It's the Most Hated Airline in America. You'll Miss It When It's Gone. [View all]

It’s the Most Hated Airline in America. You’ll Miss It When It’s Gone.
In defense of Spirit, the great equalizer of the skies.

By Scott Nover
Oct 15, 20245:35 AM


(Slate) Not long ago, I found myself in a position every American air traveler is taught to dread: I was about to board a Spirit Airlines flight.

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One recent Axios–Harris Poll survey asked Americans about the brand reputations of 100 well-known companies. Spirit ranked 98th out of 100 companies—worse than Meta and TikTok, Fox Corporation, and Silicon Valley Bank, a financial institution that failed last year. The only businesses that scored worse? Elon Musk’s X and the Trump Organization. Woof.

Spirit’s brand is synonymous with cheapness—in price but also in quality. Its planes are cramped, uncomfortable, and all too often delayed. The airline sets cheap rates but ambushes customers with pesky little fees for every single facet of the flying experience, a nickel-and-diming scheme that bends not even for that glass of water. It’s flying “unbundled”: Start with the worst experience imaginable, then pay up for whatever shreds of dignity you need to feel human.

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Ever since the merger failed, Spirit’s stock has tanked, and its market value has slipped from $6 billion in 2015 to comparative pennies today. Speculation of a collapse has been rampant, and news that Spirit would delay the purchase of more planes and would be cutting certain routes followed. Then, earlier this month, “people familiar with the matter” told the Wall Street Journal that the airline is indeed in negotiations ahead of a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

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What did Young see in Spirit that the average American air traveler doesn’t? Unlike many of the legacy airlines that carve out specific areas of coverage, Spirit does something incredibly important: It truly competes with every other airline. And that brings down prices for every airline passenger—whether you deign to fly Spirit or not. ..............(more)

https://slate.com/business/2024/10/flights-airlines-travel-spirit-cheap-bankrupt.html