What I Liked (And What I Didn’t) About My First Spirit Airlines Premium Economy Flight

Spirit Airlines launched premium economy in the middle of 2025, and I flew it for the first time in April 2026. On a 2.5-hour flight between Fort Lauderdale and Punta Cana, spending extra points for premium economy seemed worth it for comfort along the way.

While the seats definitely provided extra space beyond what you’ll find in economy, they didn’t provide much else. Aside from the extra legroom, much of the experience still felt like the low-cost carrier’s basic economy. I also wasn’t a fan of the flight attendants.

While there were some negatives, you can’t argue with the price, and I would be willing to fly Spirit’s premium economy again.

Booking Spirit Airlines Premium Economy

Spirit is a relative newcomer in the world of premium economy. It only started flying these seats in July 2025. The airline is known for its cheap fares and bare-bones offerings. The “Value” fares (the cheapest tickets) include only a personal item — nothing else — no seat selection or rolling carry-on bag.

For my 2.5-hour flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Punta Cana (PUJ) in the Dominican Republic, Value fares were available for 3,500 points. Premium economy cost 12,000 points; both fares had $54.87 in taxes and fees.

For the extra 8,500 points, premium economy offered priority boarding, a carry-on bag, a discount on inflight purchases, a premium seat, complimentary seat selection, and flexibility for changes and cancellations.

I transferred points from Bilt Rewards to Free Spirit to book this flight. Points transferred immediately at a 1:1 ratio.

Experience Before the Flight

Exactly 24 hours before departure, Spirit’s mobile app told me I could check in online. Despite doing so, I couldn’t obtain my boarding pass. That’s because my itinerary showed a one-way flight to another country. I had to stop at Spirit’s check-in area to show my return flight and obtain a paper boarding pass.

This is the same area where passengers could check in using kiosks and drop off checked luggage.

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Check-in kiosks.

Spirit advertises priority boarding for premium economy passengers, and I was assigned to Group 2. Boarding groups were announced clearly, and signs made it clear. That said, not all passengers obeyed them. A couple boarding in front of me muttered something like “who cares” and got in line. Employees didn’t ask them to wait, even though they were in Group 4.

Even still, I was one of the first 20 people on the plane, so boarding with group 2 still put me on earlier — though not early enough to avoid someone being in my seat by mistake.

Since the premium economy area had dedicated overhead bins, putting my carry-on in there was easy.

Cabin Layout and Seating

Premium economy seats on Spirit’s Airbus A321 used a 3-3 layout with a single aisle in the middle of the plane. I was lucky enough to have an empty middle seat next to me, but that’s not a guarantee. The only guarantees here are the extra legroom, sitting near the front of the plane, and the other perks included with the fare.

Since these seats were less than a year old during my flight, they still looked very new. There weren’t any obvious signs of wear, rips, or other signs of age that come from repeated use on planes.

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Last rows of premium economy.

As the flight was mostly full, many rows had passengers using the middle seats in premium economy. Overhead, each seat had a reading light and an air nozzle.

Space and Features at My Seat

Spirit’s premium economy seats have 32 inches of pitch — the space between rows of seats. That’s 4 more inches than you’ll find in economy seats. I’m 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and my knees weren’t hitting the seat in front of me. I call that a win on a low-cost carrier.

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Pretty good space.

Seats didn’t have entertainment screens, outlets, or a traditional pocket, only offering an information slot and a decent-sized tray table. Additionally, the premium economy seats didn’t offer more padding or comfort than the economy seats — just extra legroom.

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Back of the seat.

No Inflight Inclusions

My premium economy fare didn’t include drinks or snacks during the flight. Anything I wanted needed to be purchased or brought with me. However, I did have a 25% discount for food and drink purchases. A menu was available in the information pocket at my seat.

Various combos, chips, drinks, and snacks were available, and prices were clearly indicated.

Unfortunately, some of the pages were stuck together with chewing gum from a previous passenger.

Service From Flight Attendants

Since I didn’t purchase anything on the flight, my interactions with the flight attendants were rather limited. They were spread around the cabin during boarding to help passengers who asked questions, but I didn’t see them proactively offering assistance.

As we pushed back from the gate and moved toward the runway, I put on my noise-canceling headphones and closed my eyes. I left early that morning for a 2-hour drive to Fort Lauderdale and was tired.

I jolted awake about 30 minutes later to incredibly loud laughter as a flight attendant seated on the armrest 2 rows in front of me told jokes and laughed with a group of passengers. I’m all for being friendly. It passes a limit when you’re cracking up so loudly that I wake up while wearing noise-canceling headphones. It was one of the strangest flight attendant experiences of any flight I’ve ever taken.

On arrival in Punta Cana, the crew made necessary announcements and controlled the flow of passengers as we went downstairs and boarded a bus for the terminal.

Final Thoughts

My first time flying Spirit Airlines’ premium economy had an odd mix of good and bad. There’s no lounge access, free drinks, or checked luggage included. There’s nothing special about the seat, either, beyond the extra legroom.

While I appreciated my extra legroom and thought the price was fair, I wasn’t a fan of the flight attendants.

Even still, I’m not opposed to booking Spirit’s premium economy again in the future.