Spirit Airlines remains unapologetic about its decision to charge passengers a $45 fee for carry-on bags saying that the controversy, generated by the announcement in April, has in fact sparked interest and a robust increase in bookings.
Bookings beginning 1 August, when the new baggage fee goes into effect, are 50% higher than for the same period a year ago.
"We certainly expected a lot of media on it and we probably got more than we expected," said Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza during a 6 May speech Washington, DC. "The thing that was different than what we expected [was] the first 48 hours were very negative. A lot of our time was in clarifying the message. The more we clarified the message, the more balanced the debate was."
Rather than taking a defensive stance, Spirit decided to capitalise on the media attention. "We made a decision internally to try push the media as much as we could on the story," Baldanza says, reasoning, "If one more mistress says 'I slept with Tiger Woods' how much worse is his reputation?"
While in Washington, Baldanza met with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, in what he describes as a "cordial" meeting. "We had a very good discussion, it was very calm and open," Baldanaza says.
Some officials jumped on the bandwagon early on to criticise Spirit. But Baldanza said much of the focus was directed at the company's need to provide greater transparency in explaining fares and fees to customers before they arrive at the airport. "They've [DOT] always been pushing us on the disclosure. Make sure people know they have to pay for it," he says. "We've been working with them very positively, and we agree with them completely."
The low cost carrier based in Miramar, Florida operates a fleet of 30 A320 aircraft to 40 destinations, focusing heavily on international routes to the Caribbean and Latin and Central America.
A major share of its customers would be considered low income and Spirit's fares allow them the opportunity not afforded by legacy carriers, Baldanza points out.
Spirit charges a low fare, and then adds fees for other items, such as onboard snacks or baggage. Last year, 20% of the carrier's revenue was generated by ancillary fees.
Bandana acknowledges that Spirit is often compared to LCC Ryanair.
"Ryanair has been an inspiration to us in some ways," he says, but notes that Spirit does not go out of its way to antagonise customers, and that it won't ever charge for the use of toilets as proposed by Ryanair.
He compares legacy carriers to Nordstrom while Spirit is more in line with a no-frills retailer like Costco.
"We're not for everyone. We know who we are and we know who we are not," says Baldanza. "We go to points that aren't exactly garden spots in the world but there are a lot of people who want to go there."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
