Spirit Airlines is out of bankruptcy, after a few years, killing its goal of emerging in the first quarter. CEO Ted Christie says the carrier is lean and ready to take contestants including the opponent Southwest Airlines,
Earlier this week, Southwest shocked the customers, announcing that it would first start charging for a bag checked in half a century of the flying, a major strategy for the largest domestic American carrier. (There are some exceptions to the South -West new bag rules, which are effective in late May.)
Spirit’s Christie said in an interview on Thursday, “I think it is going to be a bit painful because they find their position, and we are going to take advantage of it.”
In the south -west, all customers were offered a standout in the US by offering two free checked bags, a perk that has tolerated the recession, spikes in fuel prices and spikes in other crises, while most rivals introduced bag charges and raised them every few years.
On the other hand, Spirit Airlines with a la carte pricing in the US, seat assignments, checked bags and fees for other add-on. This is a strategy, the largest airlines, except the south -west, are copied in one or the other form.
As the Southwest starts charging for the bag and introduces its first basic economy class, which does not include seat assignments or is not allowed for free changes, the soul can possibly win over customers, Christy said.
Southwest said that it would get rid of its single-class open seating model last year.
Christie said, “At least there was a spectator of people who were deliberately selecting and flying because they felt that it was easy. They knew that they were going to receive two bags,” Christie said. “Now that it is not so now, it is easy to say that they are going to widen their aperture and they are now going around.”
The soul is much smaller than the south -west and even smaller than last year, but it competes with airline in cities such as Canasus City, Missouri; Nashville, Columbus, Ohio; And milk. If customers look like travel sites ExpidiaWhere the south -west is a new entry, the soul’s tickets may be cheap and can appear higher in the results, Christy said.
Other airline officials have also said that they expect winning some southwest customers.
Glennstein, president of Delta Air Lines, said at the JP Morgan Udyog Sammelan on Tuesday that there are consumers who select the southwest on the basis of its free-bag perk “and now they are ready for customers graves.”
Spirit, for its share, has recently been offering more ticket bundles that include things such as seat assignments and accessories.
The carrier is now focused on returning to profitability. It posted a net loss of more than $ 1.2 billion last year, more than double the loss in 2023, as it was struggling with grounded jets due to remembering a Prat and Whitney Engine, high cost, more domestic competition and a failed acquisition. Jetbu Airways,
The soul has rejected many recent merger efforts by fellow budget carriers Marginal airlinesChristy said on Thursday that “out of the table” is nothing and the fifth largest airline in the US is understood as a low -cost carrier, but that the airline focuses on stabilizing itself after bankruptcy.
Through its restructuring process began in November, Spirit stated that it reduced its debt to about $ 795 million. The transaction converted the loan to equity for major creditors. The carrier also received $ 350 million equity infusion.
Spirit plans to relieve its shares at the stock exchange, but has not yet set a date.
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