Spirit Airlines
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| Founded | 1980 (as Charter One) | ||||||
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| Frequent-flyer program | FREE SPIRIT | ||||||
| Fleet size | 37 | ||||||
| Destinations | 40 | ||||||
| Parent company | Spirit Airlines, Inc. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Miramar, Florida | ||||||
| Key people | B. Ben Baldanza, President/CEO Martin Harrison, Chief Operating Officer | ||||||
| Website | http://www.spiritair.com | ||||||
Spirit Airlines is a United States ultra-low-cost airline operating scheduled flights throughout the Americas. The airline is headquartered in Miramar, Florida. Over half of the airline's flights are to destinations in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Latin America.
History
Spirit Airlines began in 1980 as Charter One [1], a Detroit-based charter tour operator providing travel packages to entertainment destinations such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. In 1990, Charter One began scheduled service from Boston and Providence, R.I. to Atlantic City. On May 29, 1992 Charter One brought jet equipment into the fleet, changed its name to Spirit Airlines and inaugurated service from Detroit to Atlantic City.
In April 1993, Spirit Airlines began scheduled service to destinations in Florida. During the next five years, Spirit expanded rapidly, increasing service from Detroit and adding service in new markets such as Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Los Angeles and New York.
Spirit relocated its headquarters in December 1999, moving from Eastpointe, Michigan to Miramar, Florida. Expansion continued with the addition of the Chicago market as well as coast-to-coast service to Los Angeles. In November 2001, Spirit inaugurated service to San Juan, Puerto Rico and implemented a fully integrated Spanish-language customer service plan including a website and dedicated reservation line. In 2002, Spirit started new service to Denver, Colo. and Las Vegas, Nevada and expanded service to many of its existing markets. In the Fall of 2003, Spirit resumed flights to Washington, D.C’s Reagan National Airport, which had been suspended after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and began service to Cancún, Mexico.
Although Spirit is no longer headquartered in Michigan and plans to close its remaining pilot base and reservations presence there, the airline's operating certificate continues to reflect its registration in the city of Eastpointe.
In 2004, the airline added Santo Domingo and Providence to its network. In 2005, Spirit Airlines launched its biggest expansion effort yet, adding numerous destinations in the Caribbean and Bahamas. By February 2006, Spirit's portfolio of destinations in the region totaled ten. Spirit also began service to Grand Cayman, San Francisco, and Boston in 2006, and in 2007 filed DOT applications to offer service to Costa Rica, Haiti, the Netherlands Antilles, and Venezuela.
In 2006 Spirit launched a frequent flyer program called FREE SPIRIT. It offers award travel starting at 15,000 miles, lower than most other frequent flyer programs. The FREE SPIRIT program also guarantees award availability on every flight.
In 2006 Spirit announced it will exercise options and order 30 more Airbus A319-100 aircraft for further expansion. [1] The aircraft will have a scheduled delivery of 2009 to 2013.
On March 6, 2007, Spirit announced their transition to become the first Ultra- Low Cost carrier in the United States. Their initial plan is to begin charging $10 per checked bag for the first two bags ($5 if bags are pre-reserved online prior to the flight), in addition to charging $1 for drinks which are currently complimentary. Starting June 20, Spirit Plus, was rebranded as BIG FRONT SEAT will no longer provide business class service. For an additional fee, a person can choose BIG FRONT SEAT, or upgrade at the airport. The airline models its business plan and operating style to that of ultra low-cost carriers Ryanair and Air Asia yet has added numerous innovations to further the "ala carte" pricing option. As of October 1, 2007, Spirit is charging $2 for all drinks and $2 for bottled water.[2] In 2007, Spirit became the largest air traffic carrier at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. [3]
On September 26, 2007, Spirit announced a new branding image for the airline that updates the look of its aircraft. Spirit stated that this new image will save money by being lighter weight and thus burning less fuel in flight. The new image is white background with accents in colors most represented in Caribbean and Latin American countries, consistent with Spirit's route network. This new image will affect the carrier's aircraft, uniforms, airports, and website.
Destinations
Spirit Airlines currently flies to 38 destinations throughout Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. Upcoming schedule changes include the addition of Freeport, Bahamas on December 13, 2007, and Panama City, Panama on January 31, 2008, which will increase Spirit's destination count to 40.
Currently, Spirit maintains bases at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
New routes
- Daily nonstop service between Freeport, Bahamas (FPO) and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) begins December 13, 2007.
- Daily nonstop service between Panama City, Panama (PTY) and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) begins January 31, 2008.
The airline also is awaiting foreign government approvals to fly to Caracas, Venezuela with plans to begin service in the second half of 2007.
Fleet
Current fleet
The Spirit Airlines all-Airbus fleet consists of the following 37 aircraft as of December 2007: [4]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (BIG FRONT SEAT™/Deluxe Leather) |
Routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 31 (39 orders) |
144 (8/136) | Short-medium haul |
| Airbus A321-200 | 6 | 198 (12/186) | Short-medium haul |
As of December 2007, Spirit's average fleet age was 2.4 years old. Spirit has the youngest Airbus fleet in the Americas [5].
Retired fleet
By retiring all non-Airbus aircraft, Spirit Airlines now has one of the youngest fleets of any airline. The following planes no longer operate in the Spirit Airlines fleet:
| Aircraft | Total | Year retired | Replacement |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 1 | 2006 | Airbus A320 Family |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 8 | 2006 | Airbus A320 Family |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 5 | 2006 | Airbus A320 Family |
FREE SPIRIT
In 2006, Spirit launched a frequent flyer program called "FREE SPIRIT". The five "status levels" for members are Somebody, Elite, VIP, A-List, Celebrity, and "#1", offering progressively increasing benefits including the name on a plane for a year to the #1 flyer. As with several other frequent flyer programs, ones' level of membership increases as one accumulates additional frequent flyer miles. But unlike any other program, it is relative performance that determines the level rather than absolute performance. Spirit Airlines does not consider Free Spirit to be a loyalty program but rather a rewards-based profit program. [2]
2006 advertising issue
In 2006, the airline released a "Hunt for Hoffa" advertising campaign with the tagline "Help us find Hoffa with our Hunt for Hoffa game and enjoy fares from just $39 each way." The point of the game was to dig for Jimmy Hoffa's body by clicking grids on the airline's website, and "winners" were taken to another webpage, saying "You found Hoffa!," thanking them for assisting the National Spirit Sale Center find the union leader's body.[6] Within hours after the promotion debuted, the airline received many complaints, and the promotion was taken down immediately and changed to another promotion, simply titled "Happy Sale." This promotion was later listed as #8 on CNN Money's 101 Dumbest Moments in Business.[7] Despite this, the sale was the most successful in Spirit's history.
References
- ^ Spirit founded as "Charter One"
- ^ http://www.spiritair.com/Welcome.aspx?pg=aboutspirit&code=AboutUS
- ^ Spirit the Largest Carrier at FLL
- ^ Spirit Air Fleet Detail
- ^ Spirit Air Youngest Fleet
- ^ "Airline scraps online 'Hoffa' game". USA Today. 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Horowitz, Adam. "8. Spirit Airlines". 101 Dumbest Moments in Business. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
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