Customers are starting to understand Spirit Airlines (Nasdaq:SAVE)
is different than other airlines. The message sent has been
successful: those differences save them money on travel, which has
led to the airline's rapid growth and popularity. In fact, Spirit
has seen a 40% growth in customer satisfaction according to
internal surveys. This growth has also led to Spirit being included
in the Department of Transportation monthly Air Travel Consumer
Report beginning this year. Most airlines will only focus on the
area of the report where they perform well - not Spirit. The
Ultra-Low Cost Carrier actually wants consumers to better
understand what the report says and focus on what is important to
consumers, even if it means drawing attention to the areas where
they didn't score so well.
"The DOT provides a comprehensive report, but it is a lot of
data that can be difficult to understand," said Spirit's President
and CEO, Ben Baldanza. "We want consumers to be able to focus
on the important information the report provides that actually
shows how carriers are taking care of their customers."
According to the DOT, Spirit performs well in these
categories:
- Spirit is far and away the leader in lowest airfares and total
price, even after adding options.
- The January report shows Spirit was among the best when it came
to fewest canceled flights and fewest lost pieces of luggage, two
areas consumers get most frustrated with regarding air travel.
- Spirit had a high number of complaints – although they weren't
the worst on the list. Spirit has embraced complaints as a tool to
help educate customers on the airline's unique model.
The airline has created a much easier to understand, more
visual, and humorous Infographic that clearly shows how Spirit
performed in the January DOT report. And in true Spirit
fashion, they've also created a self-deprecating video that
discusses the DOT report. To watch the video click on this link:
State of Hate Video - DOT Report
Best Fares, Best Price
Spirit continues to lead the industry in the lowest price for
airfares – which is the measure that most consumers rank as their
highest priority when choosing an airline. DOT statistics show
that Spirit's fares are on average 42% less than other airlines.*
That equates to a potential savings of nearly $770 million for
Spirit customers.**
On-Time Performance
For decades most news stories regarding the DOT report focus on
"delays" and "complaints," two areas that may seem on the surface
to be a clear reflection of consumer frustration. Spirit CEO
Baldanza contends consumers have been steered into thinking those
categories are a true reflection of performance, while they can be
highly misleading.
"Don't get me wrong, we don't ever want to have a delayed
flight, and we want to have zero complaints; but we're in the
airline industry and those things are going to take place with
every airline," added Baldanza. "The fact is many airlines 'game'
the system when it comes to on-time performance. When you
understand this fact and understand the different nature of
complaints, it can quickly change your perspective."
Spirit had 71.3% of their flights arrive on-time, just below the
industry average of 76.8%, although almost 20% of those delays were
due to weather, airport, and security issues. While there were
other airlines whose performance was worse, Baldanza suggests
"delays" are a part of the airline industry. Most air
travelers have experienced a delay; but it doesn't adversely affect
their trip. However, when an airline cancels your flight, it can
ruin a vacation or destroy a business opportunity.
"That's why Completion Factor - or fewest canceled flights - is
a measure of taking care of customers that should also be
considered," says Baldanza. "At Spirit we're committed to
getting you to your destination on your flight, even if it means
taking a delay." The DOT report shows Spirit ranked near the top of
the industry only canceling 1.1% of their flights, compared to the
industry average of 2.5%.
Complaints
In the January DOT report Spirit ranked second for the most
number of complaints. Baldanza points out there is a relatively
small number of complaints, and the specific nature of those
complaints is often overlooked.
Spirit had 7.99 complaints for every 100,000
passengers. That means that 99.99% of Spirit's customers did
not complain to the DOT about their service on Spirit. "I
can't think of any company that would change their practices based
on complaints from such a tiny fraction of their customers," added
Baldanza.
The airline's reading of the DOT report shows business model
complaints make up 35% of Spirit's complaints.
"When a customer is upset that we have more seats on the plane
than other airlines or they don't like that we charge $3 for a
soda, that's a business model complaint and is much different than
if we don't provide the service we promise," says Baldanza. "Our
business model saves people a lot of money, and that's what we're
all about at Spirit, so we're not going to change in those
areas. However, if we lose your luggage, or make a mistake of
some kind, we will work to fix the situation and make it
right. While we always want to get better, we think the DOT
report shows that we are successfully doing the things that the
vast majority of our customers care about most, like not canceling
your flight or losing your luggage – and we do this while saving
customers a lot of money!"
Spirit understands that air travel can be frustrating, and
they're willing to listen. So the airline set up a website
where consumers can "share their hate" about Spirit or any
airline. In return, the airline will give 8,000 FREE SPIRIT®
Miles to use toward an award flight on Spirit when they submit up
to 140 characters at www.HateThousandMiles.com
About Spirit Airlines:
Spirit Airlines (Nasdaq:SAVE) is committed to offering the
lowest total price to the places we fly, on average much lower than
other airlines. Our customers start with an unbundled,
stripped-down Bare Fare™ and get Frill Control™ which allows them
to pay only for the options they choose - like bags, seat
assignments and refreshments – the things other airlines bake right
into their ticket prices. Spirit's total price, including options,
is nearly 40% lower than other airlines on average.* We help
people save money and travel more often, create new jobs and
stimulate business growth in the communities we serve. With our
modern and fuel-efficient all-Airbus fleet we operate more than 325
daily flights to 57 destinations in the U.S., Latin America and the
Caribbean. Come save with us at www.spirit.com.
* Based on US Department of Transportation data for Spirit and
other U.S. airlines for the twelve months ended 6/30/14 adjusted
for differences in length of haul.
**The average fare on Spirit is $88, vs. $152 on other airlines,
a difference of $64. Spirit flew 12,021,642 passengers in
2014.Therefore 12,021,642 x $64 = $769,385,088 in
savings.
CONTACT: Paul Berry
954-918-9432
Paul.Berry@spirit.com
En Espanol: Irisaida Mendez
954-625-4200
Irisaida.Mendez@Spirit.com
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