There was a time when you could get on your Spirit Airlines plane, sit down in a chair made of aluminum framing and canvas, light up a Lucky Strike cigarette, and let the Xanax pull you into a deep sleep. That was when we had freedom, but guys, Spirit has done gone Hollywood on us. Spirit Airlines and Frontier have been long known for cheap tickets, which was all just an illusion, am I right? Once you PAID for your carry on, your seat selection, and your two in-flight bathroom breaks, it all added up to maybe $10 dollars cheaper. But now Spirit is getting a facelift, it will be a botched facelift but one can dream.
Spirit Airlines has decided to move up a weight class and compete with the middle-class airlines. Taking on a similar tactic to Southwest, American, United, etc. Spirit will be offering up selections that will benefit the customer slightly. They have tiers like Go Savvy, Go Comfy, and Go Big. They ditched the original names which were Go Fuck Yourself, Go Cry About It, and Go Play in Traffic. These new tiers will offer up different “perks” like having a middle seat blocked, the ability to bring on a carry-on, and get this…. FREE snacks, not even the expired ones any more, actual snacks. Basically, you can fly in style while the swine in Economy are eating from their trough and defecating on themselves. As Spirit and other airlines continue to feel the heat (when are they not? That’s an honest question) Spirit is hoping this new “Go” package will bolster sales.
Now this might seem like a standard transition, one that everyone got around the board table, said “hey our customers deserve this”, “business is good but we will make it even better!”. Nope, not a chance, they were probably all about to kill each other before this decision, probably just screaming while the board room slowly got engulfed in flames. This has only been confirmed through their dismal Q2 results for 2024. Spirit is forced to cut more positions as the company fights to get people onboard.
Will this revamp of the company garner the results they are hoping for? Surely not. Look Spirit is already in a placeholder in the consumer mindset, a placeholder that is very hard to move. Spirit and Frontier are known for their inflight cigarettes and generally low fees (although as I explained its not really lower at all). If Spirit were able to pivot towards a more sought out airline it’s going to take TIME and a lot of it. People rarely change their mind once it is made up and for many we know exactly where Spirit stands in our buying decisions. If the company really wants to change, they will need to start with the public perception of their company.
All-in-all at least Spirit is trying to do something different. In a landscape of delays, cancellations, and plane doors ripping off mid-flight, it’s almost refreshing to see a company try something new. It might fail, sure, but at least they tried. JK if the bottom line isn’t met it’s over for dumb ole Spirit. Anyway, that’s my take on it. Until next time.---GS
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