The CEO of Spirit Airlines defends himself against critics. His basic stance is that they sell cheap and no one can expect classy service when the product is cheap. Just like no one would compare Smith and Wollensky’s with McDonald’s — they are two different classes of service.
Both fill you up, but they do it with different quality of food, ambiance, amenities and service.
When Ben Baldanza, the CEO of Spirit, stands behind his no-frills airline, he does it with gusto and a bit of a smile on his face. He has figured out the basic American consumer — they want the lowest price. Even when passengers complain and say they want more, when it comes to paying, they want the most they can get for the least amount of money.
Spirit Airlines sells transportation from Point A to Point B. That’s it. If you want to take a bag, pay more. If you want to carry on something more than a purse, pay more. If you want a snack, pay more. If you insist on getting on board early, pay more. If you want to use the airline’s kiosk at the airport instead of printing out your boarding pass at home, pay more. It may seem extreme, but it is very basic.
Let’s compare Mr. Baldanza’s Spirit Airlines to Soutwest and US Airways. On June 24th, I looked up a flight from Baltimore/Washington to Ft. Lauderdale (departure 22 July and return 25 July)on each of the airlines’ websites. The passenger will be traveling with one carry-on bag and one checked bag. Plus, the passenger is not a member of any airlines’ frequent flier club, just a normal passenger. Here are the results.
Spirit Airline total was $307 (Airfare $177+Carry-on $70+checked bag $60 — and that is assuming the passenger follows all rules properly, pays in advance and prints out boarding pass)
Southwest Airlines total was $292
US Airways total was $317 (Airfare $267 + checked bag $50)
That’s pretty amazing. The consumer buying the McDonald’s happy meal is paying more than someone headed to, let’s say, Applebee’s or about the same as at the Olive Garden.
Plus, with Spirit, there are only two flights a day. So, if something goes wrong, it can go very wrong. Both Southwest and US Airways have about a dozen ways that they can get you from BWI to FLL.
And, the service on either Southwest or US Airways is bound to be better than that on Spirit, where even the CEO claims service is not as important as price.
I can’t understand why anyone given these circumstances would ever fly on Spirit. With the announced disregard of service, with the acknowledged approach to fees and with the lack of any backup flights, flying Spirit Airlines in this case makes no sense.
You get less for more. Even McDonald’s hasn’t reached the point where their meals cost almost the same as Olive Garden or Applebee’s.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
