Spirit Airlines flight bookings down 8% as new policy takes effect

Spirit Airlines announced Tuesday that it will stop allowing passengers to book flights on any flights after Dec. 21, 2018.

The company said the change was necessary because of the effects of the government shutdown on the airline.

“We are announcing today that Spirit Airlines will no longer allow passengers to purchase a flight from our reservation system or on any Spirit Airlines business, regional or international flight,” the company said in a statement.

“The change was required to prevent cancellations and to ensure that passengers have access to the best available seats and services at the best value.”

In a blog post Tuesday, the airline said Spirit will still accept reservations from customers who booked on its website, but they will need to call 1-888-OUR-SPIRIT to get reservations for flights on its Spirit Pass.

“Beginning on December 1, 2018, Spirit will no more allow reservations on Spirit Passes, except to those customers who have made their Spirit Pass purchase through our online reservation system, and they will have to call the company at 1-800-OUR.

They will then be able to select a flight, select the Spirit Pass and select the flight to which they have purchased the ticket,” the airline wrote.

“For customers who already have reservations on a Spirit Pass, they will still have to pay the difference between the price of the Spirit Flight and the actual flight that will be available.”

In addition, Spirit’s business flights will be limited to two people per flight, according to the airline’s blog.

Spirit Airlines said that it would also limit the number of people who can take advantage of Spirit Pass reservations, but did not provide any further details on what those restrictions would be.

Spirit also said that the new policy does not apply to flights that Spirit operates as a subsidiary.

The airline said that if Spirit’s regional business flight is canceled, Spirit Airlines would continue to offer Spirit Pass fares on its flights, and Spirit would refund the difference on those flights.

“Spirit Airlines reserves the right to make changes to our reservation systems at any time, and these changes may impact the availability of Spirit flights and Spirit Pass travel to Spirit,” the carrier said in its blog post.

Spirit’s post follows a similar announcement by American Airlines earlier this month.

American Airlines said it will continue to allow Spirit to reserve Spirit Pass flights, but it will require reservations from Spirit customers.

“With the exception of flights on Spirit’s Express Passes and Spirit’s Regional Express Pass, Spirit Pass purchases are subject to the same Spirit Pass reservation requirements as Spirit’s non-Spirit Pass business and regional flights,” the American Airlines blog post read.

“American Airlines reserves its right to change our Spirit Pass policy at any point during the term of this agreement, but will do so with the prior written consent of Spirit and its customers.”

American Airlines also said it would be making changes to its Spirit pass system in the coming months.