Interview: What Spirit Air’s CEO Learned by Working for His Competitors
Skift Take
Here we have the secret of the Spirit ULCC formula for success: butts in seats. Butts in tight seats, even. You can build an entire industry around the 1%--and airline industry has--but the 99% are still going to want to fly.
When we spoke to the affable CEO of Spirit Airlines, Ben Baldanza, about how his company has persuaded so many passengers that the worst pain in air travel is the ache in the wallet, he took time with us to share what he learned after decades of working in key positions at what are now his top competitors.
"A big part of my job at other airlines was in the revenue space, and I would go to bed every night thinking about how I could raise the fare tomorrow and not lose my customers, and have them not feel bad about it, but get my average fares up. At Spirit, I go to bed at night thinking how can I lower the fare tomorrow."
Knowing how the other side of the skies flies helps him sleep pretty well at night, if you’re wondering.
Skift: You’ve held key executive positions at virtually all of your competitors, how has that knowledge of what goes on in those operations helped you drive growth at Spirit?
Baldanza: I actually think it’s both been a help and a little bit of a bu
