We are just back from our Thailand trip and one thing for which we need to regret is about our upgrade to SpiceMax. I know I am starting the post with a negative sentiment but this post is about saving you making decision which may make your flight experience pathetic. Here is an attempt to share our experience and some logical facts which would help you decide better.
How to upgrade to SpiceMax?
I am sure there must be a way to directly buy SpiceMax tickets, which the airline claims to be comfort bundled services and priority privileges. If you don't book SpiceMax and they have these seats available, they call and share about benefits & encourage customers to upgrade.
In our case, we received a call and following benefits were told to us for upgrading to SpiceMax.
1. There would be assistance at the airport for checkin, security check and baggage.
2. SpiceMax passengers don’t need to wait and would directly be taken to the plane.
3. SpiceMax passengers are greeted on the plane with wet towels and the some selected food.
4. Passengers get better leg room, blanket and wifi connectivity.
5. You can come to airport 1.5 hrs before the flight and we will take care of everything. (We are talking about International flights here.)
All that sounds pretty cool and we evaluated the cost. It sounded worth to us, but we only upgraded for the flight to Bangkok and waited to decide about the upgrade for return flight. Today, I am happy about the decision about not upgrading during return flight.
Now let's talk about how a SpiceMax Experience goes for you :
1. Queue at the checkin was extremely chaotic and they were short of staff to manage things. This created a sort of panic situation because what the sales person on phone committed was not the reality on airport. We reached at 7:30 and did everything in hurry and without any support. Queue at every place was the same and nobody took care of SpiceMax passengers as claimed.
2. Certainly there was no one to attend SpiceMax customers and it was the situation for all coming Spicemax customers as they were promised to come 1.5 hrs before the flight and the staff would take care of things.
3. The good part is that they put a sticker on your ticket which allows you to get into the queue of Business Class passengers and it saves some time for you in security checks, although it's not very high differential value because this queue is equally slow in Delhi Airport.
4. Throughout we were rushing and as we entered the plane, we got to know that Spicemax seats are actually emergency seats, so these seats anyway had leg space and the company just wants to sell them. This is fair from business standpoint but company should not make false promises.
One family with a kid had also opted for SpiceMax and since the seat was emergency-seat, crew asked them to move to some other seat and then come back to their original seats after take-off. Same was the case while landing. Does it sound reasonable to you?
5. After take-off, when crew started serving meals they had no clue which seats are Spiecemax and what do they need to deliver to them. Within 5 mins the crew said that a particular food item has finished, so I had to get something else. I said no and insisted to figure out. She could figure out , but it was weird that they promise food on flight and they don't have those menu-option available when asked for.
6. Did I forgot about mentioning small things like poor quality or cold-towels and the blanket etc. Probably not required because above content is enough to give you a sense about how responsibly Spicejet takes their services.
And trust me, overall experience is much worse than what I can describe in words after 10 days of this experience with Spicemax.
Let's be fair to Spicejet and also talk about why someone should upgrade to SpiceMax?
The only reason I could see why someone should upgrade is good leg room in these seats, but please keep following things in mind -
1. Don't expect any difference in service at all.
2. You may not want to opt it if with kids, as they would make you change seats twice during the flight.
3. Don't change your expectations in terms of timings and support, so better be on time for check-ins etc.
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