Spirit Airlines
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| Founded | 1992 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Atlantic City International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | FREE SPIRIT | ||||||
| Fleet size | 38 | ||||||
| Destinations | 37 | ||||||
| Parent company | Spirit Airlines, Inc. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Miramar, Florida | ||||||
| Key people | William A. Franke, Chairman B. Ben Baldanza, President/CEO | ||||||
| Website | http://www.spiritair.com | ||||||
Spirit Airlines is a United States low-cost airline operating nationwide scheduled and charter flights. The airline is headquartered in Miramar, Florida. About a quarter of the airline's flights are to destinations in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Latin America.
History
Spirit Airlines began in 1980 as Charter One, 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.
In September 2002, Spirit introduced Spirit Plus, an upgraded coach class featuring 36-inch seat pitch, dedicated check-in counters, priority boarding, and complimentary cocktails & snacks.
In 2004 Spirit discontinued service to Denver, Colorado, citing high operating costs. As part of a recently announced expansion plan that includes the Caribbean and Central and South America, 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 holiday destinations in the regions 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 intention to become the first Ultra- Low Cost carrier in the United States, beginning in early June 2007. 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, which will be 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 plans to model its business plan and operating style to that of ultra low-cost carriers Ryanair and Air Asia. [1]
On June 25, 2007, Spirit announced that the Reservation Center in Clinton Township, MI will be closing on August 31, 2007. In an effort to cut cost, Spirit has decided to outsource the Reservation aspect of the company. The two new reservation offices will be in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and Manila, Philippines.
Destinations
(as of July 2007)
Spirit Airlines currently flies to 36 destinations throughout Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. Upcoming schedule changes include the addition of Managua, Nicaragua on August 2, 2007, which will increase Spirit's destination count to 37.
New routes
- Nonstop service operating three times per week between Managua, Nicaragua (MGA) and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) begins August 2, 2007.
The airline also is awaiting foreign government approvals to fly to Baranquilla, Colombia; Bogotá, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; Chiclayo, Peru; and Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, with plans to begin service to those destinations in the second half of 2007.
Motto(s)
1997-2001 "Catch the Spirit... at Spirit Airlines"
Fleet
Current fleet
The Spirit Airlines all-Airbus fleet consists of the following 38 aircraft as of July 2007:
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (BIG FRONT SEAT™/Deluxe Leather) |
Routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 32 (33 orders) |
144 (8/136) | Short-medium haul |
| Airbus A321-200 | 6 (7 orders) |
198 (16/182) | Short-medium haul |
As of July 2007, Spirit's average fleet age was 1.2 years old. Spirit has the youngest Airbus fleet in the Americas[2].
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, and Celebrity, offering progressively increasing benefits. As with several other frequent flyer programs, one's level of membership increases as one accumulates additional frequent flyer miles. Spirit Airlines' loyalty program has followed in the tradition of other frequent flyer programs by linking itself with an affinity credit card. [2]
Controversy
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.[3] 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.[4]
References
- ^ http://www.spiritair.com/Welcome.aspx?pg=aboutspirit&code=AboutUS
- ^ http://www.spiritair.com/Welcome.aspx?pg=aboutspirit&code=AboutUS 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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