No frills: Spirit Airlines is the future of flight
Filed under: Saving Money, Travel
The New York Times takes a detailed look at Spirit Airlines, the ultra-low cost airline that is reporting solid results and picking up market share by offering better deals than the major airlines.
How do they do it? They charge extra for every little thing: checked bags, water, nuts, picking your own seat, etc. The company recently said that it would begin charging customers an additional fee for buying tickets. I was a little skeptical myself so I decided to fly Spirit Airlines a couple weeks ago, traveling from Boston to Fort Lauderdale. The result? I'm a convert.
I saved at least $150 over what other airlines were charging at the late date I picked my flight, and if I wanted to maximize my savings, I could have packed all my clothing into one carry-on, ordered no food on the plane, and sat wherever they wanted me to sit.But here's the thing: I actually much preferred paying for food instead of getting it for free. Why? Selection. Instead of getting a bag of nuts and half a can of Sprite Zero, they had a menu with various low-end snacks. They were as expected, a complete ripoff -- but not to the point of being highway robbery. And certainly not expensive enough to eat up a significant chunk of the savings vs. flying on a conventional airline.
The New York Times describes the CEO's explanation of the business model this way: "Mr. Baldanza points out that if you don't check any bags and don't mind taking whatever seat the airline gives you, you won't spend an extra dime. To him, it's all about unbundling. Why should a person who isn't checking a bag subsidize all those bag checkers, for whom an expensive infrastructure is bought and maintained?"
He's 100% right: Spirit Airlines' model is just better for everyone and its more bureaucratic competitors will catch onto that soon. There is a certain percentage of travelers who really just want to get from point A to point B as cheaply as possible, and "niceties" like in-flight movie and food can be done away with in exchange for cheap fares. Court these people, make sure they know what to expect (nothing), and you just might have a model of growth for the future.
I saved at least $150 over what other airlines were charging at the late date I picked my flight, and if I wanted to maximize my savings, I could have packed all my clothing into one carry-on, ordered no food on the plane, and sat wherever they wanted me to sit.But here's the thing: I actually much preferred paying for food instead of getting it for free. Why? Selection. Instead of getting a bag of nuts and half a can of Sprite Zero, they had a menu with various low-end snacks. They were as expected, a complete ripoff -- but not to the point of being highway robbery. And certainly not expensive enough to eat up a significant chunk of the savings vs. flying on a conventional airline.
The New York Times describes the CEO's explanation of the business model this way: "Mr. Baldanza points out that if you don't check any bags and don't mind taking whatever seat the airline gives you, you won't spend an extra dime. To him, it's all about unbundling. Why should a person who isn't checking a bag subsidize all those bag checkers, for whom an expensive infrastructure is bought and maintained?"
He's 100% right: Spirit Airlines' model is just better for everyone and its more bureaucratic competitors will catch onto that soon. There is a certain percentage of travelers who really just want to get from point A to point B as cheaply as possible, and "niceties" like in-flight movie and food can be done away with in exchange for cheap fares. Court these people, make sure they know what to expect (nothing), and you just might have a model of growth for the future.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-30-2009 @ 4:02PM
Jeff Burgess said...
I once flew from Los Angeles to Guatemala City for $88 roundtrip on Spirit.
Hard leather seat was well worth saving $200 to $300.
Decent airline at an amazing price.
Too bad they have only a few flights out of LAX.
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3-31-2009 @ 6:40AM
Web said...
Do you know how old those jets are? OLD!
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3-31-2009 @ 8:53AM
Don said...
Actually Spirt's planes are fairly new and not old as the other poster suggested.
3-31-2009 @ 10:08AM
Mark said...
Average age for Spirit's aircraft is 3.3 years....one of the lowest in the industry.
3-31-2009 @ 6:41AM
Chris said...
First time the five of us used Spirit we waited for a two hour delay with a youngster that is a long time, when we could have spent a full day sightseeing instead of sitting in the airport. When booking the tickets it is outsourced to a foriegn country, if I had known that before hand I would not have flown with them, nor will I again. Crappy seats also.
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3-31-2009 @ 6:49AM
Michael said...
They used to call it People Express
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3-31-2009 @ 6:53AM
Jim said...
I think everyone should pay per pound of weight they are putting on the plane. Body weight should be added to baggage weight, because that is really what it costs for that plane to fly you. I weigh 250 lbs, and would pay more than most, but that's only fair.
If I want to save on my ticket, I can buy shampoo and underwear at my destination.
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3-31-2009 @ 7:59AM
brad said...
southwestern airlines has been doing this for years. however, they always leave on time and arrive on time. so piss off to the cheap airlines that cannot adhere to their schedules,,,,,which, after all , is the most important thing!!!
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3-31-2009 @ 8:01AM
Dennis said...
I flew Spirit from Ft. Lauderdale to Chicago every 6-8 weeks for 2 years when I lived in Florida. They are great! On-time take-off almost every time I flew (unless weather was holding everyone else). The service from the check-in persone to the flight attendents was always first class. I only wish they would expand to the Charlotte area.
