LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A flight change by Spirit Airlines cost a man and his wife 33 hours in lost time, $290 in added expenses and two days away from work.
8 News Now reported on Tuesday that Gary Goetzinger and his wife, Debbie, were headed home when Spirit sent their direct flight from Denver to Las Vegas instead of Detroit, Michigan.
They would have been home by 6 p.m. Monday.
Instead, the Goetzingers rolled into Detroit at 3 a.m. Wednesday after Spirit paid for their flight to Houston via Southwest, another flight from Houston to Columbus, Ohio, and a drive of more than three hours in a rental car they had to pay for themselves.
It’s a route they had to put together themselves after delays eliminated the chance to catch another direct flight. The drive saved them from waiting an additional day to fly to Detroit.
On top of the time and expense, Goetzinger said his wife missed some medication because of the delay.
The extra costs included $175 for the rental car, $40 for gas and $75 for meals.
Spirit never replied to a Tuesday request for comment.
Video provided by Gary Goetzinger on Tuesday showed Spirit customers lined up at the ticketing counter at Harry Reid International Airport as each passenger negotiated their own deal with Spirit after the flight was rerouted to Las Vegas. He said more than 200 passengers were affected by the change.
On Thursday, 8 News Now received a report from another Spirit customer who said they missed their flight because Spirit employees put them in the wrong line. An email sent to our newsroom indicated the couple and their four children ended up talking to five or six employees before running to their gate — only to find the flight had departed.
“We were being told something different by everyone and the agent actually told us the best they can do to rebook was 2 days less than what we originally booked because WE missed our flight … as in, it was our fault,” according to the person’s account.
“We were just treated like we were wasting their time and THEY were over it,” the person said.