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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Pu3CXatsA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Pu3CXatsA TL;DR: several factors. - Fuel prices are up (for everyone) - Spirit havi

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Pu3CXatsA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Pu3CXatsA TL;DR: several factors. - Fuel prices are up (for everyone) - Spirit having so many flights out of Florida has hurt them (climate change with heavy storms more common, and ATC staffing particularly bad in Florida, so operations has been harder) - Leisure travelers have been willing to spend more for luxury travel in the past couple years and Spirit doesn't have a real offering to that market segment

teractiveodular 2y ago
I don't really buy that last one: successful LCCs (Ryanair, AirAsia, etc) know their niche and their audience, and don't even try to compete outside it. Luxury travel has fatter margins but also demands way more overhead in everything (cabin crew, catering, cleaning, etc), so it's not compatible with the rest of the LCC business model, which relies on fast turnaround times and minimal services.
- standardUser 2y ago
  I think luxury is the wrong word. I have a hierarchy of US airlines in my head that guides my domestic airfare purchase decisions and Spirit is at the bottom. American and United are near the bottom too. I never fly first class or business class, so I'm always looking for the least miserable coach ticket. For me, that's Delta, JetBlue and Alaska. I imagine a lot of fliers think the same way and though their own rankings may vary, Spirit is at the top of nobody's list. And what's the difference is cost anyway? Maybe $40.
  - teractiveodular 2y ago
    @eskibars was specifically talking about luxury. And yes, there are people who will fork out $10000 or $50000 for a 10-hour flight where they get their own little multi-room apartment complete with a shower and free flow champagne.
    - standardUser 2y ago
      Those people have precisely zero bearing on Spirit airlines and it's ability to stay in business.
wcfields 2y ago
Lets not forget that Airlines make a ton of their revenue from co-branded credit cards. [1] Spirit has a credit card from Bank of America [2], but it's terrible outside of the introductory bonus miles offer, which for an airline card gives you a lot of miles for a low intro-spend. Other than that, you get priority boarding and that's about it. No real other perks. I got it, and was probably flying on Spirit more in a few months than any other time in my life because I was traveling last minute to see my late father while in hospice and Spirit was far and away the cheapest flights for next-day flights. As for status, you have to basically fly weekly roundtrips to get any perks (free bags, etc.) [3] On top of all that, most business travelers won't take Spirit, and it's often not an option in Concur/Biz travel middleware because companies know the hidden fees so it's often not worth listing for budgeting against known airlines. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-banks-mileage-programs/675374/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-b... [2] https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/spirit-airlines-credit-card/ https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/spirit-a... [3] https://www.spirit.com/free-spirit https://www.spirit.com/free-spirit

teractiveodular 2y ago

I don't really buy that last one: successful LCCs (Ryanair, AirAsia, etc) know their niche and their audience, and don't even try to compete outside it. Luxury travel has fatter margins but also demands way more overhead in everything (cabin crew, catering, cleaning, etc), so it's not compatible with the rest of the LCC business model, which relies on fast turnaround times and minimal services.

standardUser 2y ago
I think luxury is the wrong word. I have a hierarchy of US airlines in my head that guides my domestic airfare purchase decisions and Spirit is at the bottom. American and United are near the bottom too. I never fly first class or business class, so I'm always looking for the least miserable coach ticket. For me, that's Delta, JetBlue and Alaska. I imagine a lot of fliers think the same way and though their own rankings may vary, Spirit is at the top of nobody's list. And what's the difference is cost anyway? Maybe $40.
- teractiveodular 2y ago
  @eskibars was specifically talking about luxury. And yes, there are people who will fork out $10000 or $50000 for a 10-hour flight where they get their own little multi-room apartment complete with a shower and free flow champagne.
  - standardUser 2y ago
    Those people have precisely zero bearing on Spirit airlines and it's ability to stay in business.

wcfields 2y ago

Lets not forget that Airlines make a ton of their revenue from co-branded credit cards. [1] Spirit has a credit card from Bank of America [2], but it's terrible outside of the introductory bonus miles offer, which for an airline card gives you a lot of miles for a low intro-spend. Other than that, you get priority boarding and that's about it. No real other perks. I got it, and was probably flying on Spirit more in a few months than any other time in my life because I was traveling last minute to see my late father while in hospice and Spirit was far and away the cheapest flights for next-day flights. As for status, you have to basically fly weekly roundtrips to get any perks (free bags, etc.) [3] On top of all that, most business travelers won't take Spirit, and it's often not an option in Concur/Biz travel middleware because companies know the hidden fees so it's often not worth listing for budgeting against known airlines. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-banks-mileage-programs/675374/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-b... [2] https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/spirit-airlines-credit-card/ https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/spirit-a... [3] https://www.spirit.com/free-spirit https://www.spirit.com/free-spirit