Spirit Airlines has earned a reputation as the nation's most fee-happy airline.
After all, it is the only one to charge passengers up to $45 to bring carry-on bags into the cabin. The Florida airline recently announced that it will charge passengers $5 to print boarding passes.
And now the low-cost airline has drawn the ire of an
Illinois church because it refused to waive the baggage fees for a group of inner-city teens who plan to fly from
Chicago to Los Angeles for a choir tour this month.
The Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip hosted fundraisers for the last several months to collect about $25,000 for airline tickets to fly nearly 100 teenagers to Los Angeles for concerts and sightseeing tours.
But when senior pastor Dan Willis realized the church would have to come up with an additional $6,000 in baggage fees, he appealed to the airline to waive the charges. Spirit charges up to $38 to check the first bag and $45 for a second bag.
"We begged and pleaded," he said. "They would not budge on it at all."
Most airlines don't have a written policy to waive fees for charitable groups but may grant requests, such as after natural disasters, industry experts say.
Willis called the decision "disappointing and disheartening" and said he didn't know how to come up with the money. Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson defended the decision, saying: "Given our low fares, we did not waive the bag fees."
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