Spirit Airlines is out of bankruptcy, hitting its target to emerge in the first quarter, after a crippling few years. CEO Ted Christie says the carrier is leaner and ready to take on competitors, including rival Southwest Airlines.
Earlier this week, Southwest shocked customers by announcing it will start charging for checked bags for the first time in its half-century of flying, a huge strategy move for the largest domestic U.S. carrier. (There are some exceptions to Southwest’s new bag rules, which take effect in late May.)
“I think it’s going to be painful for a little bit as they find their footing, and we’re going to take advantage of that,” Spirit’s Christie said in an interview Thursday.
Southwest had been a standout in the U.S. by offering all customers two free checked bags, a perk that has endured recessions, spikes in fuel prices and other crises while most rivals introduced bag fees and raised them every few years.
Spirit Airlines, on the other hand, made a la carte pricing common in the U.S., with fees for seat assignments, checked bags and other add-ons. It’s a strategy most large airlines, except for Southwest, have copied in one form or another.
As Southwest starts charging for bags and introduces its first basic economy class, which doesn’t include a seat assignment or allow free changes, Spirit could possibly win over customers, Christie said.
Southwest said it would get rid of its single-class open seating model last year.
“There at least was an audience of people who were intentionally selecting and flying Southwest because they felt that it was easy. They knew they were going to get two bags,” Christie said. “Now that that’s no longer the case, it’s easy to say that they’re going to widen their aperture and they’re now going to look around.”
Spirit is far smaller than Southwest and even smaller than it was last year, but it competes with the airline in cities like Kansas City, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; and Milwaukee. If customers look on travel sites like Expedia, where Southwest is a new entrant, Spirit’s tickets could be cheaper and appear higher in results, Christie said.
Other airline executives have also said they expect to win over some Southwest customers.
Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said at a JPMorgan industry conference Tuesday that there are consumers who choose Southwest based on its free bag perk “and now those customers are up for grabs.”
Spirit, for its part, has recently been offering more ticket bundles that include things like seat assignments and luggage.
The carrier is now focused on returning to profitability. It posted a net loss of over $1.2 billion last year, more than double its loss in 2023 as it grappled with grounded jets because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall, higher costs, more domestic competition and a failed acquisition by JetBlue Airways.
Spirit has rejected multiple recent merger attempts by fellow budget carrier Frontier Airlines. Christie said Thursday that nothing is “off the table” and that a fifth-largest airline in the U.S. as a low-cost carrier makes sense, but that the airline is focused on stabilizing itself after bankruptcy.
Through its restructuring process, which started in November, Spirit said it reduced its debt by about $795 million. The transaction converted debt into equity for major creditors. The carrier also received a $350 million equity infusion.
Spirit plans to relist its shares on a stock exchange but hasn’t set a date yet.