New Spirit Airlines planes have seats that don’t recline

[Dont call me Shirley]

http://blogs.suntimes.com/travel/2010/04/spirit_scraps_reclining_seats.html
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From the Sun Sentinel:

Spirit's two new Airbus 320 aircraft feature "pre-reclined" seats, spokeswoman Misty Pinson said Tuesday. That means even Spirit passengers who want to pay for reclining airline seats won't have that option.



Like the pay for large carry-on policy, this suits me just fine. I rarely recline my seat. Only sometimes when the person in front of me reclines his. 28 inch pitch is tight indeed, however.

 

[xUT]

Great! Next is aluminum tubes and green canvas ( C130 style :blink: )

 

[star power]

Great! Next is aluminum tubes and green canvas ( C130 style :blink: )

I like that.

How about one better. Handrails and wrist straps for standing, just like a city bus or subway train car.

 

[SparrowHawk]

Somehow this sounds like Spirit bashing to me.

Having had the opportunity to break bread with the CMO of Spirit we have had some lively discussions regarding business and liesure travelers and how they differ. Spirit, I would argue is a no bullshite company with a marketing message that is very clearly defined. They want the most price sensitive portion of the market and if you look at their route structure it makes sense for them. They pretty much do the East coast to liesure destination in the Carribean and South America. The bulk of the population in general lives in the cities and metro ares they service. All have significant minority populations who oft times are price sensitive out of need.

Spirit is leveraging every one of their strengths, coupled with changing how airlines collect revenue via fees. They are the Ryan Air of the USA, albeit with a sense of humor.

Between the fee announcements and promotions like "Many Islands Low Fares" (MILF), the airline is generating free publicity that would be otherwise unaffordable for even one of the Big However Many There are Left network carriers

The Company is MAKING MONEY for their investors. For me I like a network carrier and all of the perks but guess what it's $89.00 all in ACY to BOS! Compared to US at anywhere from about $250 to $970 it's kinda a no brainer for a 1.5 hour flight, especially when you consider they go into Logan and not some outland airport like Hanscomb Field..

IMO they have their audience figured out and the price and product match their target audience. That's something only a few carriers can claim.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

I e-mailed Ben Baldanza about the carry-on and seat issues, got a very nice reply. You may or may not care for the way he does things, but I think he is a class act.

 

[SparrowHawk]

I e-mailed Ben Baldanza about the carry-on and seat issues, got a very nice reply. You may or may not care for the way he does things, but I think he is a class act.

The "Killer B's" aka B. Ben Baldanza & Barry Biffle are indeed class acts. I will NEVER forget BBB explaining how WN kicks the network carriers assets on a cocktail napkin. You can debate his business model and how it aligns with your preferences. HOWEVER there can be no debate IMO of his knowledge, skills & abilities to run an airline.

They are a much better airline since the Killer B's arrived and I think we'll see significant growth of their business

 

[PITOCC71]

I like that.

How about one better. Handrails and wrist straps for standing, just like a city bus or subway train car.

There were rumors that Airbus was pitching a "standing room only" seating configuration to some airlines. A few years ago it was reported on several news outlets and then quickly denied by Airbus. Wouldn't surprise me if Airbus, Boeing, or one of the airlines had secretly looked into the possibility of implementing such a configuration.

 

[AstroLounge]

SPIRIT gets bashed every chance by the media ' screwheads' in front of a computer just because they are innovative and nonconformist. SPIRIT Airlines has defined their position in the airline industry in the USA.....they are low cost, no frills and as a customer You either accept that when You book a reservation or be in for the surprise of your life. I just love that 'clueless, deer in the headlite look' from a consumer that knows how to shop on price but has no frickn' idea what they just bought. SPIRIT has every right to operate their Company the way they see fit.........take it or leave it.

 

[SparrowHawk]

SPIRIT gets bashed every chance by the media ' screwheads' in front of a computer just because they are innovative and nonconformist. SPIRIT Airlines has defined their position in the airline industry in the USA.....they are low cost, no frills and as a customer You either accept that when You book a reservation or be in for the surprise of your life. I just love that 'clueless, deer in the headlite look' from a consumer that knows how to shop on price but has no frickn' idea what they just bought. SPIRIT has every right to operate their Company the way they see fit.........take it or leave it.

Well said Astro! I could fill a server with the crap from the media. Like him or not, Rush Limbaugh is spot in with the moniker "Drive By Media" he uses to describe what now passes for journalism.

Think about it for a second. You're a 36-40 aircraft airline. How do you survive/thrive when there are uncertain times? Stick to you kniting like Midwest did and get sucked into the Republic vortex? That plan worked real well for Midwest as they are now part of the aviation version of the Borg Collective. Or do you try to be the FLL version of Air Tran? Already being done!

No!!! What you do is really quite simple if you want to make money. My old saying holds true, "If you can't be better at something, be different". Which is what they did. They got real smart IMO by not trying to serve two masters by completely ignoring the business traveler. They couldn't service them properly and their coverage/route structure was not conducive to a business persons requirement

So liesure travelers became the target audience. Additionaly they expanded into an area that has fewer discount carriers in the carribean and south America. Then they altered their entire business model and became the first unabashed Ultra Low Cost Carrier in the United States. They already by virtue of their size ran a pretty lean operation so they set about leaning it out even more, while adding a la carte pricing in a big way. They also became masters at generating free publicity with some relatively risque promotions.

Do I see Spirit growing to a 100 A/C airline? Possibly but not much bigger. There is a niche for their business model in the United States and Astrro is absolutely correct that they should be left alone regarding their policies on bag fees and fees in general. Spirit is different. They make no bones about their price structure and never even attempt to hide the fee mania. On fact they promote it. Have you ever seen their "$100 Can of Coke" advertisement pointing out that their fares on average $100 less per round trip and they ask point blank if a free Coke is really worth $100. There is no conflict with Spirit between their Marketing Message and what's delivered to the customer which isn't much unless you pay.

Contrast that to the network carriers who call themselves "Full Service" then lard on the fees. Spirit isn't for everyone, but unlike the network carriers who over promise and under deliver on a minute by minute basis, Spirt knows EXACTLY who they are and where they fit in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

Contrast that to the network carriers who call themselves "Full Service" then lard on the fees. Spirit isn't for everyone, but unlike the network carriers who over promise and under deliver on a minute by minute basis, Spirt knows EXACTLY who they are and where they fit in the grand scheme of things.

Great post, Sparrow. NK does what it does very well. They are not afraid to say "If you don't like, us you don't have to fly us." Go ahead and pay more.

 

[rjf1251]

well,
If spirit is being BASHED or NOT!! It remains to be seen what their Pilots might Do or NOT Do in the VERY NEAR future.
If they strike and sprirt does what they CLAIM they're going to do and close down?? Then all of THIS will be "Academic" pretty damn Quick. . Personal Opinion?? Spirit's managment isn't going to do any such thing!! That's all GAS and Hot Air!!
They'll "Whine and Moan" for a few minutes, Then? Cough up the Duckets. They're making Plenty!! and if they shut Down??
Somebody will be up and running an a month or Two to replace them. Probably with the SAME airplanes!!

 

[lostplanetairman]

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2010/06/07/daily15.html

The company is not planning on shutting down. They are telling everyone that they have found partners to do the flying. We all know that's not logical.

At least the company has been forced to sit down and actually negotiate. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SPIRIT_AIRLINES_PILOTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-06-08-16-39-36

Diva