Travelers on a budget often turn to booking with airlines like Spirit and Frontier, which offer relatively affordable flight options.
However, those notoriously low-budget airlines come at a cost and often have a tendency to cause turbulence before flights even get off the ground.
TikToker Kaley Reed and her husband thought they had plenty of time to spare when they arrived at the Spirit Airlines check-in counter at 2:45 p.m. for a 4:00 p.m. flight departing from Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, they were informed they couldn't check in because they already missed the flight.
You can hear her recount the debacle in the clip, below.
In the clip, Reed said she was told to check her email by the Spirit employee.
When she did, she discovered the airline had sent a message informing her the flight time was changed an hour earlier to 3:00 p.m.
The message was sent at 3:02 p.m–two minutes after the flight had already departed.
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
Reed–along with the other irate passengers not on the plane–complained to a customer service rep about the ridiculous flight time change, but the nonplussed response they allegedly received was:
"You missed your flight. It's your fault. That's not my problem. I can't help you with that."
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
She said the stranded passengers did not receive any sort of compensation, refund, gift cards or help with arrangements to get on another flight.
Reed said:
"I just don't know how they're getting away with this."
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
Reed ended the clip by saying there was not another available flight to her destination for another three days.
As a result of the colossal blunder, she and her husband wound up staying in Sin City for a couple more nights at their own expense and consequently missed two days of work.
In a follow-up video, Reed said she reached out to Spirit and never heard back from them until she tagged them on Instagram.
The airline DM'd her with an apology and asked for her confirmation number.
When she provided the requested information, Reed said:
"They ghosted me. They literally didn't reply."
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
Former customers of the airline shared their relatable stories.
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
@kaleyreed_/TikTok
Thankfully as American Express cardholders, Reed and her husband were able to successfully dispute the charges from the airline after providing proof of the egregious lack of service.
After reading through all the comments from people who've experienced the same inconveniences from Spirit, she had this public service announcement for future travelers.
"Never f'king fly Spirit," said Reed, adding:
"Pay the extra, however many hundred dollars that it is to get a Delta flight, 'cause they're reliable."
"They would get you to your destination."