An aircrafts age does not make it less safe. The Air Force still flies B-52's, KC-135's, C-141's, C-130's everyday that were built in the 60's. Spirit has a very good inspection and maintenance program. Go Spirit!
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3-31-2009 @ 8:22AM
Pam said...
I agree with Brad Southwest normally has cheaper flights, you can choose your own seating, choose your own snacks, and receive more drinks or snacks at no additional cost. There is no extra charge for luggage or direct flights, in which they have more of. They are always ontime, I just wish they had more arrival and departure citys.
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4-01-2009 @ 10:25AM
Sarah said...
I doubt I can fly on them since I don't need to fly on their routes. The airport back home cut back on the number of flights in so instead of driving home in five minutes it takes family members a five hour round trip to Dallas and then home! I would prefer to save money on gas. What's the point of flying if you spend a small fortune getting to and from the airport?
My parents were going to fly out to see me graduate but it was actually $400 CHEAPER to drive than to fly! Way to go airlines - price yourself out of business.
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3-31-2009 @ 8:35AM
Bill said...
Much in the same "spirit" is another airline, Allegiant. Allegiant flies into smaller cities, Clearwater, Chattanooga, Daytona. Saves the hassle of the bigger airports, i.e. Atlanta. I fly between Chattanooga and Clearwater for as low as $19 OW + junk fees, usually $105 RT. I can't drive it for that. Allegiant.com
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3-31-2009 @ 9:20AM
HL Traub said...
The day any other airline takes over Spirit's NY (LaGuardia) to Myrtle Beach route will be a day of inexplicable joy for me. I travel that route every other week in the summer and since Hooters and Independence Air went under, Spirit has a monopoly on nonstop flights (except for Myrtle Beach Direct Air - few flights). Their fares are not substantially better than other airlines, the gate area is unbearably hot, has seats for maybe 40% of the passengers, no P.A. system (so the agent behind the counter yells flight information that only the closest 20 people can hear - they should at least have a bullhorn) and no TV screen with flight info. People are packed in like the subway at rush hour - and especially because it's thunderstorm season with huge delays and cancellations - tempers flare between agents and passengers readily. Spirit is almost as bad at giving out information and assisting customers as Air India.
I'm really looking forward to the summer...
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3-31-2009 @ 9:26AM
NOPC217935 said...
No thanks, I'll stick with the major carriers, I recently got stuck overseas in Costa Rica due to a mechanical failure and Continental provided the stranded passengers with overnight accomodations and free meals and put me on an US Air fligth they next day, I doubt any of this would have happened if I was flying Spirit or any other low cost carrier, and their savings are really not that amazing
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3-31-2009 @ 10:12AM
Jerry Rayburn said...
Flew spirit to Costa Rica, the seats have been moved closer together to accomidate an additional row per side. The result was anyone 6 foot tall or above must sit with your knees in your chest. The worst flight of my life. I would pay double not to be torured like that. Perhaps it would be O.K. if I were short..
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3-31-2009 @ 10:11AM
Hy said...
My problem with Spirit is that you don't know how much you're actually paying until you've already purchased it. I recently purchased tickets from NYC to Fort Lauderdale, and by the time i was finished the cost was almost the same as Jet Blue.
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3-31-2009 @ 10:18AM
Jill said...
You could not pay me enough to use Spirit Airlines again. I had a terrible experience and it really was not cheaper than a major airline when you added up all the extras; in fact, it was more. In addition, when you book online, they do not tell you that certain things are more, like choosing your seat or checking luggage, until AFTER you have made your reservation but by then you cannot cancel your choices. Also, my luggage was lost. It went to Guatemala and when I got it back an expensive pair of hiking boots had been stolen. I went round and round with them. Very poor experience. Never again. Southwest Airlines is WAY better.
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3-31-2009 @ 2:28PM
J said...
You can't beat Spirit's prices, we are going to NYC this summer, and for a family of 3 it costs us $60 round trip per person and that is including purchasing our seat assignments. I have flown Spirit many times, and have always been treated courteously and the planes are always very clean. As for flight delays, the few times I had encountered them had always been due to weather. So keep doing what your doing Spirit, because it is the only way to fly.
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4-02-2009 @ 3:37PM
Spirit Passenger said...
I think Spirit has the right idea. They are up front about how they operate. If all I want to do is fly from point A to point B, all I pay for is my flight. If I want something extra, I know I’ll pay a little extra. I’m the type that just wants to get there. If I can get my flight cheaper by NOT getting a crappy (you can hardly call it a meal) meal - that I’m going to regret anyway – count me in! As far as leg room, Spirit is no different than any other carrier. NW, Delta, Continental, American, United and USAirways all have similar spacing (30”-32”). Spirits’ niche is flying to the Caribbean. I have not seen fares (to the Caribbean) lower from any other airline. I think each airline has their specialty. Spirits’ just happens to be to the ultra-low cost passenger. If I want to fly first class, I’d buy a first class ticket. If I want an inexpensive ticket, I buy on Spirit.
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