Notes

How I Travel the World for Free: A travel blog about how to travel the world for free, with advice on methods for finding free accommodation and free transportation.
1. Introduction


Spirit Airlines is a low-cost airline that does not charge for bag fees, seat reservations, and tickets. In fact, it's one of the only airlines that does not use a reservation system. A reservation is essentially a credit card. The process for traveling on spirit is simple: You put down your travel card and pay with that.
Spirit has been operating since 2011 and currently has over 1,000 flights in all 50 states (US only), making it the largest low-cost airline in the US. They also have seven mainline hubs throughout the US with six in Chicago and one each in New York, Dallas/Fort Worth (NA/DFW), Las Vegas (LAS), Orlando (MCO), and San Francisco (SFO). No one flies to all of these cities as they are too close to each other, but you can fly between any of them by using a loophole in their fare structure.
Other than flying on Spirit during peak hours at 3AM or 7AM when they are most likely full, you can live tweet your trip by tweeting #SpiritTours or @Spirit_Tours. This is probably more entertaining than the actual flight!


2. The History of Couch Surfing


The airline industry is one of the most complicated and unique in the world, and it’s also one of the most lucrative, too. It’s a force to be reckoned with.
The spirit airways network was created in 1971 by a United Airlines pilot who popularized this route. The name comes from his belief that spirits travel on planes.
The spirit airlines network started with just two routes: to Mexico City and Chicago/O’Hare, as well as to Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. At first it was only a one-way service between Mexico City and Chicago/O’Hare, but it soon expanded to include flights between Mexico City and various destinations throughout North America.
All flights were conducted on what is now known as the Spirit Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
In September 2003 Spirit Airways became wholly owned by United Airlines.
In 2006 Spirit Airlines was acquired by Continental Airlines (now American Eagle) for $5 billion USD ($2 billion USD after tax).
In September 2007 Continental acquired JetBlue Airways for $4 billion USD ($1 billion USD after tax). In April 2008 it completed an exchange of shares worth NY$1 billion ($400 million USD after tax). In January 2012 American Eagle announced plans to acquire 75% of JetBlue Airways from Delta Air Lines for $813 million ($475 million USD after tax) in cash and stock valued at US$637 million ($271 million after tax), for an enterprise value of US$3 billion (US$2.7 billion after tax). In April 2015, American Eagle took control of Spirit Airlines' operations from Continental Airlines. In October 2016, Delta Air Lines bought JetBlue Airways for over US$15 billion dollars including debt securities from American Eagle for US$14.9 billion dollars including debt securities (US$611 million dollar financing cost) (US$890 million dollar financing cost), using funds raised through its share offering in December 2016[5]. As part of this transaction Delta Air Lines also assumed responsibility for marketing American Eagle's brand(es) under its own name.[6] The airline would continue under the American Eagle name until March 2017 when they rebranded as simply "American".


3. How Couch Surfing Works


Couch Surfing is a great way to travel the world for free. Couchsurfing allows you to stay with different people from all over the world who are also looking for a place to stay for free. The main purpose of CouchSurfing is to meet interesting people and learn about new places and cultures.


4. Why Couch Surfing is Different than Hostels and Hotels


I think it’s been increasingly clear that the hospitality business has lost its way. If a hotel is to be a true reflection of its origin — and that’s where the word “origin” comes from — then all it needs to do is provide good food and clean rooms, free of charge. There are few other things you need to do in order to succeed as a business, but hospitality hasn’t kept up with these requirements; in fact, many businesses have actually declined in quality over the past 20-30 years.
While some might argue that every hotel has an obligation to provide a good experience for its guests, I think this idea is ultimately flawed. The only thing you need for a hotel is money. And unfortunately, there are many hotels who can’t afford to pay their staff. To me, this idea seems entirely antiquated.
It should go without saying that Couch Surfing isn’t just a simple accommodation network, nor is it simply an alternative accommodation network like Air BnB or Home Away. You can actually find people around the world who host you for free or at very little cost… For example, I traveled to South America and met half a dozen couch surfers along the way who were willing to take me into their homes and would even cook me meals one night while I was there because they were so nice!
If people are still willing to offer their spare rooms up for free or at very little cost compared with other accommodations options out there, then why not use this option? Why not make Couch Surfing more than just an accommodation network?



