If you’ve heard of Spirit Airlines, you’ve probably heard nothing but bad things about them. Even if you haven’t heard of them, you can easily go online and find mostly awful reviews about the airline. The only thing they have going for them is their super-cheap airfare, but other than that, it seems customers haven’t been too happy.

It’s easy to see why:

- $25 fee each way for a checked bag. $30 fee each-way for a carry-on.
- No free snacks or drinks during flight. Must pay for it (and they’re expensive).
- You must pay a fee of at least $20 if you want to pick your own seat. Otherwise, the check-in desk picks it for you.
- The ticket counter charges you $5 just to hand you your boarding pass, but it’s free if you use the computerized kiosks.

You might think I’m crazy when you hear that I’m actually one of the few people that has enjoyed Spirit Airlines so far. However, I’m probably different than most passengers.

I have flown with Spirit Airlines twice: A trip to Las Vegas for $234 round-trip in October 2011 and to Boston for $127 round-trip just last week. Both times I only took along a personal backpack that fit under my seat, which they don’t charge for. That alone saved me at least $50 for the round-trip flight. I also made sure I ate before I boarded that way I wouldn’t be hungry during my flights, thus I didn’t have to spend money to get a snack or drink on the plane, which saved me about $15 round-trip (Yes, animal crackers and a soda is around $7).

While I did have good experiences with Spirit, I’ve obviously had better with other airlines, but you simply cannot pass up the cheapest airfare of any airline, and their customer service really isn’t as bad as what reviewers make it out to be. I’ll give you a personal example:

When I booked my flight to Boston for $127, Spirit came out with a $50-off coupon the very next day (which would’ve knocked the fare down to just $77 round trip!) — bad timing on my part. I figured I would give them a call to see if they could apply the coupon code to my already booked flight, but no cigar. However, they did give me free priority seating at the front of the plane for both flights (a $40 value). It’s not as good as the $50 discount, but will I take it? Absolutely.

In the end, I don’t get on a plane because they’re luxurious. I get on a plane because I need to go somewhere. Spirit Airlines even said themselves that their only obligation is to get you from point A to point B. If I’m paying half of what other airlines are charging, there’s no reason for me to be upset about anything during the flight.