Spirit Airlines Pilot Flew Passengers Through A Category 4 Hurricane And Arrived Safely In San Juan, Puerto Rico

I've been flying Spirit Airlines my whole life. I consider myself a pro-Spirit Airlines truther. I don't buy a Spirit Airlines ticket expecting a smooth ride, or an overall pleasant experience. The planes are cramped, the clientele is rough around the edges, and I'm not even sure a first class option exists. You might have to eat a punch or two en route to your destination, but Spirit Airlines has always got me where I'm going on time. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones. I'm almost certainly just one of the lucky ones. But until they do me wrong, I'm always going to go to bat for Spirit. 

Now I can add to my arsenal of pro-Spirit arguments: Willing to fly through a literal hurricane so that their Philly-based passengers can get to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Right on time for their free vacation. Without missing a minute of the 12-hour timeshare presentation.

So to the portly gentlemen from @motionsportsnetwork in the TikTok at the top of the blog, who condescendingly laughed and said, "SpiRit aiRLinEs, gEt yOur sHit tOgeThEr!!"...

Fuck you, pal. When a Spirit Airlines pilot successfully traverses Hurricane Erin, and gets his plane to Puerto Rico in one piece, you don't shame him. You commend him or it. Ever heard of geometry? The fastest way from Point A to Point B is a straight line. Something that this Spirit Airlines pilot...  

Did not take at all… He seems to have taken a bit of an inadvertent left turn to go even further into the hurricane for a minute. But look at all that sky traffic to the west. You don't want to tangle with air traffic these days. You've seen the news. Air Traffic Control is grossly understaffed. Who knows how many of those planes are piloted by women or minorities. Airplanes have been slamming into each other left and right. Thanks DEI. So what's worse? A little turbulence through 140 MPH winds, or crashing head on into an Airbus over the Clarion Bank? 

We don't even know the full story. There could be a million reasons a pilot would choose to fly through a hurricane. Considering it was a Spirit Airlines flight, there was likely a fist fight or two happening in the aisles. Maybe this pilot needed to rattle some cages with a little taste of hurricane to get everyone back in their seats. By taking the bumpy route, he could have prevented a passenger from getting knocked out cold, or thrown out of an emergency exit. 

Or maybe it was just an honest mistake due to poor communication. Maybe he had a cowardly co-pilot who was too afraid to speak up when his captain needed him most. That happens to pilots on any airline. 

Whatever the reason, this Spirit Airlines pilot took a commercial flight through Hurricane Erin yesterday, and he came out the other side unscathed. I don't think there are any Delta or JetBlue pilots who can say that.

It's going to be a real shame when Spirit officially goes out of business. 

I bet the person who wrote that tweet has never flown Spirit in their life. I bet 90% of people who bash Spirit on the internet have never flown it either. They probably saw one video of a flight attendant harpooning a passenger who had the nerve to ask for free water, and now they judge the whole airline for it. They pile on with everyone else, because Spirit is an easy target. Shame on those people. We don't want Spirit Airlines going anywhere. Even if you would never fly Spirit in a million years, we're about to lose the cost-leader in an industry notorious for being fucking terrible, and jacking up prices just because they can. That's not a good thing for anyone. Other than the commercial airline industry itself.