Spirit Airlines is independent again after the failed merger with JetBlue, and it is relishing the opportunity to do new things.
When Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways finally decided to call off their proposed US$3.8 billion merger on 4 March 2024, Spirit took the date literally. After holding back many updates and new projects while it awaited a US government decision on whether to proceed with the merger, Spirit began to ‘march forth’ to reclaim its independence.
“We’ve had to run the company the best we could but still abiding by the merger agreement,” said Spirit Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Matt Klein. “I testified before Congress in March 2020 and Spirit hasn’t changed much since.
“Now with everything behind us we can execute our plans that we’ve been developing. We knew all along there was a chance the merger may not move forward and we planned for both possibilities,” said Klein.
Spirit, which has been losing money consistently in recent years, knew that the air passenger market in the Americas changed after the pandemic.
“We looked at the product and have been listening to a lot of customers. We know things should change,” he said. “Now that we have clarity about our situation, we can make the changes we have been considering for a while but may have been unable to do.”
Spirit is starting to “move some flying around to make it commercially viable,” and that has already begun with cuts to Florida markets. With consistent air traffic control problems, and the US government’s inability to fix it, Klein said Spirit had to make some difficult decisions.
“ATC is better than it was, but not where it should be. There’s more and more flying into Florida, and if the system can’t handle it, we’re going to have to continue to make changes,” he said.
Spirit has also begun rolling out baggage drop technology that uses facial recognition. “It avoids interacting with a person and people like it,” Klein said. “We’ve also installed [onboard] WiFi and it works incredibly great. When WiFi works, our guest experience rating is up double digits.”
One of the more ambitious efforts Spirit has just begun undertaking is redesigning all its seats to give an extra two inches of legroom. “Customers see the difference, and we didn’t have to remove any seats.”
Spirit’s cushy Big Front Seat, a business class-type seat in the front of the plane, is a passenger favourite. Usually, eight seats are provided in a two-two business seating with four seats across versus six across in regular economy. “It’s a very successful product for us,” Klein said. “We have validated that it’s a good part of our business.”
Future direction
Spirit is also starting some routes with plans for what Klein called “intentional connectivity”, which the airline avoided in the past.
While the merger held back Spirit’s business planning, Klein still expects more mergers in the future. “It’s inevitable. There will be more mergers and there’s one more on the table” – that one being Alaska-Hawaiian, which Klein did not want to address.
Spirit, like many airlines, has been neutralised by Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engine issues. The extra cost Spirit has borne for grounding aircraft should be repaid by P&W. “We’ve been in talks for about four or five months and when we have a settlement we’ll talk about it. We’re pretty close.”
Spirit celebrated 15 years in Colombia as Klein spoke in Bogotá during March 2024. The airline serves six destinations in Colombia with 15 flights on some days. Spirit is involved in many Colombian communities, investing in youth programmes in very un-LCC-like initiatives.
The carrier has spent more than five years participating in Colombian youth football, donated bicycles and participated in other charity projects. “The present and future are very bright here. It’s been great for us,” Klein said.
“We must do things to get us over the past and improve perceptions. We’re hungry to do more,” he said.
