I recently flew NK from ORD to SEA. And I was pleased. Yes, the seats were tight, yes they nickle and dime you for everything, but the flight was so cheap. Like $150 RT. I am wondering what their plans for growth are and what people expect from them. I think they are beating F9 big time on being the ULLC of America. Would you conciser ORD a hub or focus city of sorts for them. I wonder how they will compete against the legacy carriers in major markets. Because WN isn't that cheap anymore.

I flew MCO-DTW for 42 bucks RT two weeks ago. It's a really great option if you know how to use them properly. As long as they have cheap fares, people will continue to fly them.

Spirit needs to merge with F9 and keep the Frontier name and call it a day.

I would say they have a pretty decent sized operation at ORD, probably bordering on a focus city.

They also have a pilot and flight attendant base at ORD.

Spirit is becoming a formidable force now that they have a new pilot contract. They have made a lot of operational improvements and if they keep that up, they can beat the legacies on price and the other ULCCs on reliability. They are similar to WN in that they have a number of focus cities through which they route connections, (ORD, DTW, LAS, DFW, BWI, MCO...) with FLL being basically a hub. Even medium sized operations like MSY (at about 16 departures daily) see some connections. That's a big advantage over the other ULCCs when there are irregular ops. And unlike Frontier, they rarely cut any routes.

There are basically endless rumors about potential mergers and new fleets. F9 and the C Series being most common, but I've even heard talk of a 737 order, not that I put much stock into it. Although now that I think of it, Sun Country might be an easy target and could explain the 737 rumor.

I believe that a C-Series order may be in the works along with using them to serve secondary markets.

They are sorta becoming the new AirTran.

Also, 60 Minutes isn't up their butt....yet, people hate them Among the 20 most hated companies in America, they were among 2 airlines, the other being United

yonikasz wrote:

I Yes, the seats were tight,

Are you talking about width or legroom?
Were you in the BIG FRONT SEAT?

Their latest investor relations document, out 1st May 2018: http://ir.spirit.com/static-files/ebfc8 ... ede27a5d19

TWA772LR wrote:

Spirit needs to merge with F9 and keep the Frontier name and call it a day.

The problem with that is that Frontier is part of Indigo Partners which also owns Wizzair, Volaris and JetSmart. Of course it could just be that Indigo Partners buys Spirit, that way they own two LCCs in the USA. But do they have the money for that?

727LOVER wrote:

yonikasz wrote:

I Yes, the seats were tight,

Are you talking about width or legroom?
Were you in the BIG FRONT SEAT?

I don't understand why on a narrow aisle plane the width would be significantly different. Why on a 737 or a318/19/20/21 would an airline shrink the width of the seats, it's gonna be 6 abrest regardless. So no the width was no different. The seat pitch is only 28" that's what was tight about it. Also, I just had a regular seat, no big front seat.

yonikasz wrote:

727LOVER wrote:

yonikasz wrote:

I Yes, the seats were tight,

Are you talking about width or legroom?
Were you in the BIG FRONT SEAT?

I don't understand why on a narrow aisle plane the width would be significantly different. Why on a 737 or a318/19/20/21 would an airline shrink the width of the seats, it's gonna be 6 abrest regardless. So no the width was no different. The seat pitch is only 28" that's what was tight about it. Also, I just had a regular seat, no big front seat.

I've never flown Spirit....I didn't know if BIG FRONT SEAT meant wider. I thought maybe those seats were 2-2 or something. I mean...they should call it MORE LEGROOM FRONT SEAT

727LOVER wrote:

yonikasz wrote:

727LOVER wrote:

Are you talking about width or legroom?
Were you in the BIG FRONT SEAT?

I don't understand why on a narrow aisle plane the width would be significantly different. Why on a 737 or a318/19/20/21 would an airline shrink the width of the seats, it's gonna be 6 abrest regardless. So no the width was no different. The seat pitch is only 28" that's what was tight about it. Also, I just had a regular seat, no big front seat.

I've never flown Spirit....I didn't know if BIG FRONT SEAT meant wider. I thought maybe those seats were 2-2 or something. I mean...they should call it MORE LEGROOM FRONT SEAT

The big front seats are 2 on each side.

yonikasz wrote:

I think they are beating F9 big time on being the ULLC of America. Would you conciser ORD a hub or focus city of sorts for them. I wonder how they will compete against the legacy carriers in major markets. Because WN isn't that cheap anymore.

Spirit has found their niche in the ULCC market, I think F9 is still finding its footing. Considering some of their larger stations (ORD, LAS, DFW, e.t.c) are hubs for LCC/Legacy carriers, I think they hold their own very well.

Glad you had a good experience. I, too, was pleasantly surprised by them. You just have to consider the extra fees when comparing options. They're definitely less comfortable but for the right price it's not too bad, plus their big seats are a great value.

yonikasz wrote:

I don't understand why on a narrow aisle plane the width would be significantly different. Why on a 737 or a318/19/20/21 would an airline shrink the width of the seats, it's gonna be 6 abrest regardless. So no the width was no different. The seat pitch is only 28" that's what was tight about it. Also, I just had a regular seat, no big front seat.

Their new seats are, in fact, narrower. You can see the difference on some of their older planes at the back where the fuselage tapers there are 3 rows of the newer style seats.