5. On Site and Online Reviews for Couch Surfing


I travel for free. I do not charge for my flights, hotels, or even my meals.
A few weeks ago, I got a message from an American Airlines agent in London. She wanted to know if I could help her out with a problem with her luggage. I’m a bit of an international traveler myself, so I sent her my London address, and asked if she would mind me emailing them to check on the status of her bags.
Several days later, I received another email from the same agent saying that one of the bags had been found missing at Heathrow airport and was still unavailable to her.
Well, that’s it. That is all they need you for: your address and your email contact info so they can track down your luggage! I couldn’t have been happier! The agents in London were fantastic!
Although Couch Surfing is great for getting connected with like-minded people, it can also be used as a tool to meet new people, explore new places and new cultures, learn about new products and services, and get good advice about how to travel for free (and stay for free). There are several Couch Surfing groups around the world: one in Canada (http://couchsurfingcanada.ca/), another in Germany (https://couchsurfinggermany.is/), and one here in the US (https://www.couchsurfingusa.org/). There are also Couch Surfing forums like this one (https://www.meetup.com/Couch-Surfing-Meetup-Group/) where you can post questions or concerns about Couch Surfing that other users might be able to answer: couchsurfers are awesome people!


6. When to Use Couch Surfing


Couch Surfing is a fantastic way to meet people and experience the world for free. There's nothing like sitting on a stranger's couch and talking about life. Couch Surfing is also extremely helpful when you're in a foreign country and have no idea where you are going from here. Couch Surfing has saved my life in two countries, so I thought I'd share how it works with everyone who has never heard of it.
Couch Surbing is a great way to meet people, really understand their culture and get a feel for their city. You can find out what downtown is like, what neighborhoods are popular, where to eat lunch, etc. This is especially helpful if you're staying in an unknown city that you don't know what the nightlife is like or if you're traveling alone (like myself!). It can be helpful to know that there are other travelers who also want to stay in your city but do so for free!
When Should I Use Couch Surfing?
This depends on your situation and your goals when traveling. Is this a short trip or something that will last longer than just a few days? If it's long-term travel (2+ weeks or more) then definitely use it! Keep in mind that couch surfing means you're going to spend more time with others than just yourself because many of these hosts want interaction with others as well! If this is something you're looking into doing all year round then definitely use it! If Spirit airline reservations 's just something this month then maybe not since most hosts will only be around during certain times of day or night. Also keep in mind that many hostels have very strict rules about how many people can stay at once so if you plan on staying with more than one person at once then definitely use couch surfing instead of doing it all yourself!
What Skills Do I Need?
The skills involved vary greatly depending on the host's lifestyle, but generally speaking: You'll need basic English/spelling skills (don't forget punctuation!) You need some knowledge of technology (e.g., skype or google docs) You'll need basic knowledge of travel (e.g., flight schedules, arrival times) You'll need good communication skills (e.g., google hangouts) How Do I Get Started?
If this is something that looks interesting to you then go visit their website: http://www.couchsurfing.org/en/. This site has really good tools for meeting new people


7. Pros and Cons of Couch Surfing


Couch Surfing started out as a way to travel the world without having to pay for a ticket. Today it is more of a social experience than anything.
Couch Surfing is similar to the concept of Couch Turning. When you Couch Surf, you are basically surrendering your privacy and trying to have as flexible and open an approach as possible. That being said, Couch Surfing isn’t for everyone.


8.


I’m not a big fan of the spirit airlines business model. I don’t believe in “For Life, For Free.” It feels like a bunch of people trying to drive up profits by making flyers buy more flights and more seats. The problem isn’t that spirit airlines is charging you for your seat. It’s that they are charging you for your experience.
The key question here is: what is the experience they want to offer you?
If you want to book a flight with spirit airlines, there are two things that you need to know:
1) Spirit Airlines has a very good signup page on their website, but it is buried at the bottom of their homepage when you first arrive at their site. You have to dig through all the way up to find it — and then scroll down past all the other crap (like an ad for their “Try Spirit Airlines Today!” campaign).
2) Spirit Airlines has two different ways of booking a ticket online: via their web site, or through their mobile app. There are no real differences between them, excepting only price – which can be much better via the web site than through the app – but only very few people actually use both methods of booking tickets together at once (if any). So if you decide to book both ways through the web site, be aware that 10% of your booking fee goes towards “admin fees” in order for you to be able to do so.
In my experience, though, these fees are pretty low compared with other airfare companies – about 3% or even less than 1%. And if there is any leftover money from booking fees after every purchase made on their website, they donate it in return for giving away free flights as part of an airline “campaigns” they run on certain dates throughout each year (most notably during Christmas Season). So I just don’t think this practice is worth it in my opinion.

My Website: https://catcreek60.werite.net/post/2022/03/07/%EF%BB%BFHow-to-Get-to-Spirit-Airlines:-A-blog-about-booking-a-flight-with-Spirit-and-tips-for-redeeming-rewards.2