they can fight for you to be a douche bag, they definitely deserve the right to return the favor. Oh, and Ranger Up sends their regards Spirit Airlines!”

   Reply
4. 

   LR Hale

   May 4, 2012 at 8:36 am

   My posted comments: You use a restaurant analogy that you won’t “change the menu” based on a few complaints. NO PROBLEM. People (especially veterans & active duty military) will just order their flights off another airlines menu.
   WOW, you saved your suck-ass company an airfare by refusing to refund a ticket for a dying man ORDERED by a doctor to not fly…what a shrewd businessman you are.
   Oh, and congratulations on being awarded Ranger Up’s “Douche Of The Week”

   Reply
5. 

   ron junio

   May 4, 2012 at 8:48 am

   Hey douche baldanza,what do you, saddam,bin laden have in common? Well since your a douche i’ll give you the answer. The 3 of you have managed to piss off every American and every person in our great and beloved military.Congrats fucko! Sent by RANGER UP SUPPORT BY FIRE.

   Reply
6. 

   Justin Christiansen

   May 4, 2012 at 8:49 am

   Spirit airlines has the spirit of screwing people over. You make Delta look like air force one, which is saying something cause delta charged soldiers returning from a deployment for all of their luggage.

   Reply
7. 

   Ben Quay

   May 4, 2012 at 9:48 am

   “I don’t always fly to Douchebagistan, but when I do, I fly Spirit Airlines”

   Reply
8. 

   Jeff

   May 4, 2012 at 10:41 am

   So was the $197 worth all of the bad press? How is a co so clueless still in business? Whatever happened to the idea of taking care of your customers? I didn’t take marketing, but this business plan seems like an epic fail.

   Reply
9. 

   Jeffery D Smith

   May 4, 2012 at 10:48 am

   Jeffery D Smith
   So was the $197 worth all of the bad press? How is a co so clueless still in business? Whatever happened to the idea of taking care of your customers? I didn’t take marketing, but this business plan seems like an epic fail.

   Sent by RANGER UP SUPPORT BY FIRE.
   Sent by RANGER UP SUPPORT BY FIRE.

   Reply
10. 

    Truth

    May 4, 2012 at 10:59 am

    I’m just thinking out loud here, but if you are going to check with your doctor if you can fly… shouldn’t you do it *before* you purchase the ticket? Sure it’d be great if this shitty airline had good customer service, but this is capitalism. Nowhere is it written that if you purchase something and then don’t use it, that you get a refund. It’s not the airline’s fault that he couldn’t fly. Sure, the CEO is a nozzle and airlines suck as a general rule, but come on. Just because a guy was in the military doesn’t mean he gets off the hook. Plus, it’s 200 bucks. Really? Simply reading this article has cost the American work force more money in lost productivity.

    Reply
11. 

    Mason

    May 4, 2012 at 11:23 am

    Done!
    “I may not be a proctologist, but I know an asshole when I see one. You can now add the US Military to the list of people you’ve pissed off (along with the FAA and the civilian population). Before you continue to fuck with our armed forces, keep in mind what your tax dollars pay us to do.
    Regards, the RangerUP community and the US Military.”

    Reply
12. 

    Gaby

    May 4, 2012 at 11:38 am

    “God of our fathers, who by land and sea have ever lead us to victory, please continue your inspiring guidance in this the greatest of all conflicts. Strengthen my soul so that the weakening instinct of self-preservation, which besets all of us in battle, shall not blind me to my duty to my own manhood, to the glory of my calling, and to my responsibility to my fellow soldiers. Grant to our armed forces that disciplined valor and mutual confidence which insures success in war. Let me not mourn for the men who have died fighting, but rather let me be glad that such heroes have lived. If it be my lot to die, let me do so with courage and honor in a manner which will bring the greatest harm to the enemy, and please, oh Lord, protect and guide those I shall leave behind. Give us the victory, Lord.” – General George S. Patton.
    VERSUS: Baldanza said it was “an irrelevant statistic,” and suggested that, “Why don’t we interpret that 99.92 [percent] of all customers have no complaints? Because that is what it says.” (on being No.1 in customer complaints in the DOT). Thank you Ranger Up for nominating Mr. Baldanza for DOUCHE of the week!

    Reply
13. 

    Jason

    May 4, 2012 at 1:30 pm

    Thank you RU support by fire for bringing this to my attention. I will not fly this … “service”
    Cast your dollar votes and run the bums outta town.

    Reply
14. 

