Monday
Oct012012
October 1, 2012 Spirit Airlines Raises All Carry-On Fees
Spirit Airlines, one of only two U.S. carriers to charge for carry-on bags, is raising its fees for carry-on with the highest one going up to $100.
Starting next month, if you don’t make arrangements to pay the fee in advance, you will be charged $100 at the boarding gate for each bag. It’s currently $45.
Spirit claims this policy saves them money and fuel and speeds up the boarding process.
Reader Comments (5)
But they are known business wise as their creativity in revenue streams. Depends on your perspective, but anytime the audiance pays in advance vs at the gate does in fact speed up the boarding process. Spirit wants the fee up front, and considering that some people book months in advance, this is as creative as purchasing something for free with a mail in rebate. They so much want to drive this behavior, that they make it price avoidance by signficantly increasing the gate fee, essentially a bird in the and is better than 2 in the bush. Take a look at their Balance Sheet (not neccessarily their P&L) and you'll see what I mean. They would rather pay less for fuel, which is largely outside of their financial control. Again I don't agree, but I undertand their financial benefits (not simply that they are trying to maximize profits).
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones as the only city they go to that I would fly with them, I always travel alone (so I let them pick the seat) and I only have a personal item. Let them be cheapskates, I can game their system. I do feel sorry though for those who are forced to fly them who can't.