Question

Founded in 1964 as Clipper Trucking Co., within two
decades Spirit Airlines was chugging through the skies as
a tiny commercial airline connecting passengers between
Florida and the Midwest. Yet by the 2000s, Spirit was
near failure—a common story in the commercial airline
business—until seasoned aviation executive and merciless
cost-cutter Bill Franke stepped in in 2006 to buy the airline
and then did something remarkable. Franke had honed his
chops cutting costs as CEO of America West Airlines in the
1990s and was an early investor in ultra-low cost Ryan Air.
Despite his detractors, Franke, along with his CEO, Ben
Baldanza, put Spirit on a steadier (if frill-free) fl ight path,
making it not only one of the few post-9/11 success stories,
but also a trend-setter and model in a deeply challenged
industry.
While larger carriers have suff ered billions of dollars in
losses and bankruptcies, Spirit was fl ying high last year with
$289 million in earnings, 40 percent more per plane than any
other domestic airline. Th e company is currently valued at
about $1.63 billion, the same as U.S. Airways Group Inc., which
is about nine times larger in terms of traffi c. Despite its tiny
size—Spirit carries just 1 percent of the nation’s fl iers on its
40-jet fl eet—only two U.S. airlines have fared better: Southwest
(with 692 Boeing jets) and Alaska Air Group Inc. (with
122 aircraft). While many airlines continue to cancel services,
lay off employees, and cut corners to maintain minimal
profi tability, in 2011 Spirit’s revenue soared 37.1 percent over
the previous year. Th e airline also fl ew 15.2 percent more seats
and added multiple routes.
So how did Franke and Baldanza transform a company
once facing bankruptcy into the most profitable airline
in the United States? By doing everything that was once
deemed impossible, yet has since—thanks to Spirit’s
innovative example—become the industry standard. That
means offering the cheapest tickets in the business and
making everything—from water to boarding passes—a
la carte. Spirit was the first U.S. airline to reintroduce
a charge for checked luggage, which has since become
commonplace.
Spirit has found its niche—the traveler who is ultra-budget
conscious and is interested in little more than getting from
A to Z at the cheapest possible price. It’s that simple, and
Spirit doesn’t pretend to embody anything else—not comfort,
not convenience, not service. Spirit’s on-time performance
is among the worst in the industry; its legroom is negligible
at best, and (not surprisingly, considering its bare bones
approach to travel), it has suff ered more than a few PR
disasters in recent years. Th ese include irate, vocal customers
like Jerry Meekins, a 76-year-old Vietnam vet with terminal
cancer, who was denied a refund by Spirit after he was told by
doctors that he had only months to live and couldn’t fl y (and
so couldn’t use his ticket); and a 2010 pilot strike that saw the
airline grounded for 10 days.

Yet Baldanza seems unphased: “We just want to have the
lowest price. Th at drives almost every other decision in the
company: how many seats to have in the airplane, what times
of day to fl y, the kinds of cities we fl y to, and so on.”
With Spirit’s enviable balance sheet, it’s likely that more
airlines will get on board with the nickel-and-diming scheme.
It may be bad news for consumers, but it’s good news to
airlines that are struggling to make a profi t in uncertain
times.

1. Spirit’s number one goals seems to be “the lowest-price airline ticket.” Is this a S.M.A.R.T Goal? Explain.

2. Will this strategic goal continue to be successful for Spirit? Why or Why Not?

3. If you were the CEO of Spirit, what goals would you add to ensure that the company prospers in the long run?

Answer 1

1. Yes it is a SMART goal. Specific in the sense that the company is specific about being the lowest price airline and is clear about how to attain it. It is measurable in the sense that company can charge lower prices as compared to its competitors. It is achievable when it comes to holidays or summer vacations when other online tickets are costlier. The company’s mission is to help people travel often with reasonable money spent. Becoming an airline with the lowest price is also a time bound goal.
2. In my view this goal would be successful as initially it will help money saving customers to travel more often while saving money and when the airline would create a rapport among customers it will able to cater to those customer also in the long run who want comfort more than saving money .

3) As the CEO of the company I would like to add the best service provider component to the cheapest airline as customers are more likely to feel satisfies with the combination of great service at reasonable price. Providing great service will help the company to make loyal customers along with providing cheapest prices