Spirit Airlines on Thursday was fined $375,000, a record amount for violations of consumer protection regulations, the U.S. Department of Transportation said in announcing the civil penalty.
The sanction follows a $40,000 fine last year for failure to include certain fees in the advertised base fare on its website.
The Miramar-based airline has failed to comply with rules governing denied boarding compensation, fare advertising, baggage liability and other consumer protection requirements, the government agency said.
Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said the company experienced some "growing pains"
when it rolled out its low-cost business model a few years ago.
"We have addressed all the core issues that caused customer experience challenges a few years ago including upgrading our computer systems and utilizing a new reservations partner," Pinson said, in a written statement.
The agency's investigation involved a review of consumer complaints filed with the department as well as inspections at airports and a review of records at Spirit headquarters.
The DOT found that Spirit bumped passengers from oversold flights but did not provide compensation or a written notice of their rights to compensation, as required by DOT rules.
The investigation also revealed that Spirit failed to resolve baggage claims within a reasonable period, on one occasion taking 14 months to provide compensation.
full article here
The sanction follows a $40,000 fine last year for failure to include certain fees in the advertised base fare on its website.
The Miramar-based airline has failed to comply with rules governing denied boarding compensation, fare advertising, baggage liability and other consumer protection requirements, the government agency said.
Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said the company experienced some "growing pains"
when it rolled out its low-cost business model a few years ago."We have addressed all the core issues that caused customer experience challenges a few years ago including upgrading our computer systems and utilizing a new reservations partner," Pinson said, in a written statement.
The agency's investigation involved a review of consumer complaints filed with the department as well as inspections at airports and a review of records at Spirit headquarters.
The DOT found that Spirit bumped passengers from oversold flights but did not provide compensation or a written notice of their rights to compensation, as required by DOT rules.
The investigation also revealed that Spirit failed to resolve baggage claims within a reasonable period, on one occasion taking 14 months to provide compensation.
full article here
