Written by :
Published on :
Spirit Air Lines, a prominent carrier at both the Las Vegas and Atlantic City international airports, is thanking its 99.99 percent of flyers who didn’t complain. A recent report that suggests the ultra low cost carrier is the “most complained about airline”.
The New Jersey Public Interest Research Group study had Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza foaming at the mouth.
He insists complaints against the air line have fallen 30% in the last year and insists that the study’s findings of an average eight complaints per every 100,000 passengers isn’t bad at all despite being three times that of other carriers.
“Offering our low fares requires doing some things that some people complain about — more seats on our planes with a little less legroom, no Wi-Fi or video screens, and no refunds without insurance; however, these reduce costs, which gives our customers the lowest fares in the industry,” Baldanza said in his statement. “Judging by the number of customers on our planes and repeat customer rate, most people like this trade-off.”
Spirit does offer low fares but also charges for water, seat selections and even carry-on baggage.
Baldanza insisted Spirit will not overhaul its pricing strategy “just to reduce the complaints of a few customers.”
“Doing that would raise prices for everyone, compromising our commitment to what our customers have continuously told us they truly value — the lowest possible price,” he said. “We will continue to work in every way we can to help our customers get where they want to go, safely and reliably, for less money.”
And now Spirit is looking to capitalize on these complaints by tying in a promotion thanking those who kept their mouths shut and keep flying what has become a profitable airline.
“Spirit is celebrating the 99.99 percent!” the airline proclaimed in a press release. “That’s right, over 99.99 percent of our customers did not file a complaint with the Department of Transportation in 2013. To the 0.01 percent — that’s OK, we know we aren’t the airline for everybody (though we’d love for you to save by flying with us again!).”
The airline follows an almost identical business model as Europe’s hugely successful discount carrier Ryanair, based out of Dublin, Ireland, which at one time contemplated charging to use the lavatory.
Despite its reputation as "the most complained about airline", Spirit's safety record since 1980 when it began flying ast Charter One has remained impeccable.
Spirit also flies to the online gambling hub of San Jose, Costa Rica with direct flights out of Fort Lauderdale.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
