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Spirit Airlines Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Spirit Airlines is accused of fraudulently selling tickets for flights it knew it would cancel in a new class action lawsuit.
- Why: Travellers allege Spirit Airlines left tens of thousands of passengers stranded at airports throughout the country when it “fraudulently and deceptively” induced customers to purchase tickets for flights between July and August 2021.
- Where: The lawsuit is for travellers nationwide in the US.
During the peak of summer travel season, Spirit Airlines left tens of thousands of passengers stranded at airports throughout the country when it “fraudulently and deceptively” induced customers to purchase tickets for flights it knew would not fly, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit was filed in Florida on Oct. 15 by lead plaintiffs Amber Terreta and Debra Rayner, who allege Spirit violated state trade and consumer protection laws by selling tickets for the cancelled flights and then holding onto the money of tens of thousands of passengers.
Spirit, notorious for its low prices and no-frills flying experience, was well aware it could not handle the glut of tickets sold between July 30 and August 9, 2021, the claim alleges. Nevertheless, the company continued to sell tickets to unwitting customers, leaving them stranded without recompense or communication, according to the lawsuit.
Between those dates, Spirit canceled approximately 2,826 flights, accounting for more than half of the company’s scheduled flights. According to the claim, Spirit cancelled flights during this time because it had a severe labor shortage caused by its “knowing failure to hire and maintain sufficient staffing levels necessary to provide promised services to its customers.”
Spirit Airlines Was ‘Well Aware It Did Not Have Sufficient Labor’ to Meet Flight Demands, Class Action Lawsuit Claims
During the pandemic, the airline laid off or furloughed thousands of employees and when airline travel rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, Spirit failed to re-hire or re-train enough airline employees to staff its operations, the lawsuit alleges.
“Spirit was well aware that it did not have sufficient labor to meet the demand of the number of flights it scheduled between July 30, 2021 and August 6, 2021, which is around the peak of summer travel season,” the class action claim states.
On July 25, 2021, Terreta bought tickets for herself, Joseph Terreta, and their two children to travel return with Spirit from Latrobe, Pennsylvania to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a total of $464. But on the date the family was due to travel they were told the flights had been cancelled and they still have not been refunded for the trip.
Terreta was instead offered reservation credit and travel vouchers totaling $323.80 that must be used by December 2021 and come with their own restrictions, the class action lawsuit alleges.
Rayner had a similar experience, having booked a return trip to Las Vegas in August that was also cancelled, however she managed to obtain a refund.
“Thousands of customers, like plaintiffs, purchased tickets relying on Spirit’s promise to handle the traffic of its scheduled flights only to be left stuck for hours or days on end in airports with little or no communication from the company,” the lawsuit states. “These travelers would likely not have purchased flight tickets from Spirit had they known the true status of Spirit’s labor shortages and its inability to accommodate the purchased travel arrangements.”
Instead, the pair allege, Spirit ignored its customers, refusing to compensate passengers for cancelled flights, and failing to make alternative travel arrangements on other airlines or provide hotel accommodations.
“Spirit’s actions directly caused their customers immense stress and discomfort, incur increased travel fees, and to miss thousands of family and business events.”
Terreta and Rayner want to represent travelers nationwide affected by Spirits’ cancellations. They are suing for violations of Florida Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, and violation of state consumer protection acts. They seek reimbursement requiring Spirit to refund all ticket purchases for cancelled flights during the applicable time period and other damages, attorney fees, interest, and a jury trial.
Did you have a flight cancelled by Spirit between July and August? Let us know your experience in the comments section!
Terreta and Rayner are represented by Marcus W. Corwin and Stephen L. Conteaguero of Corwin Law.
The Spirit Cancelled Flights Class Action Lawsuit is Terreta, et al., v. Spirit Airlines, Inc., Case No. 0:21-cv-62148-XXXX in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida.
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80 thoughts onSpirit Airlines ‘Fraudulently’ Sold Thousands of Tickets for Flights It Knew It Wouldn’t Fly, Class Action Alleges
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I booked a flight on Spirit and they canceled it.
