Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines had to reduce its guidance for 2017 following storm-related cancellations in early 2017. This represents a blip on the radar for Spirit, but questions remain about how Spirit will cope as legacy carriers introduce lower fares to compete.

Under new CEO Bob Fornaro, Spirit Airlines is deviating slightly from the typical ultra low cost carrier playbook. Most passengers probably won't notice it, as Spirit will still pack in the seats and charge for everything. But around the edges, Spirit's strategy is evolving slightly.

American, United, and Delta are all introducing no-frills fares to try to thwart Frontier, Allegiant, and Spirit. It might work, or it might not. But it's worth a shot. The Big 3 do not want any of the discount airlines to grow to be as large and powerful as Ryanair.

When fuel was expensive, Spirit was one of the industry's top performers. But cheaper oil has not been helpful to the carrier, so now it must get smarter.

Frontier and Spirit are finally joining the TSA's precheck program, which is good news for travelers who don't want to wait in long security lines.

It seems like flyers may never get used to being nickel-and-dimed for basic amenities by low-cost carriers like Spirit Airlines.

The legal scope of Ben Baldanza's non-compete agreement working for a foreign airline is unclear, but the competitive implications of this appointment for WOW in the North American market is massive, and it seems that Mogensen could be setting up to take his airline public in the U.S.

Ideaworks believes that web design which makes it easier for consumers to know about and purchase a la carte ancillary products is essential to encouraging these sales. Call it hate-selling with a human face.

The Spirit CEO's vision is for low fares on cramped planes that are clean and run on time. These sort of changes are heavy-lifting for a growing airline and would muffle some complaints but might not be enough to really change the airline's reputation.

It's a big market, with plenty of passengers eager to fly around. In their own way, all airlines are making the most of this boom.