Spirit Airlines and Mr. Baldanza

Filed in archive Flying high on August 23, 2007

Budget airlines has revolutionized the travel agency. Choose any destination and you are most likely to find more than a handful of no frills airlines plying that route. Type "low cost airlines", "budget airlines" or "cheap ticket" on google and you are bound to get pages and pages of results. Check whichbudget.com and you will be given several options on which carrier can fly you to your chosen destination.

Flying isn't that expensive anymore. And budget airlines have made it possible for people with limited means to go on vacation.

So... how do you choose which budget airline to fly with?

Price is usually the deciding factor for those with limited financial means. However, when you have so many options with prices that are very close to each other, does it still make sense to choose the airline with the lowest price?

IMO, NO. When that happens, then it's time for you to look closely. Take a look at the fine print. Check the terms and conditions. It also pays to search the net for some budget airlines horror stories.

Complaints about poor standards, subpar service, cancelled flights and a price tag for each kind of you make has made the rounds. The most recent buzz right now is Spirit Airlines' CEO Ben Baldanza's email.

The CEO of Spirit Airline's ULCC (Ultra Low Cost Carrier) made a mistake of clicking "REPLY ALL" rather than just "REPLY". Unknown to him (until later), he sent below message not only to one SpiritAir employee but also to the passenger who filed the complaint:

• "Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny."

Ben Baldanza's response says a lot about two of the product features written on their website. Spirit Airlines should probably consider taking down "Reliable and on-time Service" and "Friendly staff" from the list.

Now... the next time you do choose to fly somewhere and SpiritAirlines is one of the airlines of choice, you might want to reconsider.

via UpgradetravelBetter and Alex Rudloff