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We had a similar experience. We are a family of 4 traveling back from DC to Ft. Lauderdale to return for the beginning of school back in Florida. Our flight was cancelled and we were later individually rerouted to different locations flying out of different airports (from Atlanta to Orlando). Keep in mind we were flying out of DC and going to Ft Lauderdale with two kids 14 and 15 and my senior citizen mom. They rerouted my son on a ticket from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale and the rest of us to Orlando the following day, none of this made sense and these flight were also cancelled. I tried calling the company for days. We eventually had to rent a car at the airport (for just under $1000) and make the arduous 16 hour drive, rushing and driving in the middle of the night so that my kids could get to school in time. Needless to say, I never got a refund for all of the tickets, the luggage fees, the pet carrier fee, In addition to the extreme expense of having to rent a vehicle at the last minute that would have to be left in Florida, and the gas for the numerous stops, insurance and tax. The whole ride back I tried to get thru to Spirit, and NO ONE ANSWERED the calls!! This was traumatizing to all of us, especially my kids who were already anxious about returning to school after dealing with the nightmare of this Pandemic. There is no way Spirit Airlines should not be held accountable or liable for the insidious damage they caused to us and thousand of other families like us!! This level of fraud and negligence can in no way be seen as acceptable. I am eager to meet with ANY lawyer willing to take my CASE!
Have you asked credit card to reverse charges? At least something…
I traveled from fll to phl 07/28/2021 to 08/01/2021. Returning phl to fll on sunday 08/01/2021. Spirit delayed my return trip four times. When I arrived at the phl airport spirit delayed flight again and one hour before boarding, they cancelled the flight. I started calling right away as they were all over the news about cancelling flights.Whole waiting to board American airlines, spirit customer service answered the phone. She apologized and said for your inconvenience, we will issue vouchers for all three passengers in the amount of $250 each passenger.When I arrived back in Florida ,I tried to call them because I paid for three passengers on my credit card and I wanted a refund or the vouchers in my name only. I tried for two weeks after I got home ,spirit stopped answering their calls. I have been going round and round with Spirit,they said whatever they had to say to get off the phone. I have now found out that the vouchers AND my credits that I applied from a previously cancelled flight expired. I spent 6 hours on the phone trying to get my voucher number a and rules. I was told they are only valid for base fare and no credit or cash back if you don’t use when booking. Then I was told that the voucher is $50 per passenger and even though I paid for my passengers flight, that’s all they can do. We spent the next two hours reading my credits I had applied to this flight.I went through 2 supervisors and the last one told me to file a formal complaint.(just wanted off the phone)!.I told them I would dispute the charges with my credit card if they did not refund my money and that the credits on my account are paid by my credit card. I have not seen the refund and the credits of $214.31 they said I must book by Jan 10th,2021 or they will expire. I’m calling my bank to see how long I have to dipute. I was told they would refund $97.99 and issue a credit for $214.31($68.00 for return flight bags and my credits I applied $116.32. They lied $@16.32 and $97.99 =$214.31 they told me they would email me my voucher number both days, which they did not. First day I spoke to Joy Oper#306885. My account shows nothing. If you don’t have the voucher #’s you cannot use them and they are not on your account ,nor will they give you that information. Joy told me to just enter the confirmation#which I already know that is not true. After 3 hours she asked if I would call back the following day to make sure they do what we talked about. They did not, the following day they issued a $97 refund.I have not seen anything yet. Please let me know.I will call spirit every day until they refund my money. What they are doing is horrible and it needs to stop. Spirit also did not update any flight boards at the airport so all flights looked like they were on time. They actually emailed me a copy saying that my flight was “on time”!!! they don’t even show the delays?
My experience is the same as Terreta, only family of three and disabled veteran whose disability accommodations completely ignored and put on bus. Two hour flight from Orlando to Dallas turned into 12 hour nightmare, in pain for weeks since had back surgery. No refund to date for August 1, 2021 Cancellation.
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