727LOVER wrote:

I've never flown Spirit....I didn't know if BIG FRONT SEAT meant wider. I thought maybe those seats were 2-2 or something. I mean...they should call it MORE LEGROOM FRONT SEAT

Dude, quit yelling.

TWA772LR wrote:

Spirit needs to merge with F9 and keep the Frontier name and call it a day.

More like Spirit absorbs Frontier, keeps the Spirit name and calls it a day. F9 is too erratic

WE did a RT BDL-MYR on Spirit last year and expected it to be bad. It was pretty decent. Fare was amazing ($145 RT) and even though the seats were tight, they were perfectly OK for a 90 minute flight .. which ran on time both ways. Crews were nice, plane was clean.

That having been said, though .. I wouldn't wanna fly in the cramped seating on anything over a 2 hr flight .. and I thought the politely worded threats over the size of your carry on was a little tacky.

But would I fly them again? Yep -- in fact, I am in SEPT back to MYR.

ADrum23 wrote:

TWA772LR wrote:

Spirit needs to merge with F9 and keep the Frontier name and call it a day.

More like Spirit absorbs Frontier, keeps the Spirit name and calls it a day. F9 is too erratic

Agreed. Frontier is in and out of markets very rapidly and just kind of seeing what sticks as it seems, much like Spirit was at one time. Spirit definitely seems to do very thorough due dilligence when opening new routes/markets as they seem to stick around much more and longer so then they used to. Frontier definitely seems to use the dartboard method of choosing new routes. I think Spirit definitely has more brand recognition, being the poster child of ultra cheap travel. I think Frontiers brand and name is still somewhat obscure outside of thier core markets.

I don’t think indigo is looking to acquire Spirit, once upon a time they had the controlling share of Spirit but have since IPOed them and sold thier control of the airline. Indigo are essentially restructurers, picking up at risk airlines on the cheap, reducing thier costs, improving thier revenue streams and then ipoing them or selling them. They already did thier work with Spirit and quite frankly likely couldn’t afford Spirit nor would they have any reason to buy them.

I honestly believe that NK has a lot of untapped potential. The "Big Front Seats" seem to be very popular, as do paying to reserve exit row seats or any others with additional legroom. I think with Bobby at the helm, you might see some changes to the Baldanza era.
I paid $122 to fly SEA-DFW and I was happy with the trip. I paid 4x that to fly back to SEA on AA. I liked the seatback IFE and power, but NK is sufficient. I'm even going to fly them to MCO in December.

I feel later this year NK will roll out wifi and other perks.. thats when they truly be taken seriously as a Domestic and International carrier... they are just so behind at this point.

Worth nothing they are consistently #1 to #3 on time airlines and a pretty descent completion static since about 6 months ago.

Hope to see them in Nashville in the near future.

santi319 wrote:

I feel later this year NK will roll out wifi and other perks.. thats when they truly be taken seriously as a Domestic and International carrier... they are just so behind at this point.

Worth nothing they are consistently #1 to #3 on time airlines and a pretty descent completion static since about 6 months ago.

I have also heard wifi is the next thing coming to Spirit.

As a resident of MYR for about a year now I use them at times. The people I have seen getting upset are the people that didn't understand what they were buying for a cheap fare and think they are getting full service perks at a low price. I used them from ACY to MYR quite a bit just before I moved here and have done MYR to EWR a few times to visit family. I have no complaints whatsoever when I know what I am getting for pennies compared to UA, AA or DL.

Also, if you search up "plane fights" on YouTube, Spirit has the best, no contest. #justsayin

treetreeseven wrote:

Also, if you search up "plane fights" on YouTube, Spirit has the best, no contest. #justsayin

Passenger mutinys requiring the presence of airport police were a weekly occurrence for Spirit at DFW. Most were due to the ill trained contract ground personell from ATS who handlle Spirit.

Having worked for NK back in 1996/97 when we have maybe 6 DC-9s in that blue and white scheme with the horrible logo, and were just getting our first MD80 as I left, I can say I am thoroughly shocked at Spirits growth. They were timed perfectly for what Americans wanted I guess, with flat wages, and millenials leading the "vacation travel" explosion, they created, then grew a market they then owned. From DTW at least they have a huge fan base. Remember before FLL they were a DTW charter and then DTW based , scheduled airline. People from there have been flying NK to ACY/MYR/BOS/FLL/RSW/MCO for years.
This new Spirit is winning people over with fares yes, but also news planes with a clear, sleek interior. Black was a smart move. There was rumor they would remove "Big Front Seats" but clearly they rethought that one, and now I agree it could be grown into more revenue by adding some more.

Personally, I feel Frontier is doing just as well, granted they are frustrating with the non-daily, and seasonal issues, but they are behind Spirit as a ULCC and are learning quickly I suspect. I've always enjoyed my flights with F9, their interiors are beautiful, great crews, new planes. The animal aspect goes over quite well, especially with families and all children. Lastly I've said it before and I will say it again, buying the "works" on F9 automatically makes your ticket refundable!!! There is just no offer like that in todays industry.

Success for both carriers would benefit the entire scene.

I know they're big at ORD just down the road, but would love to see them come to MKE & show F9 (and maybe WN?) what's what.