Notes

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1. Intro


Although Spirit Airlines is known for being laid-back and fun, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. The airline has a cancellation policy. If you’re planning on flying with the company, you might want to know about it.
Spirit Airlines has a cancellation policy. It is not mentioned anywhere on Spirit Airlines website or in the customer service center's web pages. It only states that the airline can cancel flights if there is "no flight plan" on your account and that you have been booked for a flight 30 days prior to departure date. This can be very confusing for customers who are trying to figure out if they have a plan or not.
When I booked my trip, I was told that it would be possible to change my last minute flight through Spirit Airlines if I changed my dates of departure at least 30 days prior to my departure date (as mentioned above). This sounded like an opportunity to me – the last minute price was competitive compared to other airlines – so I decided to take it.
I ended up booking with Spirit Airlines again because when I checked into my hotel room in New York City, I found an email from Spirit Airlines saying that their flight was cancelled due to "technical issues" and asking me if I wanted them to rebook me with another airline so that I could fly home at no additional cost. Their customer service said "The airlines are able to change your flight no matter what flight you book."
I had no idea what this meant but based on their website, this "technical issues" could mean anything from mechanical problems, weather problems, schedule changes or even safety issues so they asked us whether we wanted them rebooked with another airline as some other passengers had done in the past. As these were strange requests but maybe not as stressful as paying $180+ per person for an overpriced economy fare instead of paying $220-$260 per person for business class tickets or paying $50-$60 per person for non-refundable taxes and fees (which can go up to $200 depending on your purchased ticket), I figured there would be no harm in it and applied again using their website directly instead of going through a third party travel agency because at least here we're dealing directly with one specific company rather than being scammed by some dodgy travel agent that may or may not be scamming us somehow (we've been ripped off before by travel agents too!) so we wouldn't be caught off guard by any sudden inexplicable changes in


2. The Importance of Flight Attendant Turnover


Spirit Airlines is one of the largest low-cost carriers in the United States. It was founded in Phoenix, Arizona, USA in 2004 as a low-cost carrier (LCC) by Korean based AirTran Airways, and is currently owned by Korean holding company Hanjin Asset Management. Most customers fly with Spirit Airlines using a wide variety of aircraft types including Boeing 737-700s, Airbus A320s and other short- to medium-range jets.
Spirit Airlines currently operates over 1,100 flights per week out of more than 40 hubs in North America. The company’s fleet consists of more than 3,000 planes and provides service to over 60 destinations across North America and Europe.
It offers a wide range of affordable fares on its network allowing customers to fly between almost every major American city (including New York City) and many major European cities including London, Paris and Frankfurt within 45 minutes or less.
The Spirit Airlines corporate headquarters are located in Fort Worth Texas with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston , Charlotte , Houston , Indianapolis , Minneapolis , New York City , San Francisco and Washington D.C.. Customer service representatives work at the airline’s headquarters from the time they start their shifts until the time they leave for home or for vacation around midnight most days.


3. The Impact of Flight Attendant Turnover on Customer Experience


Spirit Airlines is a low-cost airline. Their fleet consists of Boeing 737s, Boeing 737 MAX 8s, Airbus A320s and Airbus A321s. Most of the aircraft are owned by Spirit Aviation, a subsidiary of Spirit Airlines.
The company operates a fleet of 49 planes with over 9,000 employees and 68 airplanes.
In 2011, Spirit Airlines announced plans to acquire 51 Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia aircraft in an order valued at $13 billion. The acquisition was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation on February 12, 2013 but was blocked by Brazil's Department of Transport (DOTr). On April 16, 2014 DOTr issued an order blocking further transfers between the companies and on June 24, 2014 DOTr suspended all future transfers between the companies until December 31, 2015. In August 2015 Spirit announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire five Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia aircraft from Brazilian airline TAM Airlines for $215 million through September 30 2016. On November 2nd 2016 DOTr issued an order delaying this transaction for 90 days and ordering TAM to transfer ownership of the aircraft back to Embraer before November 4th 2016 because certain conditions were not met regarding Brazil's Airworthiness Directive exemption from Federal Aviation Administration requirements for certain types of engine failures and local airworthiness restrictions for jet engines in flight without an engine failure certification or an airworthiness certificate which would cause other types of airplane or helicopter to fail.

