Los Angeles woman stranded in Chicago after Spirit airline's cancellations
Spirit has canceled more than 2,000 flights since Sunday
A Los Angeles woman has been stranded in Chicago since Tuesday due to repeated Spirit Airlines cancellations amid an increase in travel this summer following coronavirus lockdowns.
"As it stands, it's Friday night and I have no flight home and I'm supposed to work Monday at 7 a.m.," Nikki Campbell, who is a news editor for KFI AM 640, told Fox 11.
Campbell visited Chicago for vacation, and tried to return home on Tuesday, but was met with repeated cancelations from Spirit.
SPIRIT AIRLINES CANCELS HUNDREDS MORE FLIGHTS, PROVIDES UPDATE ON NEXT WEEK'S PROJECTION
"At some point, I was thinking, ‘Do I rent a car in Vegas and drive home,’ but the rental car prices are ridiculous during the pandemic. That was going to be $400. I was thinking, ‘Can I take a bus,'" she said.
Desperate for revenue during the pandemic lockdowns, rental car companies sold off portions of their rental fleets for cash. Now demand for rental cars far outpaces supply causing prices to skyrocket.
"I think at this point, I'm probably going to ask for a refund but I'm probably gonna have to spend $400 or $500 just to get home on a one-way ticket and that's not my jam," Campbell added.
She is far from alone in facing cancellations from the budget airline, with other customers taking to social media to lament how they have been stuck at airports due to cancellations and delays.
Spirit has canceled more than 2,000 flights since last Sunday, which have been blamed on a "month’s worth of tough operating conditions in July" stemming from staffing shortages, system outages and weather.
SPIRIT AIRLINES CANCELS MORE THAN HALF OF ITS FLIGHTS THURSDAY
"There’s definitely some angry people," Spirit CEO Ted Christie told reporters Thursday night. "Right now, all I can say is we’re very sorry for what happened."
"We are going to do everything we can to earn back the confidence of our guests and the traveling public. We believe we can do that," he added.
American Airlines also faced cancelations this week due to bad weather at its Dallas/Fort Worth International Hub. While earlier this summer, the airline canceled hundreds of flights one June weekend, citing staffing shortages and maintenance issues as an influx of people began traveling again following coronavirus lockdowns.
As for Campbell, she added in her interview this week that the cancellations have "scared" her and she’ll likely never fly with Spirit again.
"I've flown Spirit several times before," she said. "They have really affordable fares."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
"Now I'm scared to fly them again because it seems like it came out of nowhere," she said.
Spirit Airlines told Fox News that its cancelation rate improved on Thursday, and pointed to the CEO's comments on the matter.
"While Spirit never wants to cancel flights and inconvenience its Guests, Christie called the improvement a step in the right direction. Christie said he expects Spirit’s cancellation rate to continue to improve over the weekend, resuming normal operations by the middle of next week," the statement said.
A spokesperson for the airline later told Fox News on Saturday that Campbell was contacted by Spirit with a flight and is heading out of Chicago.