Spirit Airlines, frequently tagged as the "most hated" airline in the U.S., has been following a path to redemption, but a position among business travel players likely remains farther down the runway.
In the carrier's fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Ted Christie said 2018 was a "year of many accomplishments" for the ultra-low-cost carrier, particularly in operations. Its completion factor was above 99 percent, its customer service metrics improved, and its baggage handling record ranked among the best for U.S. carriers, he said. Its on-time performance for the year was 81.1 percent, a record for the company, he said, and according to FlightStats, it led all other major North American carriers in on-time performance for each of a few months last year.
The carrier, once known in the headlines for snarky emails and communications with customers, has moved past that, said ICF principal and aviation specialist Carlos Ozores. "They certainly had a poor reputation before and have done a lot to turn that reputation around. From a business travel perspective, reliability is among the most important criteria."
However, other obstacles for business travel growth remain, he said. The biggest is network coverage. Spirit's market share is small even in its biggest markets. The airline's 28-inch average for seat pitch also is a hard sell to business travelers, as they leave little room for laptop work. The carrier's Big Front Seat has limited availability, making it harder to get without booking well in advance, which flies against business travel booking patterns. And most corporate travel buyers shun the highly restrictive basic economy fares that larger carriers introduced to compete against carriers like Spirit.
The corporate travel market isn't on Spirit's radar, either. On the earnings call, Christie said the airline focuses on leisure travel to the degree that it can't measure how many are using it for business. "We do expect that there are people who are traveling on us for business, but usually they are people who are paying for their own ticket," he said. "So it's going to be small businesses or sole proprietorships, that sort of thing, and then maybe mixing that trip with a leisure weekend or something to that effect."
Still, it's not impossible to fathom that Spirit could one day become a bigger player for business travel, Ozores said. In Europe, Ryanair and especially EasyJet have started to court business travel, after all. Meanwhile, Spirit's improved operations will make it more palatable to previously skeptical leisure travelers, which could seep into the business traveler's mind, as well.
"They're continuing to write their story and are continuing to grow," Ozores said. "Maybe after a time, they'll be ready to go after this additional market."