    Dan Dunn

    May 4, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    Hey spirit! Don’t you know vets stick together?! You think you’ll get a single military customer again (especially since Ranger Up has declared you douche of the week…I think you rate douche of the year!) Ever see that bumper sicker “Get behind our troops or get in FRONT of them.” Looks like your lack of compassion made you the volunteer for the firing squad! You just came to Denver but after I got to local media let’s see how much biz you get doucheholes!

    Reply
15. 

    Goodrow

    May 4, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    As far as I know, every airline has the same policy of ticket refunds. If you don’t purchase insurance, it cannot be transferred or refunded, period. Clearly stated in the terms of use.

    To be fair, this seems more like someone wanting the rules bent specially for them. The fact that he’s a veteran has nothing to do with it.

    Reply
    • 

      Patty Crack N' Pack

      May 4, 2012 at 7:01 pm

      Really? Well folks, I think we just found the first fare for Douchebagistan…

      Reply
    • 

      Kyle

      May 6, 2012 at 6:25 pm

      I agree with you to a point. If you take what you said at face value, I honestly agree with you 100%. Dude, chose not to buy the insurance or buy a transferable ticket, he gambled, he lost. I do it every time I fly. I just hope something doesn’t come up that will make me lose my money.

      If you take into account that the airline industry is one of the most corrupt businesses in the country, I don’t agree. In what other industry, can they take your money, have your flight canceled, and tell you to fuck off? The hidden fees, the insanely high fees, the over booking, etc, It’s not really hard to understand why they are all in such poor shape.

      Reply
      • 

        Patty Crack N' Pack

        May 7, 2012 at 10:59 pm

        True, but American or US Air refunded my $1200 round trip ticket to Japan in full after I presented my orders to go to Annual Training. They never said a thing about flight insurance. If these guys will allow me to train why can’t they allow a dying veteran a little leniency?

        Reply
    • 

      dianne

      May 10, 2012 at 3:02 pm

      he had bought it well in an advanced at a time in which he was healthy enough to fly. Suddenly took a turn for the worst and was unable to fly because of a weakened immune system – Common sense and common customer service would have dictated that they not be such an errant douche bag to a veteran who also happened to be dying of terminal cancer.

      I had pnemonia and was told I couldn’t fly after purchasing a ticket 4 months ahead of the date of travel. Upon submitting proof to South West, they allowed me to transfer the ticket to someone else for a $20 charge .. and I’m neither a Veteran nor terminally ill. It’s called common decency and good customer service and the reality is that EVERY rule is open to exceptions. If you can’t make an exception for a Vietnam Vet who is dying of cancer and let him transfer a ticket, you’re a douche .. plain and simple

      Reply
16. 

    Dean Young

    May 4, 2012 at 5:06 pm

    I heard that Spirit was changing its name to Douche International Carrier or DIC for short.
    Courtesy of RangerUp support by fire

    Reply
17. 

    Chris

    May 5, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    According to the newspaper I read today (yeah, I still read an actual newspaper), spirit airlines is going to refund him the money for his ticket.

    Reply
18. 

    Ben

    May 7, 2012 at 10:56 am

    “It’s time for some ‘kinetic military action’ against Baldanzastan. Love, The RU Nation.”

    Reply
19. 

    Gunship Load

    May 15, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    I know before I ever post this, that it will not be looked upon kindly, but I ask you to read it, to take a different view of it.

    I hate to defend this guy, or his airline, but they followed their own rules.

    Would any of you have ever known about this if it were not for Jerry Meekins being a Viet Nam Veteran? My guess, is not a chance in hell.

    It really sounds to me that this veteran wants some special treatment. I’m active duty, and I have never asked for, nor do I think that I deserve special treatment for my chosen profession. If they offer it, sure I capitalize on it, but in civilian clothes, I do not deserve to be treated differently than the guy sitting in seat 3A. Especially if I am on vacation.

    Jerry CHOSE not to purchase insurance. Sorry big guy, but your choice in this matter does not give you any rights to cry about it. You bought a ticket, and by doing so signed a contract. If you failed to read the fine print, you have no right to cry about it. The fault is yours.

    I am sorry that you have cancer, that sucks, but you do not deserve special treatment. How many other Americans currently have cancer? You believe that you are better than they are?

    As for the comment about active duty on orders being charged for baggage… Get a clue, or find someone who has one and ask them to show you how to claim charges on your travel voucher.

    Ignorance of how things work is not a valid reason to bitch-piss-moan when things do not go your way.

    Reply
20. 

    Ryan

    May 30, 2012 at 3:04 am

    Screw this dude and his shitty ass airline… if you lead the way with customer service complaints…then maybe its time to take a step back and reevaluate the way you do business… I will gladly join the boycott against this douche and his crappy company

    Reply