On May 30th 2017 DOTr suspended all future transfers between the companies until Dec 31st 2018 and ordered TAM to transfer ownership back to Embraer before Dec 3rd 2017 because failure to transfer ownership would allow Spirit Airlines to operate these aircraft under its existing operating certificate rather than a new operating certificate that would have required inspections after 1 year instead as required by Brazilian law which TAM failed to comply with under its current operating certificate which requires inspections after 5 years instead as required by Brazilian law despite assurances from Spirit that they had no plans or intention to operate these planes at any time or any location in Brazil as part of their purchase agreement with TAM.


4. What Airline Executives Need to Know About Flight Attendant Turnover


Spirit Airlines, formerly known as Bright Spirit, is a low-cost carrier that operates flights from Las Vegas and Phoenix to over 30 airports in the United States. The airline was founded in 1999 by John Thain and the late Richard E.ink, who had both entered the aviation industry previously.
They operate out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Spirit Airlines is owned by Republic Airways Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Republic Airways Corporation, which also owns rival airline Virgin America.
Spirit airline flights derives from the spirit of its founders, who were formerly pilots for other airlines. It has been described as a "low-cost" airline by Forbes magazine, based on its fare structure and frequent flyer programs such as MileagePlus Miles & More Club and Points Plus Club; "lower cost" by Business Insider; and "low cost" by Consumer Reports Magazine.
It has continuously ranked among the top 15 low-cost carriers (LCCs) in US domestic airfares since 2006. In 2017 Spirit received a record $1 billion in investment capital from private equity firm Silver Lake Partners (formerly Apollo Management), which will help it further expand its network of destinations available through partnerships with major airlines including American Airlines Group and Delta Air Lines.
The airline also has an extensive partnership with United Airlines, allowing passengers on United flights to fly on Spirit Airlines flights for free when traveling between their home cities or back to their home airports; under this partnership is currently scheduled to be implemented on several routes operated by United Airlines beginning in 2019.[4]
When it first began flying, Spirit's focus was on maintaining service levels at large regional airports (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport being one of them) so that passengers would not need to change planes within a short travel time.[5] The size of the aircraft operated on these routes gave them full flexibility when it came time to make new schedule changes or add new destinations.[6]
Spirit also expanded beyond domestic flight markets into serving international markets as well: after being forced out of its original domestic market because low demand drove high fuel prices,[3][7] they now serve over 10 destinations worldwide.[8] In 2016 Spirit announced plans to add more international flights than ever before,[9][10] making them one of the largest US LCCs[11] but still operating under FAA regulations limiting carry-on baggage capacity for carry-on baggage at 30 pounds per customer.[12][13][14] By 2019 Spirit will have over 100 destinations


5. How to Fix Flight Attendant Turnover


Spirit Airlines has a pretty good reputation for customer service. The airline has over 6,000 flight attendants across its fleet.
But there is another side to the story. Spirit airlines has been plagued with airplane cancellations due to mechanical problems, or simply human error, which can cause a lot of heartache for passengers.
Fortunately, American Airlines is taking steps to fix this problem by eliminating the baggage fee that Spirit charges its customers that they have to pay when they fly with them.
This will result in cheaper flights for passengers traveling on Spirit flights.


6. Conclusion


Spirit Airlines, the largest low-cost airline in the US, has a cancellation policy. It is not uncommon for flights to be cancelled if there are too many passengers on board. But Spirit charges “bag fee” fees even after you check in your luggage. A $50 bag fee is charged if you check in your luggage and show up within 3 hours of departure time. This fee will remain on your credit card statement for 90 days, making it impossible to use for other purchases at Spirit Airlines.
**Update** This post was written more than a year ago but it still applies today: https://www.sasta-safar.com/blog/2018/08/01/spirit-airlines-bags-fee
Although this seems like a good idea from an efficiency standpoint (the flight will be cancelled and those that did not check in their bags would have missed their flight), it is a great example of the power of social learning theory, which states that people do what they are taught to do, not what they want to do.

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